I was reading about Rose using a swimming pool covers for her hoop house, and I thought I should share the saga of my hoop house with the world.My hoop house is made of 100% recycled materials, ( except for the cover). It started as........you won't believe this.... 2 discarded trampolines. The trampolines are actually 4 arcs each, which, when put together, form a circle.
The Master put 2 sections of arcs together to make a half circle. He cut the legs off, and inserted them in the ends of the half circle to give it some height. He did this 4 times.
The ribs are PVC, the really cheap kind that is used for sprinkler systems. All the pieces are held together with lengths of top rail from a chain link fence. We used 4 pieces of this, and bolted it all together with carriage bolts. A 2"x 6" board all along on either side of the bottom gives it more rigidity, and provides a place to anchor your covering.
Worth our time to put it together. Very reasonable to build, and it will last forever, I think. At least it will outlast me.
This is great for protecting plants in winter, but it is best as a shade house in summer. We lose more plants in summer heat than we do to winter freezes.
6 comments:
We never outgrow a need to have a place to 'play.' The new shape of old toys changes the activity.
I looked at those oversized plastic greenhouses that Sams Club had a couple years back that looked like overgrown child's playhouses and cost... too much. As slick as they were, I like homemade better.
When the sun shines, an inexpensive little polycarb 'glass house' or a plastic covered shelter makes a warm place to hang out. I hang out under trees in the summer. Never did get my outdoor shower hooked up.
Love your hoop house! I will be using agricultural water line pipe for the ribs of mine and will use "slabs" that remain from tree trunks that we cut into lumber. The slabs will go along the bottom. The front and back will be plywood covered with plastic to help hold some heat in spring/fall. We can't use a hoop house year round here due to frigid temps but I think it will be useful for starting seeds in early spring, cole crops in early spring and late fall and perhaps it will allow us to get a few more tomatoes from potted plants before we get a solid freeze in late fall.
It's hard to imagine the difference between our growing season and Rose's, if you're unfamiliar with the climates.
On, the other hand, I remember the lady in North Dakota who said, "I don't believe I could STAND to live where I couldn't see a long way." Our land is fairly flat, but our trees would get in her way. Not everybody loves a 'canopy road' the way I do.
That's a nice hoop house! I would have never imagined it started with trampolines.
Oh I remember your hoophouse, what is the material covering it ?
We are having an ice-covered day, I needed to come visit and see your pretty plants :)
That covering is called 'shade cloth'. It comes in varying degrees of shadiness. Some is darker than other. It is a good thing.
Jean, you need to get that shower set up. Nothin' like a shower out under the blue sky. Just be sure no planes or 'copters are about. Really, I love our shower.
The lady from North Dakota could come to Texas. She would be comfortable as all get out in West Texas. Flat as a flitter, and cold as a well digger in Montana. You can see lights from Sweet Water in San Angelo, it is so flat.
Somewhere out there is a place where you fall off the prairie. You are going along, on roads that are flat as a pancake, and all of a sudden, you are going down a hill that is straight down. It is scary!
Post a Comment