Need sources of hoop greenhouses.

[GR8LIFE]

We have a blueberry garden which is about 30' x 50' and we would like to put up a hoop house or two that we could put up bird netting over in the spring to keep the birds out during the blueberry season. We want the hoop part to stay up year round and then put up the netting as needed. We want to be able to walk around in it without having to stoop over when we are picking the blueberries. It can be either PVC or metal tubing. We don't want to pay a huge price for it but realize it will probably be up to $2k to get what we are looking for. If any of you have a name of a dealer that sells this kind of structure, I would love to get their web address. I've tried surfing the internet but there are just so many and most of them don't have the kind of greenhouse I am looking for that I got discouraged looking. Also, if any of you happen to know of a used one like this I would be interested in that as well.
Thanks, Colleen

[Paula]

We've made hoop houses with cattle panels and t-posts. Very sturdy and much less than 2k.

[rambler]

FarmTek sends me a catalog 2-3 times a year, and just this week I got a gardening catlog from thier associated company that is _full_ of such items. Don't know anything about the company, other than they certainly handle what you are looking for! Catalog is in the other house, but they are on the web. The garden catalog had a whole section on just cold frames, where you add your own fabric/ net of your choice.

http://www.farmtek.com/

Again, I have no idea on quality, price, service - I only got on the mailing list somehow.

--->Paul

[bearkiller]

Colleen,

No need to be so spendy for such a structure. I build these things for a relative song. Want a source? Try Home Depot.

Here is what you need to do. 1. Lay out the two sides of the structure on the ground using marking paint or chalk or flour. Every 6 or 8 feet drive a piece of 1/2 inch rebar into the ground about 18 inches deep and leaving about the same above ground. 2. Go to Home Depot and purchase 3/4 inch PVC water pipe. Depending on your widths cut the lengths necessary to make a PVC hoop from rebar to rebar across the span. Height to your pleasure. Cut as many peices as needed. Then glue them up. 3. I like to have a center ridgeline to help strengthen the whole thing. And, if big enough one at midheight. This means you also need "crosses" If you are in a windy area attach 2 X 4 pressure treated wood at the ground and attach to the rebar. Then you can attach the plastic cover to the wood.

Once you have the basic frame up and as strong as needed lay thin pipe insulation over all the fittings to minimize friction. Then cover the whole with greenhouse plastic...looks like ordinary visqueen. but is UV resistant and much more durable. Available from nurseries and such supply companies. I got mine from Peaceful Valley Farm Supply. Also buy the clear tape for repairs and to put it all together.

Lastly, roll up 1 X 2's at the edges so you can have an openable area for ventilation. And as a way to attach to the 2 X 4's at ground level. I also put a door at each end.

There you have it. I think the total cost was pretty minimal. Most expensive item was the greenhouse plastic, but very much less than a prefab greenhouse.

bearkiller

[Terri]

I made one from a kit that I bought. Honetly, there was no need for the kit.

Think of a big lumber square on the ground. Frame the 2 ends like you would for a shed, and put a ridgepole across. (Mine was inly 16' long, you would not be able to do that with 50').

I put the plastic pipes on the inside of the lumber square (the one touching the ground), and arced the plastic pipes over. I then used brackets to secure the plastic pipes so they would not shift.

I found it important to use sandpaper on the ends before I glued the pieces of pvc pipe together. For the plastic pipes, I joined the long pieces together with a 30 degree bent piece.

By not keeping the PVC pipe in one piece, it was a LOT easier getting the pieces home from the hardware store!!

[Arborethic]

BK, excellent layout. The only thing I can add is to paint the PVC or to cover it with something to preclude premature UV damage. It gets brittle in the sun. The green house I built went one step further. We used rebar for our hoops, then sleeved the rebar with PVC pipe. The pipe was then painted with white paint to protect it from UV. It is still standing 20 years later....

[labrat]

GR8LIFE, I ran across these plans last year sometime and though I have not gotten around to building my greenhouse, I held onto them for future use.

http://www.floridagardener.com/green...ematerials.htm

There is another fella who built a green house with photos on the web, but apparently his website is down. Luckily, I copied the info into a word file and can sent it to you. These are both excellent on the cheap greenhouses.

[SolarGary]

Hi,
There are some free plans here:

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects.../sunspaces.htm

Gary

[Nomad]

I got my Hoop type greenhouse from Farmtek and have no complaints about quality. I think they may have been off on the time it took to assemble it, though. And I was less than thrilled when it all came in one box that weighed almost 600 lbs. It was a real treat manhandling it off the truck and up the drive. But all in all I think the value for the money was very good.

Nomad