The Year-Round Hoophouse

Pam Dawling

Description

• Co-op available
• Features in: Growing for Market
• Excerpts offered to: Mother Earth News, ACRES USA, Organic Gardening, Hobby Farm, Small Farm Canada, Gardening Know How
• Advertising in: Mother Earth News, Permaculture North America, Hobby Farm
• Promoted on author's blog: www.sustainablemarketfarming.com,
• Academic promotion to Sustainable Agriculture courses
• Galley available on Edelweiss
• Publicity and promotion in conjunction with the author's many speaking engagements
• Simultaneous ebook release and promotion
• Promotion on New Society Publishers social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, our blog, Pinterest, Instagram, and Youtube

• Author's previous book, Sustainable Market Farming has sold over 10,000 copies
• Author has been the garden manager at Twin Oaks Community, a 3.5 acre vegetable garden that grows food for a community of 100 people, for over 20 years
• She has been gardening and managing gardens for 43 years
• She is an experienced writer and speaker
• This is the comprehensive guide to growing in hoophouses, also widely known as polytunnels
• Includes design and construction as well as all of the details needed for successful hoophouse vegetable production
• Based on 15 years research and development of growing in hoophouses including crop trials
• Tried and tested methods for achieving high yields
• Intensive growing in hoophouses can boost farm income, diversify crops, provide greater economic security for farmers
• Hoophouses help reduce the impact of extreme weather events and other climatic variations
• Includes suggestions for various climates
• This book differs from other books on growing in hoophouses in that it covers growing s well as construction and design, how to care for the soil, dealing with salinity issues, and specific tips for growing in various seasons
• Includes sowing and harvesting calendars for North American climates
• Author blogs at www.sustainablemarketfarming.com
• Intended Audience: farmers growing sustainably on a few acres, looking to expand into hoophouse production, wanting to grow specialty crops including seed production, extension service agents, new farmers and training programs, urban farmers, schools and other institutions interested in growing their own food, homesteaders and hobby farmers

International:

• The author farmed in the UK for several years.
• Techniques are applicable to climatic zones in UK and Europe.

Design and build a hoophouse or polytunnel, and grow abundant produce year-round in any climate

The Year-Round Hoophouse is the comprehensive guide to designing and building a hoophouse and making a success of growing abundant, delicious fresh produce all year, whatever your climate and land size. Chapters include:

• Hoophouse siting, size, style, frame construction, and tools
• Bed layout, soil, crop rotations, and extensive coverage of various crops for all seasons
• Organic solutions to pests and diseases
• Disaster preparation
• Tested resources for each chapter.

The Year-Round Hoophouse is ideal for farmers who wish to move into protected growing, as well as beginning farmers in rural and urban spaces. It is an essential reference resource for professors and students of courses in sustainable agriculture, as well as interns and apprentices learning on the job.

Growing in hoophouses – also known as high tunnels or polytunnels – reduces the impact of an increasingly unpredictable climate on crops, mitigates soil erosion, extends the growing season, keeps leafy greens alive through the winter, and enables growers to supply more regional food needs.

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction

Part I: Design, Siting and Construction
1. Hoophouse Siting and Planning
2. Style and Design
3. Shopping Checklist
4. Preparing the Site and the Base
5. Utilities
6. Frame Assembly, Baseboards and Hipboards
7. End Walls
8. Roof Plastic
9. Drip Irrigation and Outfitting Your Hoophouse

Part II: Growing Crops
10. Lettuce
11. Other Salad Greens
12. Cooking Greens
13. Root Crops
14. Alliums
15. Legumes
16. Tomatoes
17. Peppers and Eggplants
18. Cucurbits
19. Crops for High Summer
20. Bare-Root Transplants
21. Seed Crops

Part III: Keeping Everything Working Well
22. Planning and Record-Keeping
23. Cold Weather Care
24. Hot Weather Care
25. Succession Crops
26. Crop Rotations and Sequences
27. Pests and Diseases
28. Salt Build-Up
29. Feeding the Soil
30. Replacing the Plastic
31. Preparing for and Coping with Disasters

Resources
Index
About the Author
About New Society Publishers

Sujets

• Jardinage
• Techniques de jardinage
• Potager
• Agronomie
• Agronomy for Sustainable Development
• Agriculture
• General
• Engineering
• Technology
• Organic
• Greenhouse
• General officer
• Sustainable agriculture
• Organic horticulture
• Sciences et techniques
• Greenhouses

Informations

• Publié par: New Society Publishers
• Date de parution: 13 novembre 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781771422505
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

Advance praise for The Year-Round Hoophouse
The Year Round Hoophouse is a great resource for market farmers looking to extend the growing season. Pam s depth of experience and insight are unsurpassed and this book fills a major gap. I m looking forward to adapting my planting plan and approach based on the knowledge I gained from this book.
-Shawn Jadrnicek, author, The Bio-Integrated Farm
Pam has packed this readable and usable book with her 15 years of personal experience in tunnels and the experience and expertise of other growers and extension agents. Essential for the beginner, and as an experienced grower, it may become your first go-to for reference.
-Steve Moore, farmer and educator
Once an optional tool for extending the growing season, the hoop house has rapidly become a crucial strategy for sustaining crop production as more variable weather and extremes challenge growers worldwide. The Year-Round Hoophouse offers growers of all kinds a clear, concise, complete, and above all, very wise guide to hoophouse design and construction, growing, and long-term management. Filled with detailed examples, planning worksheets, recommended resources, and many lessons learned from her long experience as a grower, this is a must read for anyone looking to enhance the resilience of their garden or farm.
-Laura Lengnick, author, Resilient Agriculture
Pam Dawling once again excels in the detail she provides, step by step, crop by crop. This book is an incredible resource for anyone wishing to grow - or improve their growing - using protected culture. Her depth of experience and excellent record keeping allow the reader to benefit from her analysis and synthesis of the critical details for successful growing in the hoophouse year-round. Pam expertly tells the specifics from her farm while also noting the variations for different climates and markets. She has clearly devoted herself to gathering the particulars from her farm, researchers, and other growers to provide a comprehensive guide to hoophouse growing, from site selection to post-harvest, long term maintenance, and every step in between. We are fortunate to be the beneficiaries of her stellar work!
-Janet Aardema, Broadfork Farm, Chesterfield, Virginia
I am so glad to find a book with well-structured material supported through years of experience and research to fully address high tunnel construction and production. A welcome and needed addition to agricultural literature, this book delivers the information farmers and gardeners need.
-Gena Moore, Carolina Farm Stewardship Association.
The Year Round Hoophouse is your one-stop shop for everything you need to know for growing food year round. Whether you re new to hoophouses or seasoned and savvy, you will find this book a resource you ll keep coming back to. Pam blends her seasoned expertise with a warm and easy-to-read style to empower anyone to plant and savor the harvest year round.
-Lisa Kivirist, author, Soil Sisters: A Toolkit for Women Farmers and Homemade for Sale
This is a comprehensive, no-nonsense resource, packed with practical farmer know-how and illustrations. This is the design, construction, and growing information we ve been waiting for to guide farmers and gardeners year-round in all climates.
-Atina Diffley, organic farmer and author, Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works
Many fail to realize just how diverse a skill set is needed by someone who farms. Pam Dawling s new book addresses the needs of a new grower or a grower new to hoophouse production in such a way that is inclusive of that diversity of skills needed. The chapter on drip irrigation is alone extremely valuable. Hoophouses are here to stay and the comprehensive nature of this book will make it an enduring resource.
-Robin Kohanowich, Lead Instructor, Sustainable Agriculture Program, Central Carolina Community College
This book does a great job of demystifying protected production of horticulture crops. The Year-Round Hoophouse is suitable for beginning and experienced growers alike with lots of specifics learned through years of growing. Pam s experience in high tunnel growing really shows in her details on crop production. Overall, a great addition to any farm family s library.
-Chris Mullins, Extension Specialist, Greenhouse and Specialty Crops, Virginia State University

Copyright 2019 by Pam Dawling. All rights reserved.
Cover design by Diane McIntosh.
Cover images: Main images top bottom: Pam Dawling. 4 season graphic: iStock: chard 119653941; peas 496354406, tomatoes 502992102; squash flower Pam Dawling.
Interior images: All photos Pam Dawling unless otherwise noted.
Drawings pages 9 - 39 by Brandy Mac Donald ( facebook.com/Black Mantra Art). Page 5 : Sergey YAkovlev, Sergei Dvornikov, kalafoto, paul prescott; page 61 : eljko Radojko, eugenesergeev, georgina198, Sergei Dvornikov page 169 : studiodr, FS-Stock, Pavel, sasapanchenko / Adobe Stock.
Printed in Canada. First printing October 2018.
This book is intended to be educational and informative.
It is not intended to serve as a guide. The author and publisher disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss or risk that may be associated with the application of any of the contents of this book.
Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of The Year-Round Hoophouse should be addressed to New Society Publishers at the address below.
To order directly from the publishers, please call toll-free (North America)
1-800-567-6772, or order online at www.newsociety.com
Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to:
New Society Publishers
P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada [phone]
L IBRARY AND A RCHIVES C ANADA C ATALOGUING IN P UBLICATION
Dawling, Pam, author
The year-round hoophouse : polytunnels for all seasons and all climates / Pam Dawling.
Includes index.
Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-0-86571-863-0 (softcover). - ISBN 978-1-55092-655-2 ( PDF ). - ISBN 978-1-77142-250-5 ( EPUB )
1. Garden structures - Design and construction - Amateurs manuals. 2. Greenhouse gardening. 3. Vegetable gardening. 4. Organic gardening. 5. Sustainable agriculture. I. Title.
SB 415.d39 2018
635 .0483
C 2018-904260-5
C 2018-904261-3

New Society Publishers mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision.
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
P ART I: D ESIGN , S ITING AND C ONSTRUCTION
1. Hoophouse Siting and Planning
2. Style and Design
3. Shopping Checklist
4. Preparing the Site and the Base
5. Utilities
6. Frame Assembly, Baseboards and Hipboards
7. End Walls
8. Roof Plastic
9. Drip Irrigation and Outfitting Your Hoophouse
P ART II: G ROWING C ROPS
10. Lettuce
11. Other Salad Greens
12. Cooking Greens
13. Root Crops
14. Alliums
15. Legumes
16. Tomatoes
17. Peppers and Eggplants
18. Cucurbits
19. Crops for High Summer
20. Bare-Root Transplants
21. Seed Crops
P ART III: K EEPING E VERYTHING W ORKING W ELL
22. Planning and Record-Keeping
23. Cold Weather Care
24. Hot Weather Care
25. Succession Crops
26. Crop Rotations and Sequences
27. Pests and Diseases
28. Salt Build-Up
29. Feeding the Soil
30. Replacing the Plastic
31. Preparing for and Coping with Disasters
Resources
Index
About the Author
About New Society Publishers
Foreword
by Andrew Mefferd
Pam Dawling has more bylines - by far - than any other writer in Growing for Market . For more than 15 years she has been sharing her wisdom on market gardening through the magazine, which is where I first became acquainted with her signature nitty-gritty style. She breaks market farming down to its smallest of components in order to make them understandable, informed by her over 30 years of experience as a grower.
Now she s bringing that experience and analysis to hoophouse growing at a time when it s critically important. As the demand for locally produced food has swelled, The Year-Round Hoophouse is a crucial part of the supply catching up with the demand for good information on protected growing. This book is the hoophouse complement to her outstanding and exhaustive book Sustainable Market Farming .
Growing in hoophouses should be more productive than growing in the field. However, there are so many differences that even experienced growers sometimes spin their wheels making the transition from the field to covered growing. The Year-Round Hoophouse will help new and experienced growers alike make sure they are getting the most out of their protected space.
As Pam points out in her introduction, much of modern mechanized agriculture is actually a net energy loser, taking almost ten calories of fossil fuels to make a calorie of food. Weaning ourselves off the profligate use of fossil fuels is the challenge of this generation because if we don t figure it out, there won t be future generations.
The time when we could have avoided climate-related disasters is behind us. Suffering and disruption on a civilizational scale is almost guaranteed at this point. In order to merely survive, we need agriculture to be a carbon sink instead of a carbon dioxide generator, and hoop-houses have a role to play in this transition.
Once it s built, a hoophouse doesn t require energy inputs, it simply traps the solar energy already coming to the site. It gives growers a low investment, low operating cost option to lengthen the local food season.
Consider that until eighty years ago everyone was fed by agriculture that didn t need any fuel inputs. We have quickly become addicted to cheap energy; the only way farms stay in business with modern energy input/output ratios is because fossil fuels are so undervalued. The problem with the modern agricultural equation is that it operates on two premises