One item I think most gardeners dream of having is a place to start plants and even over winter them. I think most of us have gone through that plastic tray with clear plastic lid to start seeds and the patio plastic wrapped ‘book’ shelf.  I enjoy taking the complete journey with a plant. There’s an intimacy in sowing the seed, watching as true leaves unfold, then moving it to the garden. This driving force makes us seek out better methods.

Another driving force for constructing a hoop house is quality food. People are becoming more and more conscience of what is in their food and where it came from. Growing one’s one food is essential to eating healthy and connecting to the environment. It’s also a great way of getting kids to eat right. Imagine a child that go to the garden instead of the cookie jar.  

In this post, we will learn how to build a hoop house step by step. I helped host a work shop with the Kerr Center for Sustainable Ag http://www.kerrcenter.com/publications/hoophouse/index.htm. Here is what we did.

First we acquired the materials on the ‘Materials/cost list’ PDF on the Kerr Center site. I did make some changes; I didn’t buy the earth anchor and I added eight 2x6” boards and four bags on ready mix concrete.

We graded the pad making sure it was as level as possible. This is important because if the pad isn’t level dips will allow air in and the wind to blow the plastic up. 

To begin making the perimeter of the hoop house drive rebar to establish the NW corner (may be a good idea to drive this stake past the house)

Drive rebar to establish SW corner (may be a good idea to drive this stake past the house), on you can now run a string line from these two rebar

Drive 18 rebar stakes along line at 5.5’ intervals (should make for a 99’ length), stakes should be 15 degrees towards the inside of the house, in the picture below you'll notice that we made a board to act has a pattern to drive the rebar. It was a useful tool but not necessary.

 before driving the rebar we mark it's placement with a flag (this also save people from tripping)

After you drive the west side, measure 17’ east from the NW rebar hoop stake to establish the SW corner. Be sure to use Pythagorean Theorem to make the house square. After the house is square you can drive the rebar in the same manner as the West side.

Bend all 18 of the 24’ x 1” square galvanized tubing. A Bender can be purchased through the Kerr Center. Drill a hole on the outside of the rib one inch from the bottom with a 3/16” bit, do this at both ends. The pre-drilled hole will help you fasten the rib to the rebar. The Kerr Center instructions also state to pre-drill for the wiggle wire channel, however, if you are using self-tapping screws, this is unnecessary.

Now this is where I deviate from the Kerr Center’s plan. They attach a washer then a snap-link to the rebar to hold a rope that has a loop tied in the middle. The ropes are used to sandwich the plastic over the rib. And in the picture below you’ll notice that we followed these steps. However, if I had to do it again, I would use 200 feet of 2” x 6” boards to run along the bottom of the east and west side (inside of the house) and a 200 feet of 2” x 4” to be u-bolted five feet from the bottom of the house at act as a purling and attachment place for two (two per 2x4) channel of wiggle wire. This would give you more stability and the option to make roll-up sides.

Now place your ribs on the rebar, using a 1/2" self-tapping screw to fasten the rib to the rebar by going through the pre-drilled hole may when bending the hoops.

The Kerr Center suggest drilling and attaching eye-bolts to the outside of the North hoop and the outside of the south hoop. The eye-bolts are used to tie the North and South hoops to earth anchors. By doing this the hoops will not pull in after you attach your plastic. However, our house was planned to be permanent. Therefore we used the 8 2x6 boards and made post set in concrete and fasten the hoop to the post.

 Find the center of you house and divide the width of your door to find the distance between the center of the house and the inside side of your hole. Dig three feet down.

Place the two 2x6 boards that have been bolted together in the hole and level the post. Mark the bottom and top of the square tubing. Then  draw an angled line from the top of the tubing mark. Making an angle cut will make sure that the plastic does not rub against the post, which will wear holes in it. 

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Next attach the wiggle wire channel to the top of the North and South hoop and the the outside of the four post.

 attaching wiggle wire to the wiggle wire channel on the top of the North hoop

 Wiggle wire on the outside of the post and the

underneath of the north and south hoops. The wiggle wire channel cut easily with a metal saw.

By using two garden forks and a pipe one can make a spool to pull out the glazing (plastic) for the hoop house.

 walk the plastic out and cover the house.

Before going much further it’s worth mentioning that temperature factors into attach glazing to a hoop house or greenhouse. When it is warm the plastic expands and when cold constricts. Therefore to ensure your plastic is tight and won’t rub too much against the ribs, the weather should warm (and not to windy).

 Pull the plastic tight and attach the wiggle wire into the channel.

 Hang your doors

   Burry your plastic

Now if you deviated with me and ran the two boards down the west and east side you would attach the plastic to the channel that was put on the 2x4 feet from the bottom of the house. Take a 100’ (or the length of your house) piece of pvc pipe and make two or so rotations of the end plastic (closest to the ground) around the pvc and attach a clip (which can be purchased from American Plant Product or Farm Tech). now to vent the house you can roll up the side walls.

This house cost just over $1,000.00 and is 17 x 100’. I stuck to the Kerr Center plans to keep the cost down. Now of coarse going the cheapest way possible did make for some problems i. e. stability. However, if this was your only hoop house a little bit of time and ingenuity would overcome any problems. Still, without the roll up side wall, venting in the heat of the summer would be the biggest issue.  

Hello my fellow plant lovers!! Welcome to my first blog post. If you are in Oklahoma (and surrounding states) I am sure that you are using the same word to describe your garden as I am “HOT.”

First let’s talk about how the heat maybe affecting your garden. If you have a veggie garden, your tomatoes may have stopped (if they ever got started) producing fruit. This is because of the ambient air temperature. Pollen in the tomato flower slows down and even become sterile in high temperatures. But put that shovel away. Once we cool off, the tomatoes will fruit again. So put those salad bowls and hopes for fresh bruschetta aside for now and keep those fingers crossed.

Another effect the heat has on our gardens is death (I know I didn’t want to say it). But, you may have noticed that quite a few trees have gone……..well, not-so pretty anymore. Some trees and shrubs will "give-up," but have no fear, they are ‘"hoosing their battles." For some trees and shrubs it’s easier to drop their leaves and "go to bed." This is referred to as summer dormancy. Fortunately the vascular cambium of plants is close to its outer layer (like the outside ring in a tree). This enables us to do a simple test or check the heart beat. Simply scratch the outside of some new growth, if you see green then there is life and we can wait for those secondary buds to break later. If you see brown, check a few other places to be sure. If you think that you have lost a tree and can scar the oldest of wood never seeing green then you may want to wait until fall (the best time to plant trees and shrubs) and replant. If you are concerned about a shrub or vining plant, wait till after the last frost of this upcoming winter. The shrub may come back from the ground, after all you’re a gardener – patient and optimistic and you know, worst case you can replant in the spring. A lot of herbaceous perennials, such as columbine, will enter a summer dormancy as well. Therefore my finial word to you is "wait, it could come back."  

Next, let’s talk about grass. No not that pretty stuff like Festuca ovina ‘Elijah Blue’ or Melinis nerviglumis ‘Savannah’ (an Oklahoma Proven plant). But that area between your house and the street. Watering is the most misunderstood aspect of lawn management. Now I know that you are not "that person" that runs their irrigation system every day. But I know that you know"‘that person, like that bank down the street that runs their irrigation system in the rain!! So here is me on my soap-box (feel free to print this off and tape it to that bank’s front door, I won’t tell). Frequent and light irrigation on lawn encourages weed seed germination, soil compaction, thatch, shallow rooting and a high water bill. Typically (and you should apply this for every plant) you should irrigate when the lawn shows signs of stress such as a blue-green color or no "bounce." Then water until you moisten to a 6” depth, if you start to pool water or water runs off, then stop. Mowing is determined by species, some Bermuda is .5” to 3”. I always use the old saying “cut it high in July."

Finally, a topic that we have already touched on, irrigation. The best way to water your garden (drum roll please) is by drip irrigation. Hang around for later post and I will show you how to build a drip irrigation system for not a lot of money. Drip irrigation systems apply water directly to the soil creating an "upside down cone" pattern of moisture beneath the soil surface. You’ll water only the plant that you are trying to keep alive and not the weed in the back corner. It can improve the production of fruiting crops like tomatoes as well. For those that don’t have a drip irrigation system and are trying to keep their gardens alive during this heat, let me offer this plan. Abandon that sprinkler (that is if you don’t have a massing of plants but more of an individual planting) grab your hose and ever-so-slightly turn it on to a little more than a drip. Place the hose next to the plant that needs water (remember we only water when we start to see decline) and go weed another area of the garden. As you're weeding, watch for runoff, then move it to the next plant that is asking for a drink. This will enable you to water only the plants that you want to keep alive and save on water.

Hopefully you can get this all done before your garden turns into the surface of the sun – leaving you to retire to chilling wine and the AC.

Cheers everyone, see you next post!