gardening - Making

Hoop House

It was a big weekend of gardening here at LivingSmall. The temperatures were in the mid- to high-fifties, and so I decided to see if I can jumpstart the season a little bit. I’m deathly tired of eating other people’s vegetables. I want greens of my own again.

So I built a little hoop house over one of my beds. I bought four ten-foot lengths of 1/2 inch pvc pipe, and since wind is a perennial problem here, I ran one lengthwise, with the other three crosswise. I planted some arugula, spinach, Japanese mustard, mache, and escarole — just half-rows for now. I’m waiting on a bunch of Asian vegetable seeds that I ordered last week, and I thought I’d try succession planting as well.

I watered everything, covered it up, and now I’m resisting going out to peek. Nothing would have happened since yesterday. I know that. I’m a grownup. I’ve been gardening for a while. But I still want to go peek. Sigh. Here’s hoping we have greens in a couple of weeks.

I'm a writer and editor based in Livingston, Montana. I moved to Livingston from the San Francisco Bay area in 2002 in search of affordable housing and a small community with a vibrant arts community. I found both. LivingSmall details my experience buying and renovating a house, building a garden, becoming a part of this community. It also chronicles my efforts to rebuild my life after the sudden death of my younger brother, and closest companion, Patrick in a car wreck.