When we bought our little house in May 2007, we had many plans, the way you do when everything seems "doable". We imagined we would keep the projects small-scale, have endless resources and energy, and accomplish anything we set our minds to.
One thing that was obvious to both of us, was our need to find a way to better utilize our south-facing back yard, which was 20% garden and trees, 30% pavement and 50% grass.
While waiting for inspiration, we set about planting perennials in any bare garden spots, and watched to see how things grew everywhere else for the rest of 2007.
Inspiration came the following February in the form of a snowy dinner visit to
Orchard Hill Farm. Accompanying Martha as she "shopped" for salad greens, we found ourselves in their hoop house, snow banked-up outside the plastic walls, the earth inside warm with sprouting greens. This truly was one of those "I can do that" moments; we were both shocked and motivated.
In the following months, supported by Ken, Martha and Michelle, and armed with information (and precedents) from
Eliot Coleman and his Four Season Farm in Maine, (a location which shares our longitudinal growing zone) we planned and dreamed of our own winter garden.
The hoop house concept is simple;1) take an existing garden
2) add one air-tight, structure to contain the sun's warmth
and PRESTO-MAGICO!
3) enjoy your winter garden
Growth during the winter months will slow considerably, and the plants will eventually have to be covered within the hoop house, with blankets of row cover cloth (which we got at
Lee Valley), but we should be able to have fresh greens and herbs well into the new year.
Of course, that's all theory.
I was incredibly naive in my assumption that
if I could design an enclosed garden, then I could also build it, believing I was designing for engineering/construction-challenged folks like Robin and myself.
Fortunately, in stepped Lisa just when I would have despaired.
Apart from the end walls which had to be framed, and the door which had to actually open and close, I also hadn't taken into consideration the pitch of our yard for which I would have to compensate structurally.
Wind and snow loads will be tricky, and where were my yards and yards of triple-mix top soil coming from?
So, Lisa and her trailer were working overtime; we were even working by her headlights a few times.
Within days of having completed the structure, we had ordered our seeds from
William Dam Seeds, which arrived in a few days and Robin was busy getting everything into the ground. One week later things were sprouting and we've been enjoying fresh mixed greens, arrugula, spinach, beet greens and cilantro.
Soon to come will be the radishes, kale and chard. We're also hoping to over-winter our rosemary, tarragon and thyme which would normally die off.
Thanks to Laura as usual and Dan for the use of his post-pounder (did I mention the re-bar used to structural support?), to Ken and Martha for all their support and wisdom, and to Michelle for showing how she "hoops" it.
And of course, to Lisa the Tool Girl for her unwavering faith that anything can be fixed with a Dewalt or a Sawsall.
Frankie says "
beets - yuck"
Helping our friend Michelle at Fairmeadow Farm as she assembled her really big 20 by 100 foot hoop-house, was a good trial-run for our own hoop-house construction, though we could put 10 of covered gardens under her roof, with plenty of room to navigate!).
Not long after erecting the cover, inside and out her crops looked sumptuous, as if carved out of marzipan, obediently lined into their rows, patiently waiting for harvest. 
We've had two Fairmeadow Farm pick-ups to date and thank goodness we're proceeding with work on our cold cellar.
