Exciting news from the P.e.a.c.h. Community Farm: Picture a large greenhouse that slides along rails so that it can be moved over different crops throughout the year. This allows for early season protection of hardy plants started in late winter. Later the greenhouse is moved off the early planting when the weather warms in order to start tender annuals early. Then once it is safe for the tender plants to grow uncovered, the greenhouse is moved over hardy annuals that are started uncovered in late summer to protect them as the weather cools.

 

The idea was recently made popular by Eliot Coleman who has modernized the old French concept of greenhouses on rails by using contemporary materials. He has experimented extensively with movable hoophouses in a modern, short-season organic farm environment. 

P.e.a.c.h. Community Farm has a contract under the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's Organic Initiative to build one such hoophouse and will demonstrate how a local grower can save thousands of dollars building a mobile hoophouse from scratch rather than buying a kit from a manufacturer.

The workshops will begin on Thursday, September 8th, 6-8pm with a lecture on the concept of movable hoophouses and the basics of the engineering. Saturday, September 17th, 8am-5pm: Leveling the ground
and installing the rails. Saturday, September 24th, 8am-5pm: Pipe bending and assembly of hoops. Saturday, October 1st, 8am-5pm: Framing of the hoophouse ends. The total cost for all four workshops is $150 and participants must preregister by contacting bryan@peachlocal.com or calling 509-216-9273.

---

---