2021 Tomato Outdoor Grow Space Experiment

Last year, I created a grow space for my tomatoes with PVC and while it did work, it had its issues, such as unstable roof when it rained really hard, not much inside space and, fully facing the south it got too hot too easily. Last fall, the strong winds from the east totally disassembled the poor structure. Another draw back is that I had dug holes to drop the 5-gallon buckets into, only to have gophers/moles dig right up to the base of the buckets, and when I watered, the buckets drained way too fast and didn't hold the water as I expected them to do.  This first photo is last year's attempt at a tomato space

So, this time, on the west side of the greenhouse, we are using the rafters of the greenhouse to anchor the top portion of the repurposed 1/2 inch PVC arches. (See arrow near top of photo below.)  I had used the PVC arches as part of the "Hoop Coop" that we originally built for the turkeys a whole lotta years ago. We had to tear down the coop this spring because of mold/mildew issues. We did salvage some portions, like the wire, PVC, the sliding door and the treated wood base.  In order to get more PVC to match up with the current arch, I tied a couple 10' long pieces of PVC so that they will also match the arch. (See last photo below for arching technique that I use.) It will take a few days in the sun/weather to get the PVC to hold this particular arch shape. Then we can use them for the tomato space. Otherwise, the three arches that we currently have will not be strong enough for the overall space (approx. 5' x 8.5'). 

The nice thing about half inch PVC is that it is relatively flexible but sturdy for these types of projects. (See arrows near the center of the photo above for examples.) It fits easily over the 5' ceramic dowels that we drove into the ground to use as support for the vertical PVC pieces. These dowels are also called Fiber Rod Posts.  

The tall wall of clear plastic that we currently have in installed is 60" tall and wide (5'x5'). I used PCV T-connectors on the two base corners so that the PVC would slip over the ceramic supports that are pounded several feet into the ground. These skinny fiber poles/dowels are way stronger than wood, they are a little flexible, and they rarely break. So when the North wind hits this "clear plastic wall" it will lean/sway a bit, but should hold up. We need the wall to hold up to at least 50 mph winds without falling apart. Then, in the fall, I can take this wall down and store it inside the greenhouse. This wall will get the majority of the strongest winds that whip in from the north side of our house and should mostly protect the arched roof/cover that faces the west. 

The stronger of the two of us pounded two-foot deep holes into the ground using a big round heavy iron rod (aka digging bar) so as to create enough space to drop the PVC arches into. To retain the holes' integrity, we bought some cheap 1" (inside diameter) PVC to use for support/braces that the half-inch PVC can easily slip inside. We slipped the 1" PVC with caps into the ground (caps in the ground) so that dirt would not fill back in from pounding them into the existing holes we had created. Wheee. This was probably the hardest part of the project. We will just need to be careful to keep them covered so that they don't fill in with dirt when we don't have the arches in place. (An empty "1-inch PVC hole" is in the photo below on the left side.) In other words, we want this to all be portable/removable. We want to be able to remove the majority of the space during the winter and early spring months so that the plants we do have growing in the greenhouse during that time gets to full benefit of the sun. 

We also took some left over 1" PVC lengths and attached those to the side of the rafter overhangs with clips (omega clips) to slip the arched half-inch PVC into. (See arrow near the top of the first photo above.) The next question is to figure out if we need to drill a hole and put a pin through the two pieces of PVC to keep the wind from pulling them out. We can experiment to see when we are closer to being done. I need to get the other arches in place first. 

Over the next few days, the tied arch of the two 10' long pieces will need to become established so that we can add them to this project. 

The final thing I want to do is to make a little gate on the south side so that I have easy access into the area to water and care for the tomatoes. That will be similar to the north wall. Not as tall, and I will need for it to swing open and have the ability to fasten it closed for windy days. The gate will be part of a short wall to protect the plants from the winds from the South. 

I'll take more photos as we get closer to finishing. I hope to have it done by this weekend so that I can get my tomatoes out of the greenhouse and into the growing space.  PS - the strawberry buckets are there to hold the tarps in place on the ground to help kill grass/weeds until we decide what to put down on the ground. 

Update 5-23-21

We now have all the arches attached. We needed to use pins to stop the arches from popping out at the top of the two supports towards the south side. The rest seem to be secure in place. The wind from the south would blow in and billow out the tarp, pulling out the PVC, causing the area to get wet because of the gap between the greenhouse overhang, and the edge of the tarp. But, the space is mostly done.  Still need to finish up the area on the southside, but the gate is in place and for now there is semi-clear plastic tarp about 4 feet tall on the south side.  There are not photos of the south gate in these. 

Looking in from the south of the area, you can see the sun screen is in place up to about 3 feet on the west side with the clear plastic that is attached over it. That way the air can still flow through the fabric with less chance of mildew starting. I put four of my eight tomato plants in to start this going. Strawberries are still in there holding down the plastic on the ground. 

From the north, where we usually get the strongest winds, we can easily see inside so that we can quickly check on the growing conditions without having to go inside to figure it out. The south side will not have the super clear plastic. We can easily throw a shade onto the west side, as needed if the sun becomes too intense and on dry days, we can take the clear plastic off the top. We will have options based on weather condtions.  

If you open up this last photo, you can see the rain is dripping from the greenhouse overhang onto the plastic and drizzling down the plastic tarp. For now, I think it will work.  But, time will give us more scenarios that we will need to think through and fix, or start over. 

If the space stays, I'll purchase some of those white clips designed for PVC so that it doesn't look so goofy with all the black binder clips. These binder clips are a lot less expensive and we use them for a lot of things. 

Latest Update 5-28-21

I have had some of the tomatoes in the grow area this past week and they seem fine.  I pulled out the hodge podge of tarps that I had on the ground and replaced them with a roll of vinyl weed block that is woven so that the water can easily drain through after I water the plants. It should also help to keep the ground warm for growing purposes. Today is the first day in a while without the really strong winds and  rain. 

Yesterday, the south access gate was blown apart by the winds.  Hammered the corners onto the PVC pipes better. Fingers crossed.  No other structural damage per se except that the wind did blow off a few of the black metal clips flipping them as far as eight feet away from the enclosure.  We think we found all of them. We had a few gusts of about 35mph yesterday, and the enclosure truly did hold up pretty well, except for the gate.  We are experimenting with a few bungee clips attached to a support rod, to try to keep the gate closed on windy days. Will probably need to do some more experiments with that since it does look very secure. But will keep working on finding a solution for the gate. 

The access gate, from the south side, is taller then the wind block on the west side.  The reason for the taller gate is more to keep rain and wind out as most of our wind comes at us from the SW. Hopefully, it is tall enough to accomplish that. 

Today, we rolled up the clear plastic on the top so that the plants can get "air" and unfettered sun. We did leave the wind block on the lower half of the west facing area because we have gotten a few 20 mph gusts today. 

All in all, floor space wise, there is more than 40 square feet.  We should have enough space to put in a couple more tomato buckets and several of our larger bell pepper plants. The plants along the backside in the photos below are the strawberries, holding the ground cover in place next to the green house. 

The photo to the right is a different angle showing the wind block on the west side of the space, while the clear vinyl is rolled up to the top part of the PVC  arched pipes.

  The last two photos are photos of the ground cover in place, with tomato plants lined up getting some  sun and warmth in spite of the blustery winds. 

That appears to sum up our project thus far.