It's 7 degrees...

We got a couple inches of snow last night... but now it's 7 degrees.

this photo taken last year... 

Somehow my little hoop house is staying warm in the 30s!

16 degrees outside...

Oh my gosh, it's 6:45 am and pitch black here in northern Wyoming... and it is COLD out there!!!!  It's 18 degrees Fahrenheit!  There's even a dusting of snow on the ground!

The hoop house experiment continues!!!
I'm going to see how long I can grow greens in my little 4x4 hoop house!

But in my little hoop house... it's a cozy 37.2 degrees!  Yeah!
It only took:
-styrofoam sheets on the north & west sides
-jugs of water to collect & retain warmth
-Christmas lights on the soil around the plants
-a work light hanging from the supports
-a light cover on the plants inside the dome
-and... a sleeping bag covering the outside of the dome!

I'll go check on the plants later today when it hopefully warms up a bit!

For more information on having your own backyard hoop house, here's a nice article that I just read on the Mother Earth News website.    (link added to my Reference list)

Hoop House Drastic Measures...

Greetings on this chilly night...

The hoop house had gotten down to 29.5 degrees... and it's on it's way down into the teens.

The Hoop House before I covered it with a sleeping bag!

So I hurried outside (NOT properly dressed mind you) and...
-Turned ON the work light & Christmas lights that are inside my hoop house.
-Then covered my plants with a tent tarp.
-And on the outside over the plastic covering, I placed a sleeping bag.

All that done... my hoop house is up to 35.4!

Hope it's OK tonight... my arugula seems kind of crispy...

It's going to be BELOW zero (Fahrenheit) at night in a couple days.  

Harvested Arugula from the hoop house

Greetings gardening blogger friends!

The weather has indeed turned nippy here in northern Wyoming...  we're heading into a chill that will give us teens for a high... and below zero temps at night... burrr...

Temperatures...
inside the hoop house at 2pm (overcast): 51 degrees
outside 32 degrees

Notes from the hoop house...
My arugula just keeps growing and growing!  Had to give it a haircut today!
I harvested a bowl of these zippy greens for my vegetable beef stew!

Vegetable beef stew...
Tonight is "friends over for supper" night... so I'm trying something fun!  Bread bowls filled with steamy and nutritious vegetable beef stew!  Into the stew go those spicy greens!

Vegetable Beef Stew with Arugula greens

It's snowing...

It's almost 9pm on Sunday night as I write this post.  Snow is coming down with some accumulation.

It's 41.5 degrees in my hoop house and about 35 outside.

Hoop House Report...
The Arugula is growing like crazy on the West side of the hoop house.  I cut it back not too long ago.  It must really like 40 degree weather!  Anyone want some Arugula?  I've got enough to share!

I cut the rest of my radish micro greens for my husband's tuna sandwich today... Will need to reseed some more!!!

Can you say Burrrr?

A quick note to let you know that NO, I haven't frozen to death!

It's getting cold here in northern Wyoming.  The Indian Summer that we were so enjoying... gone...  a distant memory... sigh...

We even had snow flurries today!  That happened on my walk back from the post office.  I was so happy that I wore my country bumpkin rag wool hat and my fleece mitties!

It's getting cold!  The next few days will be in the 40s and in the teens (like 13 degrees!) during the night!  Burrr...

I will put a blanket over my cold frame and inside my hoop house!

30 Pounds of Green Beans

Greetings from northern Wyoming where Indian Summer continues....

Ah... if I could just "can" this awesome weather and preserve it for a below zero day this winter... wouldn't that be awesome?

Hoop House Report...
The hoop house has been cozy at night in the 40s.  My greens are doing well.  Really been enjoying the radish sprouts.

notice grasshoppers on either side of this pot... urghhhhh...

Look baby spinach leaves!!!!

Some of the seed that I planted is starting to sprout in the cold frame (just a 3x3'ish box with a window on top).

But... beginning Tuesday the high will be 40 and the low at night 20...  burr....

30 pounds of green beans...
I belong to a food co-op called Bountiful Baskets.  Their produce is fresh and sooo yummy!  We pick up our "share" on Saturdays.  I ordered a case... 30 pounds... of green beans.  I love green beans but I don't care for then commercially canned.  Someday I hope to grow enough green beans in my garden to can... but until then...

Monday afternoon I will dig out my pressure canner and get to work canning my beans!  But first... got to get my jars cleaned up!

Hoop House report 11/5/10

It's 41.0 degrees F in the hoop house this morning.

Update at 8am: I'm just back from dropping my son off at school.  I had no idea how cold it was outside!  My truck said 23 degrees F!  All the while my little hoop house is a cozy 41 degrees!  Yeah!

Yesterday was a sunny, beautiful, warm day in the 60s here in northern Wyoming.  I opened up the hoop house for a while in the afternoon.

Would you believe that I found a few grasshoppers in my hoop house?  I'm sure that they think that they've found paradise... of course that was until I found them...

Cold Frame #1 set up

I set up Cold Frame #1 today!  It was a beautiful sunny afternoon in the 60s here in northern Wyoming.

I'll be growing micro greens...

Cold Frame #1: will be growing micro greens... spinach, kale, peas, lettuce

 I put gravel in the box as well as some large rocks that were warm from the nice sunshine today.

Cold Frame #1 all cozied up for the night...

Then I covered the box up with my fish insulation topped with the window.

Wish me luck!

Hoop House Report 11/2/10

Hoop House report...
6am temperature in the hoop house: 48.3 degrees F.

I'm going to harvest more radish & sunflower greens this morning!  Some of the radish sprouts will go on my husband's tuna sandwich.... the rest... into my fruity green smoothie!

Cold Frame report...
I acquired 3 more windows yesterday for a total of 5 or 6...  Today I will set up one or two cold frames!

I plan to grow mostly micro greens in these two cold frames.  Micro greens are sprouts grown in soil till they're about 2 to 4 inches tall... then they're harvested for salads and in my case fruity green smoothies!