# Small hoop house build.



## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

As a follow up to this post.
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/co...ive-energy/482702-solar-water-pump-setup.html

Here is the hoop house I build for the homestead.

The reasons and benefits are many for building a hoop house/ poly tunnel.. For me the main reason is moving part of my growing environment 500 miles south(It is claimed that growing conditions can be moderated that much. We will see). I should get vine ripe tomatoes. Peppers that grow amazing. Maybe just maybe water melon.







I have included prices so you can get an idea if it's worth it for you.

The big hurdle was watering. The hoop house will need all the water for it pumped to it. Carrying it was thought of but 100-200 gallons a week for most of the year put this out of the question. A state road is in between it and the house. So I had to get an alternative to house water. I have a pond. It's down hill 50ft and 800 ft away. I have worked out a solar pumping system for it that will give enough water easily. It wasn't cheap, well it was ok at approx 400 bucks with 1/4 of that being pipe. 

The hoop house will be 19'x12' for a total of 42' of 4 foot wide grow bed. It's made of 1 1/2" conduit. I chose conduit due to it's natural UV rating and rigid nature. I was concerned with snow loads but believe i have created it in such a way that it won't be an issue. I used two 10 foot lengths with a 90 degree sweep at the top. Each hoop cost 12 bucks or so. I needed 6. You will also need 2 for the ridge purloin. If you get 15 at the depot, they give a discount... 2 are free so get 15.







The cover plastic is 4 year 6 mil greenhouse poly. At a cost of 100 bucks for 25 x 36. You will need 4 2x6x10' for the side boards, 1 2x6x12' and one 2x6x10 and a dozen 2x4x8 for the hoop house ends. Cost is maybe 50-60 bucks. For hardware I got a box of each 3 1/3 x 1/4" bolts, 1/4" nuts, flat washers. 20 bucks. 12 1/12" conduit 2 hole clamps. They were 50 cants a piece. A box of 2 1/2" deck screws. To anchor it to the ground I used standard solid 6' T posts cut in thirds(24") I had them so they cost nothing but they are 6 bucks each you would need 4. These worked really well because the pipes just fit over. Just. So the pipes were locked in place before the wood was added. You could use rebar, metal pipe or what ever else you have laying around. Just make sure it is the right length and strong enough to take the pressure.

To build you lay out your corners. Make sure it's square. Diagonal measurements. Then use string to set the rest of the posts. Set your posts strait up and down, and 12" in. Glue your pipes together and let them sit a while. You will be putting a lot of force on them to get them on the anchor points. To set the hoops. Two people are preferred. Get it on there. All the way down. Yes it's hard. It's a pain. Especially if you used the T posts and their tight fit. Cut the side boards to length use the left over to join the pieces together. Attach them to the hoops with the clamps with the nut and bolts.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Attaching the purloin.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

I notched the 2x4 side rails to fit the pipe.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Added cross bracing.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Have the raised beds half full of soil. I'm using native soil from the farm and bags of "top soil" from home depot(the cheapest they have, 1.50 a bag). I'm filling the boxes loose with my soil. Then adding a loose 2" to the top. After I get it full and get the soaker hoses in I plan to add mulch to keep things moist.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Door side.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

"Back" side


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

The plastic is up and it's just about finished. I still have to build a door.

I used 1x3's to hold the plastic in place. I put white duct tape on to act as a backer for the plastic to make it more tear resistant at the wood boards. It worked well for the most part. Where the plastic was wrinkled it was difficult, but it's still worth the effort. I used the same duct tape to cover the pipes. I found out after purchasing them that you want white pipes to minimize heat build up that can damage the plastic. The hardest part was the ends. But it was manageable. It got hot in there almost immediately. It was oppressively hot after a few hours. So make sure you plan on lots of ventilation. 

Here you go and yes the wife has planted it with her warm season veggies, 5 weeks till our last frost date. The first shows the side rolled up. The second shows our tomato starts.


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## anette (Jun 20, 2008)

very, very nice... thanks for all the pics


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## lurnin2farm (Jun 10, 2012)

Nice work. You get an early start and get to extend the season as well.


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## CesumPec (May 20, 2011)

Well done. Will head room over the tomatoes and peppers be an issue? That roof slopes pretty fast.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

CesumPec said:


> Well done. Will head room over the tomatoes and peppers be an issue? That roof slopes pretty fast.


The roof is 4' up @ 2' over. The walls are really steep.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Looks Great Stan!


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Very nice job, I like it a lot. I use a piece of 1 1/2" pvc to roll up the side curtains. Put a couple wraps on the pipe and hold with a large headed screw into the pvc pipe. I drill a hole through the pipe end and install a long bolt or ready rod for a handle. Long Bungy cord wraped around handle and pipe to hold it at the heighth needed to ventilate. Makes it easy to just roll up and down. It seals good enough rolled against the 2"x6" board at the bottom and doesn't whip in the wind....James


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Update:

Tomatoes are growing well in the Hoop. They were planted as tiny sprouts. The peppers, eggplant, and water melon are coming along too. Still eleven days from the official "last" frost. In fact later this week my forecast is for lows in the mid- 30's. 

They have made it through snow showers and graupel, a killing frost, dense fog for more than a few days with the high @ 50F, and some real wind. Gotta love the hoop!


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

The ones I have now are just 4' wide and 4'or8' long, they fit right on my raised beds. I can move them as needed depending on need. The hoops are made from electrical conduit, some metal, some PVC. I have a small leanto greenhouse, 6'x8' also. I make the ends from rigid double cell plastic panels....James


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

jwal10 said:


> The ones I have now are just 4' wide and 4'or8' long, they fit right on my raised beds. I can move them as needed depending on need. The hoops are made from electrical conduit, some metal, some PVC. I have a small leanto greenhouse, 6'x8' also. I make the ends from rigid double cell plastic panels....James



James, please elaborate on your design and give pictures. I would love to incorporate some of the protections into the regular garden.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Update It's been 8weeks since planting and 4 weeks from the last set of photo's

The plants in the hoop are doing very well. The tomato plants all have closed flowers and a few have started to bloom. The peppers and eggplants are growing good. Two of the watermelon plants are doing good, one not so much. :shrug: We have been using it for herbs and starting seeds. With this it's great as well.

Without further ado..
Photo's 
#1 beefsteaks
#2 Peppers
#3 Eggplants
#4 Cherry Tomatoes.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Update.

The stuff in the hoop was getting cooked... Well sun scald anyway. This is an issue I have never dealt with before. The plants looked health but the tips were browning. They weren't wilted or bug eaten. but the leaves were yellowing and misshapen. The soil was moist but not soggy. Generally here the issues we have are because it's too cool and/or cold. So It took me better than 2 weeks to find out what was going on. Live and learn. 

The hoop is now covered with 30% shade cloth and the stuff appears to be recovering fast! :banana:


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Update #3 12 weeks from putting the plants in the hoop. 13 weeks from planting. The plants are very mature and well ahead of the grow schedule. 

The tomatoes are still growing like weeds. The watermelon have started to blossom and put on tiny fruits. The eggplants have started to flower. The peppers are suffering from chronic flower drop. They really suffered from the over heating and scorching on a few weeks ago. They are recovering so all hope isn't lost yet.

A few pictures. I will get a few more tomorrow.

Photo 1 slicing tomatoes. The support board is approx 5' up so the plants are tall. They are around an inch thick as well even near the top. 

Photo 2 the cherries are making a ton of fruits and boat loads of flowers... None are ripe as of yet. But it will be soon.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

We have also planted a few Pok Choy and a row of cucumbers in the hoop. The Chinese cabbage is growing well even tho it's probably hot. The cucumbers are only in since last Sunday and are better than 3" tall...


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

stanb999 said:


> Attaching the purloin.


 I built one much like this about 30 years ago. My hoops were a bit closer together, and I didn't use elbows at the top, but since my snow load is less, I used 20 foot pipe and bent it in a semicircle. It had a RR tie foundation that came up about a foot, and there were 4x4s on top of that with holes drilled into them that the conduit fit into.

Actually, all this is beside the point I was trying to make. The ridge (purlin) was too flimsy when I tried pvc, so I used a treated 2 x 4 with holes drilled in it. It held the plastic up 3/4 of and inch or so off the hoops at the top, but only for a few inches down the sides, so it wasn't a problem. With the closer hoop spacing and the 2x4 ridge, one can hang a certain amount of stuff from it, or tie strings to it to support vining plants.


There is some evidence that the that chlorine leaking out of PVC electrical conduit will react with UV resistant polyethylene sheeting, causing the sheeting to "melt" through in about a year. If this happens you can paint the PVC. I originally used corrugated fiberglass greenhouse sheeting, run length ways, but it is quite expensive and doesn't really last all that long.

As you found out, one needs shading or at least a way to vent very well in the summer. I used an old aluminum storm door in front, and put a large used mobile home window in back. There are various "milky" sprays one can put on top for shade, as well as shade cloth. I relocated mind so it was mostly under the south side of a large shade tree which kept out the direct sunlight, during the middle of the day in the summer.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

The rest of the 12 week pictures.

Eggplant 
Peppers
watermelon

Added 
Pok Choy 
Cucumber added 7/7/13


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