Cold Frame, Hoop House, Green House - What’s Right for my Garden; Gardening Guidebook for Lewis County, Washington www.scribd.com/doc/239851313 ~ Master Gardeners of Lewis County, Washington State University~ For more information, Please see websites below: ` Organic Edible Schoolyards & Gardening with Children = http://scribd.com/doc/239851214 ~ ` Double Food Production from your School Garden with Organic Tech = http://scribd.com/doc/239851079 ~ ` Free School Gardening Art Posters = http://scribd.com/doc/239851159 ~ ` Increase Food Production with Companion Planting in your School Garden = http://scribd.com/doc/239851159 ~ ` Healthy Foods Dramatically Improves Student Academic Success = http://scribd.com/doc/239851348 ~ ` City Chickens for your Organic School Garden = http://scribd.com/doc/239850440 ~ ` Huerto Ecológico, Tecnologías Sostenibles, Agricultura Organica http://scribd.com/doc/239850233 ` Simple Square Foot Gardening for Schools - Teacher Guide = http://scribd.com/doc/239851110

1. Cold frame, Hoop House, Green House
Oh my -
What’s right for my garden?
by
Bob & MaryAnn Albenesius
 All wrapped up in gardening

2. What’s best for my needs?

3. What are the goals?
 Do you want to garden year
around?
 Does your mouth water for home
grown oranges & bananas?
 Do you want to be the 1st on the
block to have a tomato
 Maybe you just want a little
more heat out of our summer to
grow a sweet potato or
cantaloupe
 Depending on what you want –
any of these things are possible.
 How much work are you willing
to do?
 How much money do you plan to
invest?
 How many are you going to feed?
 How much space do you have to
work with?

4. All kinds of options available

5. Cheapest greenhouse available!
 Perfect place to start
experimenting
 start your own seeds
 Larger selections of
varieties available
 Plants when you want
them – in the plant world,
timing is everything

6. Vermont cranberry beans –
1 packet @ $2.75 = 4 lbs vs. $8.95 = 1 lb

7. Starting your own seed
 Space
 Large enough to hold a seed tray
 Consistent temp
 Generally around 70
 Light
 Once the seeds sprout
 Moisture
 Don’t allow the medium to dry
out
 Sterile seed starting mix

8. Don’t want to play out in the cold and wet?
 Start plants inside
 Don’t need fancy lights
 Don’t need fancy shelves
 Just need seed starting mix and
moisture
 Most seeds just need a
consistent temp of about 70 for
germination
 Don’t need light until plants
emerge

9. Grow lights/shelf system
 Commercial system
 Can do the same thing
 On a window sill
 Fluorescent light

10. Now is the time
 If you want to start
your own tomatoes
 To transplant to the
garden in late May start
them by the end of
February
 Soil temp 55

11. Tomato transplant

12. Take your time – give the plants a
chance to acclimate
4” pot Almost ready for 1 gallon pot

13. Once you have your seedlings –
then what?
 Into a cold frame
 Under a frost blanket
 Floating row cover
 Under a low tunnel

14. Not just tomatoes -
 You can sow any veggie
seeds that will go outside
into a cold frame, under
cloches, low tunnels or
green house
 Lettuce
 Cauliflower
 Peas
 Cabbage
 Broccoli

15. Cold frames

16. Cold frames
 They can be plain or
fancy
 Require good sun
exposure
 Ventilation when the
temp rises above 50
 Source of water
 Generally used as a
“transplant” nursery

17. A Maine cold frame
(Johnny’s seeds)

18. Cold frame with frost blanket

19. Our lettuce

20. Straw bale cold frame –
used as a pot

21. Cold frame facts
 They are most suited to
“cool season” crops
 Cabbage, broccoli,
lettuce, spinach
 Not heat lovers
 Need to be able to
ventilate over 50
 Need water source
 Thermometer is handy

22. There are alternatives . . .

23. Low tunnels –provides protection for those things
planted directly in the ground
 Usually some type of spun
polyester
 Grow guard -85% light, 27
degrees, 0.6oz/sq yd
 Reemay – 75% light, 30
degrees, 0.6oz/sq yd
 Agribon – 70% light; 0.9 oz/sq
yd
 Frost blanket – 24 degrees,
50% light, 1.5oz/sq yd ***on &
off
 Summer insect barrier – 90%
light, 0.4oz/sq yd
 Grow therm – clear plastic –
increase temp by 10 degrees

24. Low tunnels – floating row covers – your
option - as to how to use them

25. You need something to
secure the fabric

26. Low tunnels
Our garden – leeks
and winter Cole
crops under cover

27. “Grow-therm”

28. Grow-therm can also be used on
sweet potatoes

30. What to plant for winter
enjoyment
October -
 These plants were started in
late July and covered in mid
September
 Cabbage
 Broccoli
 cauliflower
 Lettuce
 Spinach

31. Broccoli & cabbage lovers

32. Hoop house

33. Hoop house
interior
This one is set up for
tomatoes –
but can be used for any
heat lover

34. Clark County – Master Gardeners

35. All sizes, dimensions
–multiple uses
 Closed in . . . or not

36. Lots of resources available

37. Pop bottle green house

38. Lot’s of commercial varieties available

39. Recycled windows . . . .
Corrugated panels . . .

40. Big or little

41. Some important things to remember
 Water source
 Ventilation
 Shade
 Close enough to be
useful
 Fits your needs
 Accommodates the way
you work

42. Our green house . . . before

43. & after

44. Green houses are not without their
challenges
 Controlling the
greenhouse environment
 Too hot
 Too cold
 Too much sun
 humidity
 Common pests &
diseases
 Spider mites
 Whitefly
 Damping off
 Mold
 Powdery mildew

45. Why you need
shade & ventilation
This was taken 1/27/12 @
11:30
The temp on our outside
thermometer was 25 that
morning,
by 11:30 it had gotten up to
35 &
the frost was melting . . .
But in the green house
84

46. Shade cloth
Available in
30%
40%
50%
62%

47. Shade cloth

48. Green house heat
 35 -45 a “holding place”
 45 -55 can actively grow
cool season crops
 55-60 can propagate,
grow cukes, beans,
strawberries,
mushrooms
 65 – 75 can grow all heat
loving vegetables &
tropicals

49. Questions?
Thank you

50. WSU Lewis County Extension
Master Gardeners
351 NW North Street
Chehalis WA 98532
(360) 740-1212
http://lewis-mg-mrc.org
WSU Extension programs and employment are available to all without discrimination. Evidence of
noncompliance may be reported through your local WSU Extension office.