Hoop houses

[reb]

I need to get my mind off all this snow, lets talk hoop houses. Early this spring I would like to make a small one using maybe electrical conduit for the bows and plastic from the hardware store. So my questions are, have you made your own, what worked, what didn’t? What would you change, do you have pictures, material lists?
Thanks,
Richard

[dominiquer60]

Do you plan on taking the plastic off for winters or leaving it on? There are many options depending on what your goals are.
Here is a place to start, be sure to scroll down there is a lot of info here http://attra.ncat.org/newsletter/attranews_0509.html#story2.
Erika

[near horse]

Here’s a couple of sites I saw a while back with hoophouse plans etc. – more on the greenhouse scale.

http://www.lostcreek.net

http://www.frugal-living-freedom.com/build-your-own-greenhouse.html

I thought I had more – better search my bookmarks again.

FOUND ‘EM!

http://blog.bolandbol.com/2010/05/12/600-movable-hoop-house-details-pictures-and-cost-analysis/

http://www.northerngreenhouse.com/ideas/how_to/trench.htm

http://www.albertahomegardening.com/an-inexpensive-hail-proof-pvc-pipe-greenhouse/

[reb]

Thank you, I haven’t had a chance to read through all the sites yet but this is a great start.
Richard

[OldKat]

reb,

When I was in high school or maybe my first year of college my dad built a greenhouse using 2.0″ schedule 40 PVC pipe that he had painted with charcoal gray enamel paint (for UV protection). He had sunk some larger PVC pipe, maybe 3.0″ or so, in the ground where each bow would anchor and we built a frame of plywood that was sunk maybe 1&1/2 feet in the ground and was about 8 to 10″ above grade. The larger pipe was centered in this form. We used rebar and concrete wire for reinforcement & poured ready mix to the top of the form and screed it smooth. It was probably 8 inches wide. When the concrete set we pulled the form up.

Then he put a plug in one end of the pipe and we ran hot water in it. Can’t remember how we heated the water, but it was very hot … nearly boiling, I think. We then plugged the other end as well. We took ropes and made a half hitch about 18″ from each end and pulled the ends towards each other & bowed the pipe over the top of frame that he had built for that purpose. We tied off the end of each rope to the other leg and right before we slipped the pipe in the larger pipe we pulled the plugs and released the water. It was cool to the touch by then. When the pipe was in its anchor we would put a screw through both pipes to hold them in place. We covered this with corrugated plastic sheating running horizontal to the ground. He framed the ends end with treated 2 x 4’s and we covered it with the same corrugated sheating. We used screws with a rubber washer under the head like you would use to attach sheet metal to a roof purlin. He framed in two windows on the back side and set a storm door in the front.

My father died in 1979 and the greenhouse was 6 or 7 years old by then. About 5 years ago or so I removed the sheating and hauled the bows to my sister and brother in law, who reused them in a greenhouse they were building. The sheating was brittle by then and was scrap. The concrete frame was a bear to break up though. I’d say his design was pretty durable overall though.

[Rod]

I built one two years ago from 3/4″ electrical conduit with 1/2″ rebars slid in side. Two conduits glued together are 20′ long, same as a rebar length so I cut 16″ off the conduit exposing 8″ of rebar at each end. These were pushed through holes in my base timbers and into the ground at 4′ oc. I taped conduit perlins in on the side and ridge and built wood ends with doors in them. The frame was covered with greenhouse plastic and made a 10×20 foot house 6′ high.
The idea came from a Small Farmers Journal which suggested bracing the centers with temporary poles in the winter for snow load which I did not do and partially lost the structure this winter although in did make it through last years winter. I plan to rebuild it this year and either take the plastic off next winter or try the temporary braces.
It is very handy for extending our season for tomatoes, lettuce chard etc and grows great peppers. We also started our beets in it and this year were going to do more plant starting there. Last fall I covered the whole garden with 6″ of mulch hay and plan to use the “Ruth Stout” no work gardening method of continuous mulch this year. I wanted to have more transplants to work with because it seems to me that they would work better in this system.

[dominiquer60]

On the farm that I used to live and work at, we would build temporary hoop houses out of 20′ soft core schedule 40 PVC. This length would cover 2 6′ beds with room to walk under the peak. We sere in sand, all we had to do was use an old post hole digger to dig a 1′ hole for each end of the pipe. We would stick one end in a hole and bend it right over to the corresponding hole on the other side and fill and tamp the holes full. Next we used nylon rope staked at each end of the house to form a temporary ridge pole. We would drive 2′ rebar stakes along the sides, one between each hoop. We used both 1 year and 4 year greenhouse plastics on our houses, and I know of some folks using floating row cover for some applications. Once the plastic was on, we secured it with nylon rope from stake to stake between each hoop. The result looks like a giant segmented worm, so we call them caterpillars. To vent the sides we just lift the plastic up and hold it in place with clamps. If we wanted to secure the sides we shovel soil onto the edge of plastic. These were simple, easy and cheap as far as hoop houses go, sometimes they lasted through the winter, sometimes they didn’t, if there is any doubt the plastic can be taken off for the winter.

The hoop houses that we have at the farm now are all metal hoops and either purchased used, or in the case of our 30×96 purchased new.

This is just one way to do it, I hope you find an idea on this thread that helps you toward finding what works for you.

Be Well,
Erika

[blue80]

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/farm-industry-news/2009/12/28/hoop-house-funding.aspx

NRCS program to cost share hoop houses if you are interested.

[near horse]

One design that I liked was in small farmers journal – maybe it was Nordell’s – used rebar and PVC and braced solid plywood ends, I think they used some lumber as the “footings” that rebar went through. At season’s end they would break them down and move to another area that had been planted with a green manure crop recently turned under.

One of those links I posted lists a jig for bending conduit – probably can make one that would work fine.

[Oxbow Farm]

I know this is an old thread but we’ve gone pretty hardcore into hoophouses. I can definitely recommend the lostcreek bender. We’ve been making a gothic arch style house with it combined with a homemade bender I cobbled up to make the peaks. I’ll attempt to add a pic from this fall when we had several under construction. They are about 16′ by 48′ and about 9 ft at the peak.

[Andy Carson]

Good idea on using the Gothic arch! It’s substantially stronger than the circular arch, and now that i’ve seen I am wondering why so many people use the semi-circle, other than that is easy to make. Supposedly, the inverted catenary arch is the strongest free standing arch, but they might be hard to bend. Again, good idea to think about the basic shape of the hoop. More food for thought in the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch

[near horse]

I guess it depends on whether you want to leave the greenhouses up all winter. Nordell’s have a nice plan, not gothic arch but they take them down each winter. Here’s an interesting source for ideas and materials. They’re in Manitoba I think so winter’s no stranger to them.

http://www.northerngreenhouse.com/

[dominiquer60]

I helped put together a Ledgewood Farm high tunnel, it was 30′ x 96′. I really like it and the slope of it helps shed the snow without putting pressure on the sides like a round house. http://ledgewoodfarm.com/pricinginformation.html. When I get settled someday, I am certainly getting one or two of these bad boys! The one that I helped put up came with excellent customer service, was well measured and pre-drilled which made assembly much easier than others that I have been involved with.

Erika

[Theloggerswife]

We put up a Ledgewood frame last year. It was used and I found it on Craiglist. The price was very reasonable compared to a new out of the box frame. One thing I like about this type of frame is the ability to roll the side up slightly or all the way up depending on how much air flow is desired. Only basic tools are needed to erect the frame. I cannot wait to get in there planting some seeds again! I’m hoping a picture is attached….

[PhilG]

I am planing on building one like this in the spring, do you think all the log poles will block to much sun ?

[Author]

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