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Here's the PVC Hoophouse Instructions

Okay!  Many yeas and no naes, so here's the instructions for building a
PVC hoophouse.  Have fun and feel free to experiment and modify.  If anyone
has any troubles - if something isn't clear, or if you have any bright ideas
about how it could be better - please let me know and I'll make revisions or
otherwise try to help you out.

Cheers!

   ____________________
  |                    |
  |     Bob Carter     | Kootenay Bay
  |  bcarter@awinc.com | BC, Canada
  |____________________|


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                       Building A PVC Hoophouse

A Bit of Background on the PVC Hoophouse.

  PVC hoophouses have been around for a number of years.  PVC piping is
a strong, flexible and relatively inexpensive material.  I doubt that
it's possible to build any kind of comparable greenhouse structure for
less money than a PVC hoophouse.
  I built my first a couple of years back on the basis of an article by
Harry MacCormack in Llewellyn's Organic Gardening Almanac, modifying the
design somewhat to suit my needs.  Since then I've built several more,
refining the design to make them simpler, stronger and easier to
assemble.
  We mostly use them to grow tomatoes, peppers, basil, eggplants and
melons in our short and often wet northern growing season.  Besides
providing a warmer micro-climate, they also help alleviate some of the
fungal problems these crops are susceptible to during our rainy summers.
  They also serve us as additional temporary greenhouse space when
transplanting and potting on of our spring garden starts, quick to go up
and easy to move and store when not in use.
  There are many variants on the PVC hoophouse, from the heavy-duty
winter worthy design to the mini cloche type.  This article details
construction of the lightweight 12' x 20' summer version, which is a
kind of big walk-in cloche suitable for installing directly over
existing garden beds.  You can take this basic design and modify it to
suit your own needs.  If you come up with any great ideas let me know!
I update this article from time to time and will include any useful
innovations.

Materials List:

o Sixteen 20' lengths of 3/4" white PVC pipe
o Thirty-three 1-1/2" wood screws
o 22' x 20' UV resistant plastic, 6 mil or thicker
  This is commonly sold at building supply outlets as UV Resistant
  Vapour Barrier.  Don't buy Durafilm3 greenhouse plastic.  While it
  is guaranteed against UV breakdown for five years it's about three
  times more expensive and apparently reacts with PVC, shortening it's
  lifespan dramatically.  I've commonly gotten three or more years of
  service out of vapour barrier.  Avoid plastic without UV resistance,
  it might not last the season before disintegrating into a mess of
  pieces.
o Ten feet of 1" black poly waterline, thick walled rather than thin
o Twenty-two 2' long stakes with an outside diameter of 3/4"
  These are to be anchor posts, driven into the ground and over which
  the ends of the PVC hoops will fit.  Here you have to use your
  imagination a bit: they can be made of wood, old electrical conduit,
  pipe, rebar, or what-have-you, so long as they're up to being driven
  into the ground and are of narrow enough diameter that the PVC will
  fit over them.

Tools You'll Need:

o 20' long measuring tape
o A roll of heavy string
o A hammer or mallet
o Permanent felt pen
o Drill, 1/8" bit and suitable extension cord
o Screwdriver
o Sharp knife
o Tree lopping shears or small saw

Site Layout

  The hoophouse covers an area 12' wide by 20' long and stands roughly
7' tall in the center.  You can narrow the width measurement somewhat to
fit existing beds in your garden, but going wider than 12' will make a
hoophouse too short to walk in easily.
  Ideally, you want to orientate the hoophouse on a north-south axis to
make maximum use of the sunlight.
  The bed layout I use is three long beds with two narrow paths in
between.  This gives me two side beds to grow the shorter crops in and a
center bed with enough head room to grow indeterminate tomatoes.
  Another important consideration is the hoophouse's exposure to the
prevailing winds.  This thing is going to be like a big sail come that
summer storm, so try to position and orientate the structure to afford
as much protection from the wind as possible.  That said, I've found
that the structure is strong and flexible enough to withstand all the
storms we've had over the last two summers.
  Alright, having decided the site location and position, you will want
to first dig and prepare your beds and put in the stakes or other support
for your tomato vines, as this will be accomplished easier before the
hoophouse is set up.  The hoophouse as outlined here in not strong enough
in itself to support the weight of fruit bearing tomato vines without
first adding some additional structural framework to it.
  Now drive one of the anchor stakes half way into the ground at one of
the corners of the area to be covered by the hoophouse.
  Measure off 20' to the next corner and drive in another anchor stake.
  Measure off 12' perpendicular from the each of the two existing
corners and push those corner stakes in by hand.
  Measure the distance between these last two stakes to make sure that
they're also 20' apart and adjust if necessary.
  You can measure across the diagonals to check for the squareness of
your layout.  It doesn't have to be perfect but by being close to square
the plastic cover will fit better.
  Once you're satisfied that the last two stakes are close enough to the
desired 12'x20' rectangular layout, hammer them in as well.
  Tie one end of the string to one of the corner posts and run it down
the 20' length, tying it tautly to the far corner post.
  Take the measuring tape and lay it on the ground alongside the string,
pushing a stake in by hand every two feet.
  Repeat the last two steps for the other 20' side.
  Go around and drive each of these anchor stakes in half way, trying to
keep them plumb as you go.
  Remove the string.

PVC Hoophouse Layout and Assembly

  Take one of the 20' lengths of PVC and with the tape measure and pen
make three marks on it - at 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4's the way down it's length.
  Lay ten more pieces of PVC down alongside the first and transfer the
marks from your first piece over to them.
  Drill pilot holes into the pen marks on these eleven pieces.  Just
drill through one side, it isn't necessary to go all the way through
both sides the pipe.  These are the hoop pieces.
  Take another piece of PVC and make pen marks about an inch from each
end and every 2' along it's length.
  Lay two more pieces of PVC alongside this one and transfer the marks
over to them.
  Drill all the way through the PVC pipes on the marks.  These are the
crosspieces, which tie the structure together.
  Okay, now you'll need a large flat area to assemble the hoophouse.
Lay the eleven hoop pieces down parallel and about 2' apart from each
other, drilled hole sides up.
  Take one of the crosspieces and lay it over and perpendicular to the
hoop pieces, with the holes matching up.
  Starting on one end, screw through the crosspiece's pilot holes into
the underlying hoop pieces' pilot holes.  Drive the screws in until
their heads fit snugly against the crosspiece, deforming the PVC
somewhat.
  Lay down the next two crosspieces and repeat the above procedure.

Poly Clip Manufacture

  Take the 1" black poly waterline and with a sharp knife slit it down
it's length.
  Using the tree lopping shears or saw, cut off 5-6" lengths.  You'll
need 24 to 30 pieces in all, and more if your site gets heavy winds.

Installation of the Hoophouse

  Alright, now that the pieces are all connected together you can pivot
them on the screws, collapsing the lattice work of PVC pieces into a
long collection of tubes for easier transport to your site.
  While you can do this part on your own, it's helpful to have a friend
help you transport and set up the structure.
  Once on site open up the hoophouse lattice work and place it in
position, with the crosspieces on the inside surface of the structure.
  Starting on one end, go all the way around the hoophouse fitting the
ends of the hoops over the anchor stakes and pushing them down snugly.
  Measure and cut your plastic covering - roughly 20' wide by 22' long.
  Take the plastic covering and draw it over your hoophouse so that it
overhangs the far ends by a foot and goes all the way to the ground on
the sides.
  Spread a poly clip open and fit it over the plastic onto the top of
the end hoop, so that the the clip holds the plastic firmly in place.
  Go the to other end of the hoophouse and pulling the plastic snug
place another clip at the top of the hoop to fasten it, taking care
to make sure that the plastic is still orientated properly.
  Continue adding clips to the end hoops, pulling the plastic snug as
you go, until you have a half dozen on each end of the hoophouse.  The
structure should feel more rigid now.
  Take the last two pieces of PVC and put one at the base of each side
of the hoophouse, along the edge of the plastic.  Use the additional
clips to attach the plastic to these pieces, which will help hold down
the side edges of the plastic cover.  You can roll and tie the plastic
cover up the sides of the hoophouse using these pieces, for when you
want extra ventilation during hot weather.
  You're done!

Watering System

  I know this is stating the obvious, but it's not going to be raining
much in your hoophouse.  That's the idea actually.  Save yourself a huge
amount of watering time by installing some sort of watering system - soaker
hoses, drip irrigation or the like.  I advise mulching heavily as well
to conserve your water resources.

After the Summer's Over

  You can remove the plastic and leave the PVC hoophouse up for the
winter if you want to use it in the same spot next year.
  Alternatively you can also pull the hoophouse off it's anchors and
collapse it down for storage.

Alterations to the Basic Design

o Adding Ends to The Hoophouse for Early and Late Season Conditions
  - Cut pieces of plastic to fit the ends.
  - Remove the clips on the end of the hoophouse.
  - Slip the end wall plastic underneath the top covering and replace
    the clips over the PVC, securing both layers of plastic.
    Cut a slit in one or both of the end walls to provide ventilation
    and access.

o Methods for Building a Taller Hoophouse
  - Lay a `foundation wall' of straw bales along the sides of your hoop
    house site and drive the anchor stakes into them.
  - Narrow the width of the hoophouse to 10' to give you an extra foot or
    so of height in the center.
  - Use extra long anchor stakes.  Drive them further into the ground
    then usual.  When you fit the ends of the PVC hoops over them don't
    push them all the way down to the ground, leaving a length of stake
    as an extension.  Drill and screw the ends of the hoops into the
    anchors for security.  Even one extra foot of height makes a
    difference when growing tall indeterminate tomato vines.

o To Make a Ten Foot Long Hoophouse
  - You need only nine 20' lengths of 3/4" PVC, six for hoops and three
    which will be cut in half to make six 10' lengths for crosspieces
    (although you'll only need five of these in the construction).
  - For the cover you need a 22' x 12' piece of UV resistant plastic, 6 mil
    or thicker.
  - For the site preparation proceed with the instructions above but layout
    your site to be 12' wide by 10' long.
  - For construction proceed as above but make six 20' long hoop pieces,
    three 10' long drilled crosspieces and two 10' long bottom-side
    lengths.
  - Otherwise the instructions are the same as making the 20' long version.
    Just substitute the shorter measures and quantities where appropriate.

o Reinforcing the Basic Design for Windy Conditions
  - Double the amount of clips used to hold down the plastic cover.  Make
    sure that the corners of the plastic cover are securely fixed onto
    the PVC with extra clips.
  - Drive six or more 2' long stakes in along each side of the hoophouse,
    one every four feet or so.  Secure the plastic cover to the stakes by
    tying onto the bottom-side lengths of PVC that the cover is clipped to.

Enjoy your hoophouse!

      *    .     *   .   .       . . . .   .   .  + .    *     .    .
   .  .      +  . . .     Bob & Helene Carter  .  .   .      +   .. .
     .   x              + Celestial Seedlings     . *.    +  .    +
    . .       *      .     Kootenay Bay, BC             . .         .
       .    * . . .  .  +  .. +       .    .        +      .    x      .

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