$12 DIY Garden Row Covering
I heard snow was in the forecast... after I had planted spinach seeds and seen only a few sprouts. My assumption for the lack of sprouts was that the soil just isn't that warm yet. But what do I know, this is all new to me.
I peeked at low tunnels and hoops for gardens and man, they can get pricey. So, I opened my trusty Pinterest for a search. DIY garden hoop. And viola. Someone made a hoop house out of dollar tree hula hoops and leftover plastic drop cloth.
I thought we had drop cloth left from painting. And I know the dollar tree currently has hula hoops. Worth a try! We already had a few hoops, some big and some small, so we checked to see which size would best cover the garden. Turns out even the large hoop was too small.
This is where my incredibly resourceful husband comes in to the story. He offers, "Why don't I just go out to the woods and take a few saplings down to make hoops." "Thanks babe, that'd be perfect! Also, could you do it tonight?"
When I arrived home from my dentist appointment and errand running, he had hoops in place ready for a drop cloth to be laid over them. I had stopped at Walmart for a $10 drop cloth (turns out the one we had wasn't large enough). We draped the drop cloth over the hoops, moving all the extra material towards the side nearest the house. We, then, secured all the edges down with rocks. We added Dollar Tree garden clips on one end, as that's where the wind tends to hit most.
I'm eager to see how long this holds up, and how the plants do with it. I was a little nervous when I realized it's less see through than I expected. However, a quick search online and most row covers aren't so clear either. I have wishful thinking that if it can warm the soil up a bit my spinach might get a better start as well.
As we journey into new ventures, let us always remember. When we believe everything has to be done a certain way, we limit the possibilities of what we’re able to create. When we’re resourceful, we can create all kinds of new things. Even things we thought we’d have to otherwise do without. We always have the option to choose to perceive things a different way. Why not open up our possibilities instead of limiting ourselves?
Happy gardening. Hope your plants survive this spring snowfall!
- Jess
After I was home to watch kids, he ventured deeper into the woods to find more saplings. He added a few more hoops after this photo.
Our (almost) finished product. After this we added garden clips on the far side to make sure the drop cloth stayed secure. It can get pretty windy on the hill.
