If your tomatoes are spindly and blemished and your hot peppers never quite seem to get hot enough, consider growing your summer crops with a little extra help from the sun. Hoop houses, cold frames, and low tunnels all help heat loving plants grow huge, for a longer season, and produce more fruit with less imperfections.

Hoop houses (also known as high tunnels) are basically unheated greenhouses. At their simplest, they are frames covered in plastic to trap heat from the sun and boost plant's summer (or winter!) production. At their most complex, they can

have automatic ventilation, heat, multiple layers of frost protection in the winter, and so much more.

If you have the land and the motivation (or if you just have the land and need help with the motivation - check out KTDesignworks.com for landscape design solutions & service!), a hoop house is a great way to extend and expand your harvest season. If this option is a little daunting, try a cold frame (great for spring and fall crops) or low tunnel.

Katie Malloy
Retail Store Manager
KTDesignworks.com