However, I am game for the questionnaire. I’m sure you’ll write an entertaining book on the subject, or, well, you should!

I’m preparing a book about hoophouses which will be published next spring. Would you mind awfully if I send you a copy of a questionnaire about how you use yours? If you’re ok with that drop me a line at hedgewizard1 at yahoo.co.uk, we’ll be sending them out in a couple of weeks.

Mia, I did the row covers the year before. It worked well, until the snow collapsed it! But it’s a reasonable alternative. I’m just a greens pig, so I got greedy.

Pattie: I know! I used to hate blue cheese. My mom told me I would finally be an adult when I started to like it. Adulthood set in at age 35. But I think with veggies there’s something odd that happens when they get old. Really fresh things? Dang, I will even eat a raw turnip out of the ground (and have).

CC: Pleased, yeah, but trying not to gloat. If you could see our snow you wouldn’t be able to help yourself either.

Chris, thanks for commenting! It’s great to hear from others who’re also experimenting too! But regarding the rodents: I had heard that voles were huge problems, and considering how many of them we have in the regular garden slash around the farm I was worried. So I buried a foot wide strip of 1/4″ hardware cloth all the way around the greenhouse between the baseboard and the pipes. Can I tell you what a pain that was to dig up? It was murder. But hey, I guess I can say it worked! I also worried about mice coming in from the building this thing butts into, so I put a ton of steel wool into every hole I could find. So far, no rodents (knock wood). I think the raised beds must help too: nothing at nibbling range unless they jump up for it. It’s funny: exactly what you’re describing is what I am making for my mobile chicken tractor for my meat birds this year.

This year, after devouring Elliot Coleman’s Four Season Harvest we decided to give it a whirl and build a tunnel for plants. I got most veggies started too late but I knew it would be an experiment. My question is “do you have any troubles with rodents and what do you do about it?” All my mache, spinach and lettuce is gone. My leeks have been topped. Boo. Hiss

One herb I am fantasizing about daily is Salad Burnet…or Burnette…or Burnat, depending… but oh, chopped with shallots over fresh slabs of tomato and drizzled with a bit of evoo and sprinkled with rock salt and cracked pepper? man. I can’t wait for summer.