hoop houses

[TheGibberingPotato]

I have a question for the garden-savy folks out there.

I put a hoop house on top of my raised bed garden this year.  My question is, should I leave it on all summer, or remove it during the warmest part of the year?

I live in the great lakes region, so it is a colder environment.  In the summers we will have days in the 60s through 80s, with occasional jumps into the 90s or 50s.  My concern is whether the hoop house compromises the transmission of sunlight through plastic tarp that I have used.  I am using 3 mil thick polyethylene; it has gotten a little pollen-y and dusty, which I suppose hurts the amount of sunlight that passes through it into the bed.

My garden contains a wide mix of vegetables, so I have to make the choice that accomodates many vegetables, not just one or two.

[Spruit]

I'm in a completely different part of the world (North-Western Europe, USDA hardiness zone 8), so take my advice with a grain of salt. That said, I'd leave the plastic in place over summer. You say it is a somewhat colder place with swings in temperature. A hoophouse buffers nighttime temperatures somewhat and helps it raise over day. It is a good to adjust ventillation in hotter periods, so you don't overheat the veggies.
Is it possible for you at all to differentiate between crops? You say you have a mix growing in there, but it might help if you plant heatlovers (tomatoes, cukes, peppers, melons etc.) together under the hoop, because the cabbages and onions etc. can fend for themselves just fine without the plastic and might be harmed by prolonged heat.

[TheGibberingPotato]

I'm in a completely different part of the world (North-Western Europe, USDA hardiness zone 8), so take my advice with a grain of salt. That said, I'd leave the plastic in place over summer. You say it is a somewhat colder place with swings in temperature. A hoophouse buffers nighttime temperatures somewhat and helps it raise over day. It is a good to adjust ventillation in hotter periods, so you don't overheat the veggies.
Is it possible for you at all to differentiate between crops? You say you have a mix growing in there, but it might help if you plant heatlovers (tomatoes, cukes, peppers, melons etc.) together under the hoop, because the cabbages and onions etc. can fend for themselves just fine without the plastic and might be harmed by prolonged heat.

For this year I am stuck with things as they are beacuse everything is plant, but in the future I'll think about putting the heat lovers in the hoop house.
The problem is that I only have a very small garden on my property and there isn't much I can do about it without sacrificing the aesthetics of the house, and we will re-sell it in a handful of years possibly.  This ends up making the hoop house 'prime-real estate'.  Things that need a lot of sunlight but don't get big enough to compete with some of the bigger vegetables end up in large pots (e.g. peppers).  And things that get too big for my small garden (squash, indeterminate tomatoes) get the same deal.  I know that this is not ideal, but I'm just making due for now.

[kimmarg]

I have a question for the garden-savy folks out there.

I put a hoop house on top of my raised bed garden this year.  My question is, should I leave it on all summer, or remove it during the warmest part of the year?

I live in the great lakes region, so it is a colder environment.  In the summers we will have days in the 60s through 80s, with occasional jumps into the 90s or 50s.  My concern is whether the hoop house compromises the transmission of sunlight through plastic tarp that I have used.  I am using 3 mil thick polyethylene; it has gotten a little pollen-y and dusty, which I suppose hurts the amount of sunlight that passes through it into the bed.

My garden contains a wide mix of vegetables, so I have to make the choice that accomodates many vegetables, not just one or two.

You should probably be less concerned with the minimal lack of sunlight and more concerned with temperature and ventilation. My cold frames have gone past 100F when the outdoor temp was only 50. On a 70+ degree day it will easily bee too hot for the plants. I'm in maine and typically only use them on the shoulder season. Professional places use them all year with good ventilation but I'm known to leave for work and forget to open it up in the morning so I take the out for summer.