Box one is filled with MM..

Now, where will my lettuce and carrots go?

It's going to be challenging to get your Mel's Mix saturated!

If only it were that easy.

Just felt the urge to goof around a little. However, here is the 90% finished product.

The 4x12 has the hoops.....covers go on tomorrow. And, the 2x8 has 10' trellises(easier to just run the 10' EMT conduit instead of having to make 4 more cuts and scrap 4' sections of waste), minus netting, for my maters and other climbers. However, I still need to top off the MM. When I picked it up today, it was quite the awnry cuss to mix up.......some of the bags were still frozen form the weather. (tip....vermiculite isn't light and fluffy and/or easy to spread when frozen or partially thawed.)






These were just pop-shot off my deck about 15 minutes ago. Pics that are a little easier on the eyes will follow soon enough.

Backyardbird,
love the hoop bed. excellent
excited for you

There will be more detail on my blog. But, here are the pics of the finished hoop house. Cost was about $25-$30 and the effort was minimal.



and, relative to the house...



In two weeks, I should have something in the dirt.

Looking great. Hope to see starters in that house soon.

Nice setup!

Quick update of my starts. You see broccoli, cauliflower, lots of lettuce, and there are spinach and carrots inside, too. Spinach is sprouting; carrots are still sleeping.

As you can see it's currently 73F inside. However, it's 65F outside. I have to custom ventilate to keep critters out. That has me currently thinking about my next "tweak." Once I am past needing the plastic, the hoops will support my bird netting. So, the need to keep critters out is only a few weeks long.

BYBG, the jugs in the pictures that are all around the perimeter of your planting box........are they just filled with water to hold heat overnight? The black ones are they painted or did they come that colour?

Also, what mil of plastic did you use for the cover over the hoops? Your set-up looks awesome.

Gwynn

Hey there Old Hippie, fancy meeting you here. LOL

BYBG details his hoop house here in this thread....he explains the jugs etc I think. Enjoy... I am lurking in this thread for when I start my peas here soon. LOL

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t5254p60-hoop-house-issuehow-to-solve-please#45953

BBG, would it be feasible to have a small dedicated HH to heat up your jugs hotter? You could keep it sealed up to get the temp up as high as possible without worrying about venting for the veggies. Then at the end of the day move them back in next to the veggies. Too much work?

boffer wrote:
BBG, would it be feasible to have a small dedicated HH to heat up your jugs hotter? You could keep it sealed up to get the temp up as high as possible without worrying about venting for the veggies. Then at the end of the day move them back in next to the veggies. Too much work?

Good idea. I suppose my oven would do, right?

It sounds like a lot of maintanence off the bat...to do it right. However, I suppose I could just put a couple layers of plastic, anchored by bricks, over the jugs....and put them on my concrete patio? I bet that achieves the same basic thing.

Hey, Gwynn, as Jennie says, I have another thread that "took off" without my intention in that link. It is going to be a long read, because I am a wordy fool, but it has details of my learning process as I was shocked at what it took to get the HH right.

I use 6mm contractor's plastic at the moment. And, I use a 2nd layer doubled over as a floating row cover inside the hoops on cold nights. The jugs are painted black with a can of $2 Walmart spray paint to help them get hotter. (There is a specific post in that thread testing the "hotness" of the jugs.) And, the jugs double as "lifts" to keep the plastic row cover off my plants. However, row cover stays in the HH 99% of the time. I am not using all of the 4x12 bed yet. So, I roll it over my veggies at night and unroll it at my earliest convenience in the morning.

If you have questions after reading that other thread, too, just PM me. I'd be glad to tell anyone anything they want to know. I could use all the ideas I can get my hands on.....and pass along anything I've learned. After all, that's what the forum is for, right?

I see you have excellent taste in pets too - I had 5 at one time, but now only one. Best dogs in the world IMHO. (and your garden setup is great looking too)

dixie wrote:I see you have excellent taste in pets too - I had 5 at one time, but now only one. Best dogs in the world IMHO. (and your garden setup is great looking too)

5 boxers? Wow! My wife is starting to hint at getting another. I also read in a boxer forum that "betcha can't stop at just one." I laughed both off. However, I can tell you that she is the sweetest, most tolerant dog ever....which is why we chose the breed. And, I agree she may need a playmate because she is more than even the kids can handle for energy......again a reason we chose the breed.

But, 5? Wow! Just Wow. I don't know how you did that. And, I'd love to hear about it when you have time to elaborate.

I raised Boxers for a few years and once I kept 2 gorgeous female pups from a litter, then a friend from church needed a temporary home for one of his dogs. I never had any trouble with the males, but when the female pups got around 6-8 months old, they got into the "dominant female" thingy & there was no peace. I didn't want them penned up in individual runs, so I sold all but my favorite male, Zar. You definitely had to brace yourself when you went into the yard. No amount of training not to jump did any good when they were all trying to get your attention! It was fun & I miss them, but 2 at a time is all I would recommend for anyone. They are the biggest lap babies aren't they? (And they never grow up) Isnt
it amazing how they can stand flat footed & jump straight up & look you in the eye? I wish I had at least a part of their energy.

BackyardBirdGardner wrote:. I also read in a boxer forum that "betcha can't stop at just one."

In greyhound circles, we call it "chipping" - like potato chips as you stated above it's the Lay's slogan. I have "chipped" twice, I have a total of 3 greyhounds...It's no 5 boxers, but they keep me entertained

I've never had a boxer, but never met one that I didn't like. Adorable and sweet dogs.

They are really awesome. Our expectations have been surpassed, and I did a lot of research.

She is so much fun to watch chase balls, tire toys, kongs, whatever we throw. She just runs and runs. We stand on our deck now and throw toys out into the yard, and she just runs down the steps (about a full flight of stairs) and back up with the toy like it's no big deal. She lets us be the lazy ones.

But, when she is tired, she's on the couch next to you, the bed next to you, overlapping her chin ON you, whatever. But, she is rarely in a different room. That is the part I wasn't ready for. She just needs to be near people.

And, because of that, she now goes almost everywhere with us. Our old dog (a Cairn Terrier) spent a lot of time in his kennel because he would just go in there voluntarily to "get away from it all." Allie, is in that kennel only when we can't take her somewhere with us. Literally about 10% of the time now.

We were small dog people, but wanted to move into bigger dogs because our middle son, Matthew, is autistic. And, he is pretty rough. We wanted a dog that could handle that. And, boy can she. She also dishes it out.

Just last evening, my daughter, 10, and I were playing Keep Away from Allie with a tennis ball. And, Allie was getting most times. If you dropped the ball, it was game over.....she had it by the time you could bend over. However, once Katelyn caught one, and Allie just jumped up to catch the ball from the air, but instead went full on into Katelyn. Landed into her knees, and they both toppled right over. It's the first time I've been worried after seeing a kid fall. It just looked like two torn ACLs. But, they both just bounced up and laughed and kept on playing.

We just love our dog. Sorry this got wordy, but I think you guys understand.

jerzyjen wrote:

BackyardBirdGardner wrote:. I also read in a boxer forum that "betcha can't stop at just one."

In greyhound circles, we call it "chipping" - like potato chips as you stated above it's the Lay's slogan. I have "chipped" twice, I have a total of 3 greyhounds...It's no 5 boxers, but they keep me entertained

I've never had a boxer, but never met one that I didn't like. Adorable and sweet dogs.

Did I hear Grayhound? I just adopted one from a Rescue here in Cincy back in Sept. After the first month my son wanted to either adopt another or become foster parents. LOL. Love the breed. Boxer's are good dogs also.

The deal with most Greyhounds, though, from what I understand is you are doing a tremendous service, too. To give those guys loving homes after their careers are finished is a great thing. They deserve it. And, I've also heard they become quite comfortable on the couch, too.

I want to get a greyhound next (rescue of course). I currently have a dog that doesn't appreciate other dog's compainionship so we'll wait on that. But i've worked with greyhounds most of my life and they are great dogs.

Couch?!?!? Shoot, you better lock your bedroom doors , My bed is his now. LOL

madnicmom wrote:Couch?!?!? Shoot, you better lock your bedroom doors , My bed is his now. LOL

Love it!

Ours gets the bed until about 11pm. My wife, myself, and the dog are in there usually watching the tube from about 10ish on. But, the dog goes outside one last time at 11pm and knows now to go into my daughter's room and take her bed...lol. There just isn't enough room on the bed for three of us.

However, the positions I've seen my daughter in when I wake her up are just mind-boggling some mornings. I have seen her without covers, at the foot of the bed, curled up fetal, upside down, leg hanging off, and sleeping on the dog. My daughter, that is. But, when we try and take the dog out of her room, she complains she can't sleep without our Allie. So, we let things be. It's actually really cute, and we wouldn't change anything about the situation since no one seems to mind.

Hi There,
this is my first post! I just logged on today but do know a thing or two about gardening. Everything looks beautiful and I'm envious but I did also noticed you have a great opportunity right beside your plants. There is a downspout off a garage or shed or something that you should consider putting in a rain barrel! When the hot summer gets here you will wish you had the spring rain. If you install a rain barrel YOU WILL ! WE installed them a few years ago and they have been a life saver for my garden and flowers.