Hoop Greenhouses - Maybe went a little crazy <G>

[Mike in Ohio]

So I went to an auction today and bought 20 hoop greenhouses. 15 are 108 feet long and 5 are 120 foot long. I had originally only planned on buying a few but they were selling them by the row and the price was right. It was amazing...they auctioned off hundreds of greenhouses yesterday and today.

Now I have to take them down and haul them to the farm. This ought to be interesting. 15 of them still have plants that someone else bought (they have until March 22nd to remove them). I'm going to start taking the empty ones apart tomorrow. I'm thinking that instead of multiple trips with the trailer I'm going to rent a 27 foot straight truck which should be able to haul everything in a single trip. In addition to the hoops (most of the greenhouses have sections with 2 hoops welded together (~40 inch spacing) at the ends (bottoms) and at the center/top (middle of the hoop). A little more awkward to handle than the individual hoops but maybe a bit stronger in handling snow load.

This is really exciting. Now we have to decide where to erect them and what to grow in them. I want to experiment (with some of the hoops) and make a frame that I can drag forward and back so that I can alternate planting areas more easily. I might also use a few sections to make a chicken tractor.

Hmmm.....just had another thought...I could use some of them to cover/protect round bales of hay instead of putting them in the barn.

Now what else can I do with them?

Mike

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

The real trick will be figuring out how to heat them in the Winter. They are BTU intensive if you plan to "grow" anything tender in them over the winter.

[shadowwalker]

I AM REALLY JELOUS. Glad you got the deal. I have always wonderded if I put one inside another one, could I have a decently heated greenhouse, to grow plants in in the winter? I just never had the opportunity, or money to make the opportunity. Also I have wonderded about using one as a chicken tractor in the winter. I think you could put it on the same piping and just move it around easily. Good luck.

[Mike in Ohio]

YuccaFlatsRanch,

I'm not necessarily looking at heating them through the winter. We use hoops in our personal garden and have picked tomatos after Thanksgiving (In NE Ohio). Without heating we can still significantly extend our growing season.

The other thing is that we can go with crops that can overwinter anyways (for example kale, swiss chard, root crops, etc). I wouldn't try to grow tender stuff overwinter.

The other thing is that we can use shade fabric on some of them in the summer. The hoops come with that black woven weed control fabric (real heavy) so I might even try growing strawberries (take that birds!) in one of them.

Mike

[HazyDay]

You can put hay in them. Uncle has goats in them(only one way in) goats are in the front and 4-wheelers are in the back end, and hay making stuff.

[SolarGary]

Wow -- thats quite a purchase.

You might think about hooking one up to, or close to your house for house heating in the winter. While they have high heat loss at night, during the day, they will generate a lot of heat (like any solar sunspace) -- you can pipe the heat into the house-- free heat!

It makes a low thermal mass sunspace that should work like this one:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Experime.../PolySpace.htm
Probably the most cost effective solar heating scheme there is.
The GH/sunspace does not have to be physically arranged like the one shown -- it just needs a way to get hot air to the house, and return cold air. I've hear that something that insulates a bit on the floor (eg straw) makes them work more effectively in that the heat doe go into the floor.

You might find some more interesting ideas here:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects.../sunspaces.htm
and,
http://www.builditsolar.com/Experime...perimental.htm
I think the bubble insulation GH's and the Mears solar GH heating collectors are pretty interesting. Also, the how water from compost GH.

Gary

[bill not in oh]

Mike - if you need help takin' them down and loading, I'll help if we can work the schedule out - you buy lunch...

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

MIke,

Here in Texas the primary use I have for my greenhouse is as a shadehouse for the 8-9 months a year when a greenhouse is rediculous. The other 3 months a year it is a hole to pour money into and mine is only 12x16 and 8 feet high on the sides. Mine is out of PVC panels and plywood from ground to 4 feet. On a mid 20"s night it takes about 1/3 a barbeque bottle of propane to heat it from 10 PM until 10 AM. That will keep it in the mid 40's in the greenhouse.

[Junkmanme]

AWESOME PURCHASE!!!!!

Please keep us updated on the progress of this adventure!

HAPPY for Ya!
Bruce

[pheasantplucker]

wanna see some picks when you get em home and up! Good luck

[seedspreader]

Which auction were you at?

[veggrower]

Good job. You can heat them with compost. I used to heat 6 20X96ft using compost.

You are right, you can grow greens, beets, carrots etc in the winter without heat. You might need to have some floating rowcover in each house to cover the plants during the night time and extreme cold weather.

[anniew]

if you haven't already, look at Eliot Coleman's Winter Harvest Manual.

[jersey girl]

I am very jealous of you. Wish we had been at that sale and we would have gone in on them with you. We are going to a young farmers auction today in Kenton Ohio. Hope we get a great deal on something like you did.
Let us know what you do.
Joanie

[bill not in oh]

Joanie - you have any more info on that auction? Kenton's not THAT far from me...

[haypoint]

Mike,
I'm planning to attend an auction, north of Grand Rapids, MI. The auction has some hoop greenhouses that I'd thought of buying. I have no idea what they'll bring. How wide are the ones you bought? Can I ask what you paid for your huge purchase? Anything included or just bare? How about ends, I've seen plywood and stiff plastic used as ends. Did you get ends? I'm just trying to get an idea before next week's auction.

[Mike in Ohio]

ZYG, the auction is Warner Kingwood Nurseries dispersal.

pheasantplucker, I don't know that I am going to get them set up this season. I need to get ready for the bees I ordered and we are fencing for cattle as well. This is an "on" year for Black Walnuts in our area so we will be busy with that as well. Then there are all the tree seedlings we ordered (As well as larger trees). And last but not least we are (hopefully) building an addition onto our cabin. I should have some pictures up of the greenhouses in their current location (before dismantling) in a couple days.

Anyhoo, I went back today and just had to spend more money <G>.

Picked up 3 farm wagons. The running gear is only 6 ton but all in good shape....good tires and the wood decks were in pretty good shape as well.

The guys at the auction were great. They lifted and flipped one of the wagons on top of another so I could haul all 3 in one trip. A very long slow trip. I can't believe how crazed people get when they are behind a slow moving vehicle. I had people yell at me, give me the finger, etc. There were people who passed when there was a double yellow line (one guy almost got into a head on collision). I had an orange SMV (slow moving vehicle sign) on the back of the second wagon and was legal. Every so often (when there was a place to pull off) I would pull over to let traffic get by me. I guess it's a reflection on our society that people don't allow for any delay whatsoever. What really amazed me was that this was happening in areas where there are farms all over the place....but suburbia is creeping in.

I also picked up an International M40 truck (diesel). I didn't really need it but the price was right...famous last words at an auction. My neighbor is really interested in buying it and has a "better" need so I may just sell it to him (use it to haul down some of the wood and odds and ends from dismantling the greenhouses when I drive it down to the farm) <G>.

I think I'm going to sleep in a little tomorrow..... I am feeling plumb tuckered out. It's a good tired though.

Mike

[brreitsma]

[QUOTE]On a mid 20"s night it takes about 1/3 a barbeque bottle of propane to heat it from 10 PM until 10 AM. That will keep it in the mid 40's in the greenhouse.

What part of Texas gets down into the 20's.

[giffy]

Originally Posted by HazyDay

You can put hay in them. Uncle has goats in them(only one way in) goats are in the front and 4-wheelers are in the back end, and hay making stuff.

I put wire all the way around mine and raise wild ducks in it.




giffy

---------------
GiffsFarm

[Mike in Ohio]

Thanks for the pic Giffy.

Mike