Hoop house plastic

We just built a small hoop house to keep my tomatoes warmer and out of the rain. I bought some 3 mil "clear plastic drop cloth" that says it can be used for gardening and outdoors year round. It's a milky white color. Is this letting enough light in, or should I get greenhouse plastic? This month is predicted to be cloudy and rainy, so the plants need as much light as possible. I am determined to grow tomatoes this year!
I plan on completely removing the plastic come July once the weather is reliably warm and dry. (I'm in Vancouver, just ftr), and putting it back up after August when the rain starts again.

I've used that plastic for protection. I think you're good to go.

Linda

Your not so far from me as the crow flies prolly 35 miles.

Put the cover on until About the 1st of July then back on about the middle of Aug.

Keeping the rain off is more important than light in this case. Be sure to cover the ends at night to keep the fog and damp night air from getting inside.

cheers eh

Thanks! I'm guessing it would have been ok, but I ended up getting some greenhouse plastic. I am so hoping to have some tomatoes this year, after losing them to blight a few years in a row.
I definitely agree that keeping them dry is of the utmost importance in this area!!!


I do have a follow-up question- it is getting quite humid under the plastic. Should I allow for more ventilation? That would decrease the temperature, I'm guessing. But maybe that would be worth it to have less humidity?
On sunny, warmish days, I intend to take one side of the plastic off. I tend to be in the yard a bit anyways, so it's easy to do. Maybe the humidity inside isn't a big deal if I let it air out occasionally?

This message was edited May 23, 2013 11:05 PM

Your on the right track. To hot is not good either. I open the ends on sunny days and let the air move the humidity right out. Unless you have a brisk wind it will still be warm with one end open. a little experimentation and you will find out which works best for you.

My theory is it is better to be on the cool side than to hot. All it takes is one trip to the grocery store with it shut up on a cool day and have the sun come out and you come home to a mess.

Lady picking tomato's is our dear friend from the East coast. The green tomato's on the right are a green when ripe type I love them.

And here it is I thought you were only the Onion GURU! Those are gorgeous!

3 mil clear (milky) plastic that is commonly available in most brick and mortar stores is not UV stabilized. You will only get one year out of it, less if it is in a windy location.

More eco-friendly is to go on line and buy Ultra Violet Stabilized, and a thicker mil.

I did exactly what you are doing, using 4 mil, and I got 2 winters and one summer out of it.
Hoops are attached to the beds, and can be used for any sheeting sort of material. Shade cloth in the heat, mesh to keep the chickens out, and, of course, clear plastic to keep it warm. Even in the summer there are some cold nights, here, and through the winter I was able to keep tomato plants growing year round. (Production is better in the summer heat)

I would drape the plastic over the hoops, add clips to the ends, and lay a 2 x 4 or several bricks along the length of it outside the box. We can get some pretty strong winds that swirl around in the garden and can come from any direction.

For ventilation I would open both ends, and make sure there are not loose parts to flap around. If only one end is open then a strong wind could fill the enclosed space and tear up the plastic. If both ends are open there is more of a flow-through effect.

Linda Grass hopper I am like a chameleon a man of many talents yet like the story goes the master of none but I dabble in lots of things. But I sure can't spell.LOL Firefox just fixed it for me.

I am in the process of building a new raised bed 4feet by 24 feet. 1/2 inch rebar stakes will be fastened to the 16 inch sides. 1/2 pvc pipe will fit onto the rebar to form the hoops. The 6 mil green house plastic will be clamped on to the pvc with plastic clamps. A 10 foot pc of pipe forms a nice hoop for the four food width. The 6&5/8 x 16 inch sides will be painted black to help the sides become a wonderful heat sink.

Here is the first one I ever built it was 14x50 I gave it away last year.

Grass hopper the garden shot is for you.

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