From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Ohio

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=79244

I think this is a great idea for a hoop house that I have seen, and it looks really simple to make. It looks like all you do is bend some square fence wire over and then secure plastic on top of it. Its funny how you see ideas like this and wonder to yourself, 'how come you never thought of that?',lol. I emailed JD and ask him how he would go about securing it to the ground, it looks like in his diary that he doesn't need to secure it because its already inside his green house.

What do you guys think? Do you think it would hold up outside in the wind and rain if there was a good and easy way to secure it to the ground?



Thanks for the idea JD!
Brooks

4/3/2008 9:33:00 AM

Ohio

JD just emailed me and this is what he told me about the hoop house.


''That is 6 inch wire mesh, the type that you lay down when pouring a slab of concrete for a foundation, 8 ft in length and can be cut to any width desirable. Yea, it is good stuff for sure. Corners can be secured using rebar with a hook bent on the end. I use rocks to place on the visqueen to cover the excess laying on the ground. Very durable, I have used these outside extensively up here''.
"JD"

4/3/2008 10:26:42 AM

Pocatello ([email protected])

It looks way better than PVC pipe. And when you're done, you can build a trellis for your long gourds...

To secure it to the ground, just bend some rebar into the shape of a hook.

4/3/2008 10:29:09 AM

Pocatello ([email protected])

If you want the ultimate in portability AND wind resistance, consider this:

http://cliffsgiantpumpkin.blogspot.com/2008/04/no-hoop-house.html

The way to build a hoop house that will stand up to the wind, is to eliminate the hoops!

But this idea with the wire mesh is great. If I can't get all six of the "no-hoop" houses built, I just might need to do some with the wire mesh. Thanks for sharing.

4/3/2008 10:42:17 AM

Topsfield, Ma.

Brooks, thanks for sharing that pic of JD's mini hoop house, I had already looked at his diary but didn't notice the 6" sq. support mesh. I use the same stuff for Long Gourds here and got plenty left over to fashion some new hoop house forAG's!
Cliff...nice variation on a theme...LOL!

4/3/2008 8:11:12 PM

Nikiski, Alaska 99635

Six inch wire mesh for cement slabs is getting spendy as well. I'm sure it is cheaper in the lower 48 but it is selling for 235 bucks for a 200 ft roll. Wow, thats 25 hoop houses at an 8ft width x 8ft long. Best way to get it though is from a construction site if you only need a limited amount as they often time have remenants. Some hardware stores will sell it by the foot if all you need is a couple of hoop houses. Anyway once cut they will last for a long time, quick and easy to put up, handle the wind very well providing they are well anchored and they stack nicely on top of each other, providing you have two people. The one in the diary photo is 15 squares in width or 7 1/2 ft.

4/3/2008 10:34:39 PM

Ohio

JD, Thanks for sharing that, Im definatly going to use the mesh for my hoop house's this year, now I just gotta go find it, and that shouldnt be hard to do.

Brooks

4/4/2008 10:30:13 AM