Extend Your Growing Season With a Hoop House

In this episode of the Essential Cooking podcast, Tomm Becker of Nifty Hoops and Sunseed Farm joins Ann Delisi and Chef James Rigato to talk about the benefits of hoop houses for home food growers.


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Courtesy of Tomm Becker
Courtesy of Tomm Becker

Spring is officially here in Michigan, and that means home gardeners are doing what they can to ensure a bountiful harvest this summer and fall.

But, there is one addition to the backyard garden operation that can extend the growing season into the winter — the hoop house.

Tomm Becker uses hoop houses to grow vegetables for his farm, Sunseed Farm, but also builds and installs them for home food growers with his company, Nifty Hoops.

The arched frame of a hoop house has a translucent cover that keeps heat and moisture inside, providing an improved growing environment for the home gardener.

With that added protection and warmth, crops that might normally stop producing food in the fall could produce into December.

In this episode:

  • What is a hoop house?
  • Extending the growing season for home food growers
  • Optimizing your yard for a hoop house
  • Controlling the pH level of your soil

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Author

  • David Leins is a Podcast Coordinator and Producer at WDET. He also oversees the StoryMakers program. When he isn't making radio and podcasts, David is probably on a hike somewhere marveling at the trees.