Our intense heat spell is continuing so we spend afternoons sitting in our cool soaking tub in between working. It sure helps. The humidity has been a killer and the sweat just rolls off us when we’re outside. I’ll be very glad when it cools down some. We did get a thunderstorm yesterday and that helped cool it down temporarily, but along with the storm there was a lot of wind. We didn’t have any problems here but further north and east many trees went down and folks are without power. And many of them had just gotten it back on following the last big storm.
The day before yesterday Will and I were on our way back from town and ran into a severe hail storm. Hail the size of ping pong balls was bouncing on our car! Will found a driveway quick into the woods and drove the car off into the trees where we remained partially sheltered until the worst was over. Our poor Subaru suffered a few dents on the hood and roof but we were amazed that was all the damage! We expected the windshield to shatter any second. We were worried about our garden at home!
Luckily, when we got home, it had rained but we had no hail there. Thank you, God! Our garden looks so nice right now with corn being “knee high by the Fourth of July.” Here, that’s sort of unheard of. Usually we laugh and say “ankle high by the Fourth of July” … if we’re lucky.
The hoop houses continue to be the stars of our garden. The melons in them have leaves the size of squash leaves! Wow, I can hardly wait to see how soon they set melons and ripen! Mmm, I can taste them now.
You look great, Jackie! Gardening obviously agrees with you. You’re such an inspiration to me…keep it up. Your garden looks beautiful!
zelda,
We don’t leave our plastic on year around because we simply can’t grow anything at all with temperatures of -20 to -35 during December and January. It would be nuts to try to heat it! Our four to six feet of snow also would quickly crash our hoop house. But you’re right, for folks in more normal growing conditions, the 6 mil plastic, left on year around is a good buy. We use pieces of our leftover plastic after we get bad rips to cover our small hoops over our raised beds in the house garden and small row hoops in the garden, where needed to boost or protect spring crops.
We’re huge hoop house and row tunnel fans!!!
Jackie
I use 6 mil greenhouse plastic, which costs a bit more, but I leave my tunnels up year round in high altitude sun so I can extend my season and winter over some food plants. My plastic is also subject to extreme winds and it has started to tear, but I bought the special mending tape for it and it seems to be holding up. I hope to get 2 more years out of it before it shatters from UV exposure. The downside is sending that shattered plastic to the landfill – what else to do with it? I wish someone had greenhouse plastic recycling. If you live in a more moderate climate a mesh tunnel can keep bugs off your plants and cut down your pest control work. If you live where there’s hail, a tunnel can save your plants. There’s a tunnel for every need. Eliot Coleman proved it 40 years ago – tunnels are the gardener’s best productivity tool.
Elsa,
I missed answering your questions. We use 4 mil plastic and can cover two houses for about $24.99. We pull the plastic in the late fall, wrap it up and re-use it the next year. That’s about all we get. But it sure is worth it to us to be able to harvest all those veggies. We’re lucky to get a 90 day growing season with frosts common in the middle of June and toward the end of August.
Jackie
Yes, here also. The only thing growing is the weeds. And they are a little wilted.
You get rain? I’m starting to forget what that looks like.
Everything around here that isn’t irrigated is dead and dry. Even some of the irrigated stuff is wilted.
your gardenlooks great andyour smile says you are ready to begin. ours is almost over but my david couldn’t stand it and went and planted more.here we have along growing season so i’m getting ready for round 2.[with lots of smiles also.
Jackie, that smile says it all! you look so happy.
Jackie, maybe someday you can give us lessons/instructions on building those hoop houses you keep praising.
I thoroughly enjoy your blog. It is great to see someone so happy living the simple life…. and practicing what they teach.
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