Materials You Will Need:
2 – 30″ pieces of 5/8″ rebar per 5′ of length plus 2 for end
2 – 24″ stakes per 5′ of length plus 4 for ends
1″ pvc conduit 20′ per 5’of length plus 20′ for the end
Cotton clothesline 20′ longer than hoophouse
Plastic 24′ by 20′ longer than hoophouse
22′ rope per 5′ of length
12′ of strong rope
Basic Hoophouse Instructions:
Drive rebar 18-24″ into soil every 5′ in 2 rows 12′ apart
Bend conduit pipe over rebar
Drive a stake in 6-8′ from each end in line with the center at an angle
Tie the clothesline onto the stakes as well as each of the hoops tightly
Roll out plastic alongside hoops and pull the plastic over the hoops
Drive another stake about 2′ back from the stakes the clothesline is tied to at an angle
Bunch the plastic at the ends and tie with a strong piece of rope to the stakes pulling the plastic tight end for end.
Drive the other stakes at an angle between each of the hoops and tie the ropes over the plastic to them to secure plastic.
Use spring clamps to ventilate on sunny days to prevent plants from overheating.
We hope you find this information useful. If you have any questions please leave a comment, we will be happy to respond!
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This looks really good. I can also see (like other hoop houses) that a slight modification by adding a frame, doors and window vents in the end could make it semi-permanent. Although I like the annual setup method as it would allow tillage before it’s erected.
Thanks for sharing.
Yes, adding a frame and a door would make it really nice. There are a lot of ways it could be adapted. Thanks for commenting.
Thank you so much for the simple staking idea in order to prevent billowing….I have had quite a time trying to keep my hoop house from lifting right off of my rebar stakes today- I was in a panic. Central Washington is always windy during the spring!
After exploring your website…what a beautiful life you share. Blessed. (Where do you find all the time to develop the blog chronicle? 🙂
Thank you for the kind words… We do feel so blessed to live the life we do. Yes wind can be a pain when using hoophouses, we have had the plastic blow completely off one time. We stake it down the best we can and then tighten everything up every so often and that helps,too.
How many pvc pipes? I think I counted 14 and how many?
Thanks
It depends on how long you want it. They are spaced at 5 feet apart. To make a hoophouse 80 feet long you would need 17. I hope this helps.
Very good idea and very well explained , hope to make and erect one next spring
Thanks again
Regards David White (UK)
Are you using two pieces of 10ft conduit for each hoop? That is what it looks like in the picture. How does connection hold up?
Yes we are using two 10 foot pieces of conduit for each hoop. We have not had any trouble with them coming apart.
Thanks for a nice practical video. I hope to duplicate it soon. I was wondering how you typically get in and out of the hoop house when it is in use (just lifting one long side, or coming in from the staked end?) Thanks. David (Canton, Ohio)
We just go in through the side.We lift up the side and clamp it to one of the conduit hoops.
Where is the 12 foot strong rope used?
Thanks for the question. The strong rope is used to bunch up the ends of the plastic and tie it to a stake.
So I would need to cut the 12 foot rope into two pieces? One for either side of just get two 12 foot ropes?
I was wondering if it mattered if one used 20 foot PVC or 2 sections of 10 foot PVC connected
It shouldn’t matter. We just used two 10 foot pieces because that is what was easy and available.
How does it hold up in the wind?
We have trouble with the plastic blowing off in high winds. One thing that we do that helps alot is to bury most of the edges of plastic with dirt. I hope that helps.
Hi,
Thanks for a nice video. I made one of your hoop houses this spring (12×40 or so). It has worked out nicely (much better than my previous ones) despite a windy spring in Ohio. I had to modify my crossover cords by adding a bent two-hole metal bracket to create a cinch cord along the rope to keep it tight, which worked well. I guess a taut-line hitch knot should work as well but when the rope get wet and old, the knot doesn’t want to slide.
I also bolted down three wiggle-wire brackets spanning between two hoops to hold one side of the plastic firmly down in a few sections, and I’m tempted to add at least one high on the other side. It really holds it steady. There is still a tendency for the plastic to creep over to that side, however, since it is fixed and the other is not.
Anyway…a question. Despite the purlins, I still have a problem with the hoops shifting from side to side. They like to tilt from vertical. Is the purlin cord in your model fixed securely to each hoop or just looped around it? Mine is just looped around it, so it is free to slide back and forth, unless it is very tight. I’m thinking of drilling a bracket into each one, like a wire bracket used in electrical conduit stuff, to hold the rope in place. Any thoughts?
I’m sure you’re as busy as we are getting things growing, and harvesting, so I hope you have time to respond! Thanks again.
David
Thanks for the video. I followed the instruction to build a smaller hoop in my garden. I used a 4 mil. plastic instead because I want to grow sun loving vegetables, i.e. zucchini, okra, etc. I notice the 4 or 6 mil. plastic is not as transparent as the commercial grade sheeting. Do you think it allows enough sunlight in? Do you have to lift up one side of the sheeting once a while to let in more sunlight? (I left the same comment on the youtube site)
Thanks,
Jason S.
We have never had any trouble getting enough sunlight in our hoophouse, everything grows fine. Hope this helps.
Hi, I have been researching hoop houses. I have seen that PVC and plastic don’t mix. I have read that you should paint the PVC so that the chlorine out-gassing from the PVC doesn’t eat away at the plastic. Have you seen any deterioration in your plastic? Or is it a moot point because you are using a new piece of plastic each year? Would you recommend to paint or tape the PVC? I read that someone said to use white acrylic latex paint (not the mildew resistant kinds that contain fungicides).
Also, do you think metal conduit would be cheaper or more expensive?
How did you connect the PVC pieces together at the top-middle? How did you “weld” a 7/16″ washer to the PVC?
Thanks for the video!
I have not had any problem with the plastic and PVC. After I made the video I started using the more expensive greenhouse plastic, and it doesn’t seem to have a problem with the PVC either. I would not bother with paint or tape.
I have also used metal conduit; it is much more expensive, although it is nice because once it is formed it never changes. It is much sturdier and you can have a taller hoop-house with the same size plastic (because the plastic hoops sag a bit over time).
I welded the washers to the 5/8″ rebar stakes, not to the plastic, using a typical welder.
Any other questions don’t hesitate to ask.
Hello. I am from Vietnam. I am really interested in your hoophouse. Could you please explain more how to cover plastic sheets on hoops. I didn’t see in the video clip. From the picture, width of plastic sheet is small and it seemed you needed some sheets to cover? Or you used only one sheet with large width?
Thank you and looking forward to your feedback
Yes we used a wide sheet of plastic. In the photo it was folded, the total width of the plastic was 24 feet. the plastic is not attached to the hoops, the ropes going across hold the plastic down and the ropes are tied to stakes on each side. for extra security we would often shovel dirt onto some of the edges of the plastic to weight it down. I hope this helps.