LOL, sorry for being away from here lately, some work and family issues have been taking more than their share of my time.
I have photos to get off my camera and post, but will say that the hoophouses are proving to be quite winter-worthy -- we've had a couple of pretty good snowstorms now, about 8 inches of snow each time and some high winds with the first, and all is well with the structures. I did use a couple of 2x4 boards for a little extra support in each one to help distribute the weight of the snow until it would slide off as the temperature warmed up inside.
My one disappointment with these is that the covers seem to already be deteriorating from the sunlight, so apparently they were not UV protected after all. My plan in the spring is to fasten some wooden framing to the outsides of the ends so that I can fasten some regular plastic over the frames to replace the covers. I didn't expect the covers to last forever, but would have thought I'd get a couple of seasons from them. I actually haven't ventured out through the snow for the last week or so to check inside, but did harvest some very nice lettuce a couple of weeks ago, after having some pretty bitter weather (in the 20s and high teens) -- it was actually some of the best leaf lettuce I've ever had from the garden, very crisp and tender. There still is chard and more lettuce and mache that may or may not be still usable, will have to get out there and shovel the snow away from the doors to find out! I believe that the chard, even if it dies back, will likely grow back up once the weather starts getting warmer, as I had some plants overwinter in the main part of the garden last year.
Happy holiday wishes to everyone!
Sandy
