I’ve grown more attached to my little veggie garden recently. It’s done much better this fall than it did in the spring. I’m getting a few small red tomatoes every day, mainly off the “porter” and “momotaro” plants. The “homely homer” tomato has a ton of large green tomatoes on it, several of which are nearly red.
Unfortunately it’s starting to get pretty chilly, and a hard freeze could be just around the corner. It’s supposed to get down into the 30s tonight. How can I bear to let this fun end? I know I can ripen some tomatoes off the vine, but I’d like to keep them all going as long as possible. Since I had already built a frame around my raised bed using electrical conduit, I decided to take it one step further and make it into a mini-greenhouse!
I bought two rolls of 6 mil. clear painter’s plastic from Home Depot and attached it to the conduit frame using clothespins and big utility clips they sell for around $2 each.
It’s not pretty, and I am not certain of the outcome, but it should help extend my season a bit. I understand from talking with a couple others who’ve done this that the plastic shouldn’t touch the plants, as plastic conducts the cold and the plants will freeze. That may become a problem for me, as my plants tend to spill over the sides of the box.
The most awesome general resource on DIY greenhouses I’ve found thus far is the Gardenweb forum on the topic.
More great greenhouses I found online:
So many options!
