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HOW TO CONSTRUCT A HOOP GARDEN

Space the sideboards 5 ft apart (outside measurement), It's best to lay down chicken wire (to keep moles out), then a layer of mulch fabric, above that add about 3-4" of Alfalfa hay which adds lots of nitrogen as it decomposes (get pure hay without weed seeds), then good top soil, we got ours from our woods (it needs roots, stones, & wild vegatation, etc. removed first) or buy a good grade of soil.

Hoop Specs:  use 1/2" PVC X 10' long pipe. Do not try to install a pvc fitting in the 10' length as the fitting hubs will break when bent in a hoop.  Drill a 3/16" hole 2" & 6" from each end making sure both ends (all 4 holes)  have parallel holes. Screw one end to one side of the sideboard, then gently bend them in a hoop and do the same on the other side. It will be best to do this on a hot sunny day as the pipe will bend better when temperature is higher. A 10' length of 1/2" pvc will make a perfert 5' semi circle hoop 3' high. Space 24" on center.

Install the drip irrigation system with same 1/2" pvc but strap it above the crown of the hoop, do not try to install crosses in the hoop, it will not work. Install 1gal/min misting heads 4' apart for best results. We have a deep well that flows 13gal/min so we had to divide the 96' long hoop garden into two parts and irrigate one end at a time in order to reduce water flow.

Install a stringer of same pvc along the bottom of each side to attach greenhouse plastic film, this stringer should be up far enough not to interfere with weed whackers, etc. Put a 3" deck screw through both pvc pipes and into the sideboards.  If you want to run a lawnmower close to the sideboards then either raise you hoops or cut 2-3" off both ends. Remember though you will be using 10ft wide greenbouse plastic so don't raise the hoops too much as you will need some extra film width to make a good attachment to the stringer, see next pic.

PVC clamps made specifically for 1/2" pvc pipe work well to secure down the Greenhouse plastic film and netting, space the side clamps about every 3' and clamp to the irrigation pipe every 6-8ft. We use a 12" wide strip of black plastic for sunscreen on hot/sunny days.  This only works if the length of the  greenhouse is running north and south.  This should provide 20% shade for your plants. It works good for our plants on days 90 degrees plus. Another tip is when leaves start to look wilty on extreme hot days turn you misters on for an hour or so during the heat of the day and the water temp will cool them down and you will see a noticeable change, plus it cools the ground temp at the same time. Our water comes out of the well at 59degrees.

Purchase you plastic film at least 6' longer than the greenhouse in order to cover the ends.  If the film is covering the greenhouse for very long Oxygen will build up so your plants need carbon dioxide, we picked up a used fireplace circulation fan and build a frame for it with the pvc pipe and screwed it on. Use an old return air grille or something for the other end.  We heat it on very cold nights with a dairy barn type fan heater. 

Product Sources:

 

Snap Clamps & 10' wide film

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/

Misters

http://www.indianairrigation.com/

 

PVC on the shelf at: 

http://www.Lowes.com

http://www.homedepot.com

or any local hardware/plumbers supply

HAPPY GARDENING - LEAVE FEEDBACK BELOW IF YOU WANT TO ADD SOME CONSTRUCTIVE INFORMATION.....

Quotes worth Quoting

Necessity is the plea for 
every infringement of 

human freedom. It is the 
argument of tyrants; it is 
the creed of slaves
  William Pitt

 

"Anyone can rescue his human life who seizes every opportunity of being a man by means of personal action, however unpretending, for the good of fellow men who need the help of a fellow man." Albert Schweitzer 

Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.

Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon

Torah of Economics : There is no such thing as a free lunch, and all the rest is merely explanation

Basic fallacy : it is possible to do good with others people's money

Thank God for Government's unlimited ability to waste

The major monetary metal in history is silver, not gold.” & especially not fiat paper.

Columbus did not seek a new route to the Indies in response to a majority directive.

Governments never LEARN. Only people LEARN.

Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned.
I am in favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it's possible.
 
Inflation is taxation without legislation. 

 

Paper money always returns to its intrinsic value – zero.

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong

In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities

The history of the great events of this world are scarcely more than the history of crime

To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize

When words lose their meaning, people lose their liberty.........Confucius

 

Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it - Mark Twain 

 

God designed and Amateurs built the Ark,  

Engineers designed and professionals built the Titanic,  

 

The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of evil people but because ordinary people do nothing about it - Albert Einstein 

 

When I die, I'll be leaving behind the same amount of money as Bill Gates. All of it - Theodore Mantle  

 

*When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.  - Thomas Jefferson

 

There are a thousand hackling at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root -  Henry D. Thoreau  

 

When stupidity is considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent. Isaac Asimov 

CNC ROUTER SPECIALIST

www.RouterCenter.com 

Ann H. Gabhart, Fiction Writer

www.AnnHGabhart.com

* The reality is, if we tell the truth, we only have to tell the truth once. If you lie, you have to keep lying forever - Wayne Dosick  

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