Not really a green house but I got them in 6 weeks early

[Tomatovator]

The first 8 plants went in 4/24/07. The rest a week or so later. I started with 7' post from HD. I also got the bamboo there and the fabric from WM. The first pic is from 4/24. The next is the bamboo frame and then the cover. I used clothes pins to secure it. The last pic is from today. The biggest plants are Marianna's Peace and Polish (Ellis) from Carolyn. The last 2 pics are of some of the fruits from MP amd Polish. Considering where I'm at in Zone 5/6 I think I'm about a month ahead of schedule. I fastened the bamboo to the postw with wire. I actually drilled through the bamboo, threaded the wire and fastened it to the posts. I reinforced them with wire ties. As they are forming a rigid frame the load on the uprights should not be able to pull them inwards. PS the pics may be out of order.

[dokutaaguriin]

Impressive little system you have rigged up for yourself!
Did you just pound the posts into the ground....as opposed to setting them in concrete?
What kind of spacing do you have on you plants?
Jeff

[Tomatovator]

I just pounded the posts in about 18". I will attach extensions to the tops when needed. They are 2' apart and 1 1/2' away from the wall. They back row of plants are between the posts, 2' apart. As an after thought I added the front 7 plants in front of the posts. They are mostly determinates or semi-deterinates so I hope the back row being all indeterminates will get a lot taller than them. A soaker hose is under the black mulch.

[dcarch]

Originally Posted by Tomatovator

The first 8 plants went in 4/24/07. ------------.

I think the concept of a removable greenhouse is the way to go for most people. I have proven this concept with my removable system also. I am way ahead for my zone 6. I put my plants in ground 4/1. Next year I will try 3/15.

In your case, I think there is a way to set things up using a combination of hooks, velcro, bungee cords, etc., so that you have everything reusable and a system you can setup/take down in less than 10 minutes. I took my system down in 7 minutes.

Thanks for sharing.

dcarch

[Tomatovator]

I don't know what is best for most people. I'll let them figure that out for themselves. I'm not trying to prove any concepts. I'm just sharing pictures of my setup. Everything is reuseable. It takes a very short time to assemble and the supports for the plants actually support the cover when the plants are too small to need them. The total cost for the cover and bamboo is less that $25.00. The posts were about $5.00 each. Way less expense than a greenhouse and much easier to store.

[bcday]

I was assuming that the cover was a plastic tarp, but you said fabric? What kind of fabric?

That looks like a neat idea!

[dcarch]

Tomatovator,

I had a terrible fungus problem past years. This year I have this removable greenhouse to get the plants in ground very early. As a result, they are very tall, healthy and bearing fruit now.

I am wondering, if you get your plants growing strong and established early, will your plants be so healthy that they will stay ahead of deceases much better?

dcarch

[Tomatovator]

BC It is frost protect fabric (I think the same stuff you use for row covers). It was like $8.00 a pack for a 25' X 4' piece from WM but other places sell it too.

DC My setup in no way would replace any type of greenhouse. It is just like a row cover (I think). It had no heating or cooling systems. The only reason I even built it was because my seedlings got too big too fast. I was going to be away from home for some time in May and no one was available to look after them or to cover them if there were a frost. I also had numerous leaf problems last season but mine were due to me knowing nothing about growing tomatoes. I planted some of them in the rain when it was cold and over-pruned them. So far this season I have healthy plants as well but I think it is because of a pretty good run of weather these last 3 weeks or so. I have also learned a lot from this and other gardening websites.

[mresseguie]

Tomatovator,

I particularly like the idea of using the posts to buttress the rest of the framework. That would work quite well in my garden next year. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to use heating cables or fresh horse manure. I have several sources for the manure, and I'm curious to see how well it works.

Decisions........

Thank you for posting.

[Tomatovator]

The biggest problem I had last year was getting enough air circulation behind the plants by the wall. Using the metal posts as uprights and bamboo as crossmembers makes it easier to keep the plants away from the wall. I've just been adding rows of bamboo as needed behind the growing stems. So far so good.