The Year-Round Hoophouse: Polytunnels for All Seasons and All Climates - Paperback

by Pam Dawling (Author)

Growing in hoophouses reduces the impact of increasingly unpredictable climate on crops, mitigates soil erosion, extends growing seasons, and strengthens regional food supply. The Year-Round Hoophouse teaches how to site, design, and build a hoophouse and successfully grow abundant produce all year in a range of climates.

Back Jacket

Design and build a hoophouse or polytunnel, and grow abundant produce year-round in any climate

I can think of no better introduction to the world of protected growing. --Andrew Mefferd, publisher, Growing for Market

Growing in hoophouses - also known as high tunnels or polytunnels - reduces the impact of an increasingly unpredictable climate on crops, mitigates soil erosion, extends the growing season and keeps leafy greens alive through the winter, enablling growers to supply more regional food needs.

With The Year-Round Hoophouse, best-selling author Pam Dawling brings a comprehensive guide to designing and building a hoophouse and making a success of growing abundant, delicious fresh produce all year, whatever your climate and land size. Chapters include:

• Hoophouse siting, size, style, frame construction, and tools
• Bed layout, soil, crop rotations, and extensive coverage of various crops for all seasons
• Organic solutions to pests and diseases
• Disaster preparation
• Tested resources for each chapter.

The Year-Round Hoophouse is ideal for growers who wish to move into protected growing, as well as beginners in both rural and urban spaces. It is an essential reference resource for professors and students of courses in sustainable agriculture, and for interns and apprentices learning on the job.

... a must-read for anyone looking to enhance the resilience of their garden or farm. --Laura Lengnick, author, Resilient Agriculture

Pam's experience in high tunnel growing really shows in her details on crop production. Overall, a great addition to any farm family's library. --Chris Mullins, Extension Specialist, Greenhouse and Specialty Crops, Virginia State University

Pam Dawling has been farming and providing training in sustainable vegetable production in a large variety of climates for over 40 years. She writes and speaks widel, including weekly at sustainablemarketfarming.com and monthly on the Mother Earth News Organic Gardening Blog, and is a contributing editor with Growing for Market magazine. For 25 years Pam was the manager of Twin Oaks community farm in Virginia, which feeds the 100 community members year-round. Pam is also the author of the best-selling Sustainable Market Farming. She lives and grows at Twin Oaks in Louisa, Virginia.

Author Biography

Pam Dawling has been farming and providing training in sustainable vegetable production in a large variety of climates for over 40 years, 14 of which have been hoophouse growing. Pam's first book is the best-selling Sustainable Market Farming: Intensive Vegetable Production on a Few Acres. Pam is a contributing editor with Growing for Market magazine, has written articles and information sheets for various biological farming publications, and is a popular speaker on growing vegetables at sustainable agriculture conferences and events each year. She blogs weekly at sustainablemarketfarming.com and monthly on the Mother Earth News Organic Gardening Blog. Pam does consultancy work for new and beginning farmers, and for 25 years was the manager of Twin Oaks community farm in Virginia, which feeds the 100 community members year-round. She lives and grows at Twin Oaks in Louisa, Virginia.