The Hot Pepper

That and I'm also tempted to (if available) rent or (if necessary) purchase a nice-sized roller to level and flatten the soil out before re-applying the weed-control fabric.

do you plan on keeping these plants alive or doing new ones next year?

I plan on keeping them alive as long as I possibly can

i know you are south. but you need them wrapped in shade cloth. build a structure,or have one built. a shade house. not a green house,but a shade house.

you will not keepthem alive next year unless they are protected.

OK, I'll look into it, thanks, sic

no! you can do this. et some friends to help and you can put this up in a day or two.you will go 12x48.

thats only 8 posts and 16? 2x6. then 300 dollars in shade cloth,maybe?

these structures are built in 12 frames. if you add the tree feet to make it 15 you lose over a foot on the inside then two feet outside the structure.

http://www.teksupply.com/contractor/supplies/prod1;ts_agriculture_growing-ts_greenhouses_accessories-ts_hobby_greenhouses-ts_weathershield_flower_canopies_2;pg104458_104463.html

I found this gem that is about in the dimensions I would need, 15 feet by 40 feet. It'll set me back about $1,300, but I'm sure I can fit it into the budget somehow :)

I did some more precise measuring, sic, and it comes out to about 15'x45', so yeah, that's what I'm working with as far as dimensions right now. Hope that helps. I did see that Home Depot has some shade cloth available, which I will probably get if I can't put together the scratch for the greenhouse I found...

go 12 x 36 then. home depot also will have the wood. i would shop around for the shade cloth. i promise you if you canyt go the full 12 foot jump on dimensions its not worth it to do.

Sounds good. I'll look into it some more. Thanks again, sic

if you want to get real real. you come help me build another shadehouse on my property. ill give you my extra shade cloth actually might be enough to do yours?

and ill get you a good deal on the lumber you need.

Oh, and one other thing I forgot... This area does get naturally shaded in the afternoon, especially after around 2 PM or so, because of it's positioning on the east-end of the house, so I don't know if that makes any kind of a difference in doing any kind of overhead shading...

Sounds like a plan sic. I've got Sunday's and Monday's off, so let me know when is good for you...

we are not worried about sun and shade. what we are worried about is frost,wind and temps.

in florida you control that with a shade house.

then you can build a small greenhouse inside of it. and controll year round germanation.

Ironically, the fact I live so close to the ocean (I live 300 yards from the beach) may work in my favor, since I literally cannot remember ever even once having frost anywhere around here. Plus, the seabreeze rarely goes above 2-3 MPH, and my existing plants have handled any sudden gusts and storms with zero problem. The area I just tilled would be even more protected, since from the west, the whole house would protect it from the wind, and from the east, it would slow down signficantly beca...