The Year-Round Hoophouse by Pam Dawling

Author:Pam Dawling
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781771422505
Publisher: New Society Publishers
Published: 2018-09-22T00:00:00+00:00

What Seed Crops to Grow

Where it is humid or rainy, it is hard to grow “dry” seed crops such as legumes, lettuce, spinach and beets outdoors, but using covered ground opens new possibilities. (“Wet” seeds inside fruits, like tomatoes and melons, are easier in damp climates.) Inside a tunnel the hotter air can hold more water without causing damp plants. Also, the hoophouse plastic provides a partial physical barrier to prevent cross-pollination.

My main experience with growing seed crops in a hoophouse is with legumes in high summer. We have three crop seasons in our hoophouse: winter crops planted in the fall, early warm weather crops planted in March and April, and high summer crops planted in July. Summer crops can only be in the ground from mid-July (at the earliest) to early November (at the latest) to fit in between our important spring/early summer crops and our equally important winter crops.

An early squash or cucumber crop (if still healthy) could be kept on for seed, once outdoor plantings are supplying plenty of food crops, as Clif Slade does with okra (see page 166). Beet and chard seed growing could become an important opportunity for organic growers outside of the US Northwest, now that those crops are threatened with contamination by pollen from genetically modified sugar beets there. Here’s a trick of beet-seed growing: if you cut off the first tall stems that grow, many more flower stems will develop and they will be shorter — two advantages. A surprise third benefit is the wonderful smell of the flowers.

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