Mini-Hoophouse

I've shared quite a bit about our "hoop houses".  These are also called "High Tunnels".  Hoop House makes more sense to me.  So, I call them "hoophouses", for short.  Here's a picture or ours.

The larger one in the background is made of large metal ribs that are set in concrete.   The smaller one in the foreground is made of fencing panels that are bent into arcs and fastened to a 2X4 frame.  We grow cool season crops, such as spinach, kale and lettuce in these.

Last fall, I decided to create a mini-hoophouse over one of the raised beds where I had Swiss Chard, Parsley and Cilantro growing.  I wanted to see if I could keep these alive over the winter.  Here's a picture of it from last fall. 

The plastic is draped over PVC pipe that is bent to form arches and secured to metal rebar pieces that are driven into the ground.

We had some pretty cold weather during January with temperatures down in the teens several nights and even in the single digits a couple of times.  I'm happy to say that my little hoophouse has performed nicely.  Recently, I uncovered it for a while and things looked pretty good.

There was some freeze damage on a few of the chard leaves

But other than this, the plants under there looked good.  This mini-hoophouse is a simple and inexpensive way for home gardeners to keep their garden going and enjoy fresh greens all winter.  It is certainly worth the trouble.  Give it a try!