Monday, October 15, 2012

Hoop House finished

It took us all weekend to finish the hoop house.
we figured, a couple hours tops, then we could get some other stuff done on saturday, and then we would have sunday for other things, but nope, all day saturday and almost all day sunday.

We used an old storm window and put it in upside down so we can lower the top to let in ventilation and too much heat out.
This is the west end.

Here is the east end with the door
The door is an old 5' screen window frame, it still has the metal screening in it, so that supports the plastic.
All the rest of the garden you are looking at is done and gone for the year except the swiss chard in the right side of the photo behind the dead marigolds. Haven't covered it, but it must be tough stuff, as it hasn't froze yet.

Here is a look inside the Hoop House, you can see all the tomatoes on the plants just inside the door, the rest of the plants look very similar, I just hope they all start to ripen finally. 






It will be interesting to see if we are still picking fresh tomatoes by thanksgiving, just depends on the temps and the weather.


now back to Tatting, I hope, I need to finish the Lace Mat and start the Christmas Tatting.

10 comments:

  1. That's a lot of work, but it looks like it's going to pay off for you. I hope the weather holds!

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  2. Ohh, that looks like a lot of work. When I clean out my kitchen cupboards, I think THAT is work!
    Fox : ))

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    1. what???? I'm supposed to clean out the kitchen cupboards???? why didn't any one tell me.

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  3. Are you going to can the tomatoes?

    I made chili sauce one year - we'd had more rain than usual and it made a bumper crop of 'maters - every morning there was a new grocery bag full of ripe tomatoes waiting for me under my desk! I made a big pot full of chili sauce from most of them and froze it in 1/2 cup servings so we could have a taste of summer all winter long (in homemade soups, stews, etc.)

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    1. yes, Sharren, I will can them. back in the day when all the kids were home, I used to can more then 100 qrts of tomatoes to use in hot dishes, chili and eat as sauce, and then many pints of my grandmother's tomato soup base ~ just heat to boiling and add an equal amount of milk.
      The neighbors who gardened with us are hoping to can salsa as well as some tomatoes

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  4. I'm totally exhausted after reading this post and your prior one! Our biggest effort is putting up (and in the Fall removing) the canvas top on our metal 12' x 12' gazebo! I've also been ferrying about 5 plants in and out of our garage during the 'freezing' overnight weather. We suburbanites are wimps compared to you folks on the farms! My hat is off to you! And you're allergic to tomatoes! Also can't believe ironing that plastic - but obviously it works! I doubt that I could have done it that neatly!

    Also can't believe that doily for only $5.50. I'm glad you had a 'relaxing' day to demonstrate tatting and could get away from the tomatoes for awhile!

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    1. Kathy, I suppose I should clarify, my allergy is for red tomatoes ~ I get hives inside my mouth. I can eat small amounts of orange and a bit more of yellow tomatoes. Do have to be careful that there are no cuts on my hands when canning the tomatoes, because the juice can really burn.

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  5. Good job! I'm wondering if I can use your method of iron and tin foil to seal Christmas decorations in plastic bags. Of course your plastic was much thicker, so it may not work, but I might just try it. You'd better get some rest before the tomatoes ripen!

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    1. Jane, you should be able to,
      When I welded the plastic sheets to go over the hoops, that took close to 20 sec to get a good weld, because the plastic sheets were 6 mil and the concrete floor in the quonset was cold. The ends that we welded on, were only 3 mil as that is the plastic we had available and it was on a warm day and not against cold concrete and 8 secs was about right.
      I would suggest using less time and maybe less heat, if your plastic is thinner. using the foil keeps the plastic off your ironing board and the bottom of your iron.
      it might take some practice to get it figured out.
      good luck and let us know how it works.

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