We use all sorts of row covers and hoop materials. My favorite was probably the 20 or so trapper's skin stretchers I bought for a dime apiece at a yard sale; just the right size and shape for a small hoop house row cover, with a dollop of poetic justice on top.

My goal is to try the method described in the Maine-based Johnny's Selected Seeds catalog starting on page 180. I like most of the methods used by Elliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch http//www.fourseasonfarm.com/