Growing in a mini greenhouse

Hi everybody,

First of all, I just want to say thanks to everybody who posts on this forum, it has been very educational to read.

I am new to SFG this year. In fact, today I will be finishing my boxes and mixing my Mel's Mix. I'm planning to cover at least one of my boxes, covered wagon style, with plastic to get things going a little early. My question is, do I need to cover the boxes and then wait for a few days for the soil to heat up? Or can I just plant right away? I tried to find info in the All New SFG book, but all it really gives you is the instructions for making the covers. If it helps, I am in Davis County, UT, and I believe our frost free date here is around May 20th. The crops I want to plant now are Peas, lettuce, radishes, etc. All my cooler weather stuff.

Thanks,
Steve

I did the tent style yesterday. I thought it would help keep some heat in, but this morning the temp inside the mini greenhouse was 24 degrees. Is there anything I can do to keep it warmer?

I don't know where you're located, but I did poly tunnels last year on a couple beds for my tomatoes. I live in rural Ontario, Canada in Canadian Zone 5b (Zone 4, American) and I had tomatoes out in April despite snow.

You can add bottles of hot water to your bed before sundown, and make sure the bed is located in a nice sunny area. Obviously if it isn't sunny the day you put the polytunnel on, it's not going to warm up so remember not to plant in it until you get a few days of really nice warm weather with lots of sun.

I also don't put bricks on top of the plastic to keep it down. For the first few weeks I staple it to the side of the bed.







You can see the poly tunnel on the left in the back of the photo. I'm planting it out with lettuce tomorrow, and my garden gets full sun all day long.

I just planted my first box and put a cover over it. I will try the hot water in the bottle once the plants have started to sprout.
Maybe I need a thicker material to cover it overnight.

i am zone 5, 5a, 5b, or 6 depending on what list you look on. we still have snow on the ground in areas if that helps for perspective, though.

i planted peas a couple weeks ago - they're just now starting to sprout. the packet said to plant when the soil could be worked. well, some of my garden boxes thawed out faster than others. the box next to my house against a concrete wall was the first to thaw and that's where my peas are planted.

i also planted arugula, spinach, carrots swiss chard, and brussel sprouts. all are just now starting to sprout - except the carrots.

i have no covers on anything except brussel sprouts and swiss chard. and for those, i just cut the bottoms off gallon milk jugs and am using them as individual greenhouses, taking off the cap to vent during warm-ish days. currently 45*F here at 12noon.

i hope this is helpful. it's so early in season that i figure whatever doesn't grow i can try again later.