Growing tomatoes in a hoophouse

[tgplp]

You're right. I have plenty of varieties and probably some will do good. And yes, I know how to save seeds.

Thanks so much for your help,
Taryn

[surf4grrl]

One of the biggest things I learned about hoophouses etc was through trial and error and hearing feedback from others. I think the biggest issue is humidity - you need to have some kind of airflow through there. I know it sounds crazy but a hoophouse with venting (or rips in our older plastics) is actually a good thing. It ran counter-intuitive to what I initally thought, but if there's no air - that moisture has no where to go except on the plants.

[erlyberd]

Tgplp, Not sure what you have for ventilation on your gh but your going to need way more ventilation than what one window and a door can provide. The build up of heat will kill your plants long before the humidity becomes an issue. Are you adding an exhaust fan? Or is it going to be a manual operation like mine? Not sure what your using for glazing either. If your using poly film then you can make yourself rollup side walls so you can manually control temps. Otherwise you'll need to place more vents high up in or near the peak to shed the heat......................... Just to give you an idea...my ventilation last year was one door, one window and one roll-up side wall. I would roll up the side wall to about 5 feet high and at times was'nt enough to lower temps where I really wanted them. This year I need to make the other side wall a roll-up as well.............................................. ..............................You'll be amazed at what this controlled environment can do for your plants. Your really going to like the fact that you can control the soil moisture levels, esp in your wet climate. No more split/cracked fruit. I managed to gain a full six weeks in the spring, (with double coverage) and harvested the last of my peppers on Nov 6th. Plus its great for growing greens all winter!I grew a few on your list and noticed the cool weather types dropped off in production due to the high heat in summer but picked back up as temps cooled in late summer. However, I needed that second side wall ventilation don't forget.Your going to love it!

[vagardener434]

Originally Posted by tgplp

but does growing tomatoes in the hoophouse improve their flavor?

Taryn

Taryn,
I can tell you what I've experienced so far. I transplanted Rutgers and an unknown variety in Nov. The unknown was a seed mixup, where the pack was mislabeled. It was some sort of pink beefsteak. That being said, I have shared fruit from both varieties with tons of local folks here. And, I've shipped them to 3 different states, to get the opinion of others. There hasn't been a single negative comment. In fact, many have said they were the best tomatoes the folks had ever had. Now, part of that may be the fact that there is nothing to compare them to right now. Those rock hard maters in the store are dreadful, not worth 1/10 of the purchase price. But, I think part of it may be the way they were grown. Pretty much all natural, just composted horse manure, a little MG, and a couple spoons of epsom salt. No other chemicals whatsoever.
These were just 2 regular varieties that folks grow around here. I have about 25 varieties underway in the GH right now. The Ind will be pruned to single stem, and the Det will be caged. Some of these new varieties should begin producing about the time that most folks around here are just beginning to set out transplants. I'll be doing a lot more giveaways ( its a cool thing to do), and finding out what grows best and what tastes best. I am using my first year as a trial run, trying to get the mistakes out of the way so that I can do much better next fall/winter.

Bobby

[surf4grrl]

There is a big difference between an unheated hoophouse and and a heated greenhouse. I was under the impression it was the former - I have never really had problem with the temps per se - but I was using off season. My problem was moisture.

Poly carb is super expensive - a hoophouse can be a pretty DIY cheap structure, with greenhouse plastic and reemay used when it's cooler doubled or tripled up on itself.

I guess I'm not exactly sure of Taryn's set-up. A great book, I dunno if anyone mentioned it - is by Eliot Coleman.

[tgplp]

Well, today my hoophouse was 70 degrees ! (farenheit, of course) I put 8 tomatoes in there for half an hour just to get a taste of sunshine. I checked the weather report, and it looks ok. (highs in the low fifties, nights in the low forties). This means the daytime temps should be at least 60 degrees, but probably higher. So... Maybe I'll start hardening off my toms a bit early...

Taryn