I've been trying to come up with a way to make an inexpensive hoop house in order to grow some salad in the winter time. I thought about the standard PVC etc. but I wanted to use something I already had since I didn't know if it would work or not. Someone told me to use fence panels. They're stiff but bend into a half circle easily. I put up three of them and put raided beds inside and covered them with plastic. I've got them planted and now to see if anything comes up. John

That sounds interesting. What're the fence panels made of? Where did you get them? Hardware store?

probably the cheapest and easiest thing to do (I assume you are not growing for market but for personal use) is make a strawbale cold frame by putting 4 bales together so they form a square with a empty center (where the salad greens will go). Now ou can either fill the square with soil of plants the greens in flats and put those in the cold frame to grow.

If you want a hoophouse you can walk into I would caution against using PVC. it is not strong, is not UV stable and will destroy greenhouse plastic (do not use anything else. non UV stable plastic last at best 6 months before turning into confetti which will get into your organic soil.

Check out my website (URL In signature) on there you will find a link to the hoophouse page where I have a pictoral on how to build a 20' x 50' hoophouse for under $350 and using no power tools.

On the other hand, pvc piping, cut in three inch lengths with the center cut out of one side of the tube can make great clamps to hold your plastic on to your piping.

Joh, I don't know where you're located, but I have found that I need to start my winter salad greens in early September. By the time the days are as sort as they are now, nothing grows--it's really the amount of daylight rather than the cold weather, though that does, of course, play a part. I sow cress, mache (corn salad), Erbette chard, and a winter lettuces like Red Salad Bowl and North Pole or Winter Marvel. My "greenhouse" consists of metal hoops, about two feet high in the middle over a four foot bed. I use translucent plastic that I weight down with rocks. I eat from this simple set up all winter, and the best part is that as the days lengthen, vigourous, fresh new lettuce starts to grow from the cut stumps of the head lettuce types--the North Pole or Winter Marvel. This provides lettuce until the spring crop comes in.

Unless you are using a UV stable plastic like Tufflite which is the norm with greenhouses/hoophouses. PVC reacts with this kind of plastic and melts it.

So if you are using greenhouse plastic don't use PVC.

You're kidding! Just using pvc as a clamp will cause a chemical reaction? Wow. I'm glad you told me...is it all pvc, or just the yellowish kind that is supposed to be used outdoors?

I am not kidding. All PVC reacts badly with UV stable greenhouse plastic (and probably nonUV stable plastic but that plastic will breakdown long before the PVC/plastic reaction gets outta hand). If PVC is touching the plastic it will react.

PVC is meant for plumbing, not construction

PVC will leach polyvinyl chloride into your soil

PVC will break down in sunlight after 3 to 5 years, metal conduit will last decades and not leach suspect chemicals into your soil.

I think using the fence panels is a great idea. It would be insanely easy to do, and you could probably have enough room to stand up inside of it. I think it will work just fine.

Well, ohioorganic, thank you for solving a mystery. I couldn't figure out why the plastic was tearing so fast. My DH came up with an idea...he put some scraps of cloth between the pvc clamps and the plastic. I hope it works.

I purchased a hoop bender from Johnny's and made a bunch of hoops out of 1/2" EMT galvanized tubing today.


I used Agribon 19 row cover and plan on green house plastic over that for the winter. I'm pleased with the results and am going to over winter two rows of spinach.

I have a hoop house chicken run, using cattle panels covered with hardware cloth. It does not hold up well under ice and snow loads here in Maine without propping it up with poles underneath. Don't know where you're located but something to consider.

The garden hoop house, which I'll be covering soon, is made of 20' concrete rebar covered with 3/4" pex tubing to keep the ridges on the rebar from cutting through the plastic. The pex is not well suited for exposure to sunlight but I get lots of short waste pieces from work and can relace it every year if required. To clamp it at the ends, I'm using lengths of heavy PVC with pieces of bicycle inner tubes between the clamp and the film.

By the way, I saw the hoop bender at Johnny's booth at the Common Ground Fair and it works great. Two sizes, a small one for mini-hoops to cover beds and (I believe) a 6' diameter for the hoop house.

Wayne

So you have a enclosed chicken yard under plastic?

quote:

Originally posted by Mrs. K-og:
So you have a enclosed chicken yard under plastic?

No, it's covered with hardware cloth. Still, the ice and snow builds up on it.

Right now it's covered with a tarp and the rabbits have been living under it for the summer. The bunnies have to move inside soon since snow is imminent and the tarp has to come off.

Wayne

Both the 4' and 6' bender can be used for bed covers using 1/2" EMT. You can use the 6' bender and bigger diameter EMT for walk in hoop houses.

Here is one row I put in yesterday.