Hi Bfreeman. I've been all over this row cover thing for about 10 years. Our garden feeds us year round, which is no great feat in Cal. Row covers build up soil diseases very quickly. I cover 3 of my 12 beds every winter for a 4 year rotation. Row covers don't allow you to grow anything you couldn't anyway, but help a few things to grow better. Their primary benefits are higher daytime temps, protection from chilling winds, and minor frost protection. I currently grow spinach, celery, lettuce, and parsley under row covers. Outside are kale, carrots, turnips, and beets, all of wich were started in the summer. I get a jump on starting corn, and transplanting tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants with row covers. My row covers consisted of 1/4" pencil steel (available at ready mix concrete companies) cut into 80" lengths and bent around a car tire to form a hoop, then stuck in the ground, covered with .7mil x 9' x 12' painters plastic available at Walmart a buck apiece. Plastic lasts one season and then gets recycled with grocery bags. I've since formalized the setup with a 1/2" rebar frame and 3/8' round instead of 1/4". I've gardened in zone 9, and my experience was that getting crops in early, roots established, and up to size before November was the real key. Row covers aren't that valuable at z9 temps. Of course sweet peas start great outdoors in January in z9.

ontheteam, My brother and I built a railroad rail bender. We used it for the hoop bending. It was a little awkward, but work just fine. The rail bender is basically two rollers in a frame with a third roller above the middle of two lower. The top wheel is pushed down by a 12 ton bottle jack. It's basically a shop press that you can roll / arch stock through. You push pull the stock through, then apply a little pressure and do it again. Rebar, cheap and availablity. I don't think we can get 20ft lengths of conduit on the Island. It could be ordered, but not off the shelf supply. Eric

the last thing i wanna do is fight on garden web but jeeze ur kinda snotty arnt ya? its not a hobby for me either. but the house i wanna create is. ive been in the growing business for over 20 years and have degrees and experence and such. so quit trying to pull rank. no u didnt say anything useful, maybe u need to re-read ur posts. i hope u arnt like that with everyone... what kinda information is outthere on growing moss in a poly house??????? u tell me? go ahead, search moss house. go ahead and use google search. see what u come up with. and all that is besides the point. as per my original post, im asking for someone with 'any advice, experences or comments will be greatly appreciated'. u seem to have none of the above so ur so called 'answers' are not great appreciated. 'You think GW is going to give you all the answers?' no, but i was hoping someone out there would have some helpful experence, not snotty answers like 'google poly'. 'Try calling a poly company and asking an experienced salesman. At least they get paid for their time.' yes i have talked to a few, farmtek et all. they sell stuff, they dont grow stuff. again, looking for experence, not snotty answers. as to the part about being paid for their time, if looking for experenced shade hoophouse growing of moss is such a hassel for u to answer because ur little precious time will be taken up, i have a piece of advice for u, DONT ANSWER IF U DONT KNOW THE ANSWER. its perfectly viable for u to keep ur wicked little snotty comments to urself. 'At least I did answer...You keep waiting for more.' what answer? 'google poly' is ur answer??? u really think that is an viable answer to a question? u have neither any advice, nor it seems experences or comments that will be helpful. so again, i move on to others that might be helpful, not snotty. froggy

Hi Cyndi, I don't think you ever told us if your heat was turned back on in your house. (Are you moving out into the yard under plastic to stay warm? ;o) When do ya'll typically begin planting cool and hot season items within a hoop house? I set one up the first of March one year. Then we got a late snow storm and it collapsed - but with some melting and shaking, it sprang back up. I haven't set one up so early since but have sometimes covered the larger (8' by 20') hoop house this early. I'm not in the Denver area but I'm shooting for planting cool-season veggie seed in there before the 21st of March. I use one or 2 smaller hoopies for flats of plant starts that I don't have room for elsewhere. I have covered growing beds in the gardens with them in the past, however. What is the hottest I should let it get for the cool season veges and hot season? In any protected growing, keeping the temperatures below 85°F is a very good idea. I suppose that 5°F below that would be about maximum for the cool-season types. How should I ventilate (ends, sides, etc) and how much for each temperature range. I bunch the plastic at the ends of the little hoopies and tie it to a stake driven in the ground. As the sun warms the air inside, I slide the bunched plastic up the stakes so outside air enters at ground-level. Unless it's windy, lifting both ends is necessary to gain some ventilation but you don't need to lift the plastic very high. Is my house too high? You wouldn't want it too low. How does height affect the temperature. The greater the volume of air, the longer it takes to heat. And, I suppose, the longer it takes to cool. The air volume acts as a cushion for rapid changes of temperature. That's a good thing, especially on sunny days. How long should I have it installed before beginning to plant (raising soil temps)? It depends on the variables but you can put most any thermometer into the soil a couple of inches, cover it completely, and check it after 10 minutes, or so. Most cool weather veggies will germinate quickly if the soil temperature is above 65°F. What should I use for clamps with the plastic? My neighbor used split black plastic pipe but the entire thing must not have worked very well since he never set it up again. I don't use any clamps - just tie the ends to stakes driven in the ground and then criss-cross with bailing twine over the top and tie the twine to 4 more stakes. The sides are held down by bricks. Since it is so small, the wind shouldn't have very much affect on it. Is there a way to keep it warm when it gets really cold? You can put a blanket over the top of it. I know that jugs of water are sometimes used for heat retention but that decreases the inside space. Hope this helps. digitSteve