To say I love hoop houses or high tunnels, is an understatement. I believe that we need to produce as much of our own food locally, when we can. No you can't grow tomatoes in January (without lots of heat and other stuff) but why not grow what you can. I have 6 high tunnels. 4 stationary ones and 2 movable ones. In a single year we will have over 5,000 square feet under plastic. If I have my way (I hope I do) I will put up one more this late summer/fall and replace my smallest one. Three years ago and $200 I built my first two tunnels. They were 12 by 18 and 8 by 12. I still have the 12 by 18. I took down the other one to make room for my 18.5 by 45. I build my own tunnels. They cost around $600 to build. I can't say enough about them. I think everyone should have one. At least on on every block. Yes, a 12 by 18 is enough space to feed a family. In addition to this, we have about another 3/4 of an acre we "Farm". Our produce feeds our family of 6 and I sell at 3-4 Farmers Markets a week. By the way in our zone 5, we are harvesting, zucchini, cucumbers, Pickling cucumbers, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, beets, chard, bok choy, carrots and onions from our tunnels. Pretty unbelievable with the spring we have had. Cool and wet. Check out our blog, I added the link below. Click on High tunnels on the right and page down. You will see all our tunnels. Jay Here is a link that might be useful: High Farming Blog

I hadn't meant to be abusive of Joe's points, just a counterpoint. Just a note about Urban Farmer's services, they are a full service irrigation store, and sell all the materials to install a conventional spray irrigation system as well. I would like to counter one of Joe's points, about drip irrigation being cheaper to install. I don't find that to be the case, in the systems I design and install, there is more hand labor involved to get emitter line to individual plants, so I'd say that the different systems are probably about on par or even slightly more expensive for a drip irrigation when using higher quality/more reliable fittings and materials. Also, as to the point about needing pressure regulators for drip systems, what is your point? The pressure regulator is not some expensive or elaborate device prone to failure, and even a conventional spray irrigation system will often require a pressure regulator at the valves if the house or street pressures are too high. Where drip irrigation excels is the benefits of using it on difficult to water steep slopes where spray irrigation would cause run-off at the higher application rates, and is not as good at giving deeper watering. You can also get away with using less valves with a larger area of coverage in a typical garden setting, because the water flows required are less volume and pressure. As to maintenance and repairs, I often find that clients with dogs and conventional spray irrigation systems may have more need of regular inspections to repair broken irrigation heads, especially if they conflict with a large dog running along an open metal fence at the street. As well, pop-up spray irrigation heads are equally prone to damage from autos driving over them or lawn mower blades clipping them, and when broken and set to run overnight, the wasted water will be far more wasteful than it would be with a lower flow/lower pressure drip system. I would not waste my time trying to convince someone who has their mind made up about their preferences in irrigation systems, but it is not as black and white as Joe would make it appear. Everyone should irrigate in a way that makes sense for their particular situation. I simply believe that drip irrigation in combination with micro-spray drip can create superb results while also using less water overall. Joe's contention that drip irrigation does not permit deep rooting of plants is only germane for those who don't run their systems long enough to wet the soil deeply. This is also very much a concern with spray systems as well, as most gardeners simply don't know how long it can take to deeply water a clay soil. Most spray systems will cause run-off in clay soils if watered for more than 10 to 15 minutes on a sloping site, and this won't wet the soil much beyond the first inch or two. Not to mention the water lost to wind/over throw spray, and evaporated water lost to the hot sun in combination with winds. In any case, both spray and drip irrigation design have their pros and cons, and the majority of residential homeowners are more likely to be timing their irrigation by schedules rather than plant needs, nor do most adjust their watering schedules more than once or twice a year to reflect the weather and seasons. In specifying which type of system makes more sense for an individual homeowner/client, it helps to weigh all the factors that should influence such a decision. While working as a landscape architect for a large firm doing subdivision homes for a developer, I had occasion to design a subsurface system using Netafim for lawns in this development. I can tell you that it drove the new home buyers crazy, as too many didn't trust that it was working properly, and would reset their individual home's irrigation controllers to vastly overwater the lawns, as they couldn't see it working. While it may make sense to use such a system for a commons area landscape that isn't subject to the whims of different homeowners, I wouldn't recommend it again for the average garden. The one place I would always recommend a spray system over a drip system would be for a client who can't control their dog's digging and chewing of things in the garden. A drip system will be much more vulnerable to damage in such a garden. I've also found that the most common animal damage to drip irrigation systems in my experience has been with squirrels chewing off the hard plastic mister heads I use in gardens which may have subtropicals such as bromeliads mounted on fences or trees. I've learned that the misters should never be mounted on the top of branches, but always on the bottom of a horizontal branch, to make it more difficult for the squirrels to do damage.

i live on the side of mt davidson a mile from west portal so that's my micro climate area usually foggy after 4th of july,i grow peapods kale collards garlic potatoes beets and bush beans if i can keep them warm, zuchinni, tomatoes only by trial and error, last year was a disaster, all the plants rotted with small green tomatoes on them , was it blight or just too foggy, don't know. this year i have the tomato plants covered with agri cloth, this is the first time trying the agricloth maybe it will keep it warmer. i also start my tomato plants from seeds. i just save the seeds from a good farmers market tomatoes and plant them the following year for bees and hummingbirds, i have fushias and lavender plants, to help pollinate 2 apple trees, also have meyers lemon tree, a lime tree in a pot and bay laurel in a pot. city college has two plant sales a year and i got the bay laurel there great to have fresh bay leaves for cooking. i have herbs too fresh oregano, thyme, french tarragon, flat leaf parsley and trying to get cilantro seeds to germinate. also scallions. i hope this gives you some ideas of what you can grow here in SF. good luck on the tomatoes this year. and now we finally have rain,

Naturegirl: Excellent planI donÂt think you could do better. Of course you will see the Mariposa grove of sequoias. They are a bit out of the way from the other park attractions, but I would say they are a "MUST." A couple of things to look for: By all means stop to see the "Grizzly Giant" tree. This is one truly spectacular tree and in its way as amazing a giant sequoia as you can see anywhere. The diameter is truly massive, but overall it is technically not one of the largest because it is not so tall as othersÂjust a bit over 200 feet--, but no matter. The crown of this tree is truly grizzled and gnarled, suggesting that has been growing there forever. Depending on how much time you have, a couple of suggestions: Try to see one of the fallen trees. There is one called "The Fallen Monarch," but I canÂt remember how far one has to walk to see it. And since I was last there, the Wawona Tunnel tree has fallen. You might want to make a point of seeing that--it should be right next to the road. One of the finest trees is the Galen Clark treeÂgiven that name because that is supposedly the first tree he saw when he discovered the grove. It is not unusually large, but perfect in its formÂat least the last time I was there. Also, I understand there is a kind of tram ride that has been built. Maybe you could get around more easily that way to see the grove. But anywhere you stand in this grove you will see wonderful trees. And if you see this grove, and Big Basin, you will really have more than just a "taste" of the most amazing trees in the world. I would recommend that you get up early, very earlyÂand get to Yosemite early enough to see the Mariposa grove the first day. Then you would not have to break up your stay in the valley area the next day. Two recommendations: first, for a hike in the valley, the vernal falls trail is nice. I canÂt remember exactly how far it is to get to the top of the falls, but it may not be too far. Some of the other falls in November may not have much water. Bridal Veil may be dry, and Yosemite falls itself will be at a low ebb. But Vernal Falls should still be very nice. Second, Glacier Point should be a must. It is a bit of a drive, but not much walking required once you get there. One bummer for you is the days are so short in Nov. Well, have fun!!