Last year I bought two Shelter-Logic 10′×20′ portable carports for $98 each. This year PepBoys has a “Black Friday” deal on them for $149 each. I’m dragging my daughter’s boyfriend to pick up another two for more row covers. Last year I covered them with heavy plastic and used them as hardening houses (photo 3).

My garden is made up of 3′×20′ raised beds with 30" wide walkways between beds. Each Hoop-house will cover two beds with a walkway down the center (photo 5). The vegetable garden is 45’ wide, so I’ll be able to cover eight rows, with 4 rows on each side and a 5’ wide access way down the center. This year I’m installing 6mm UV greenhouse film instead of the standard plastic I used last year.

Our area has been plagued with Fungal diseases for the last few years. It is spread by both wind and splattering raindrops, so this hopefully will reduce the exposure next year. The plan is to install Furnace Filters and box fans in the peaks for cooling. I already have a computerized irrigation system and moisture sensors setup in each of the raised beds. I have 32 I/O channels, and I’m using 16 channels for irrigating 16 raised beds. There’s still 16 channels available to monitor temperatures and control ventilation in each of the hoop-houses.