How to Fasten a Plastic Greenhouse Hoop
A plastic greenhouse hoop is inexpensive and an ideal material to construct a season-extending structure for the garden. PVC conduits are readily available as hoop material, and sheet plastic comes in all sizes to attach to the hoops. They can be set up over raised beds or in sections of a large, soil-level garden to protect a particularly tender crop, or one that's not quite ripe, from cooler temperatures of fall. In the spring, a greenhouse hoop allows for earlier planting by warming the soil and providing protection from a late frost. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 6 rigid PVC conduits
- 10 lengths of rebar
- Sledgehammer
- Tape measure
- scissors
Instructions
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1
Measure out the dimensions of the location for the plastic hoop structure--15 feet long and 4 feet wide is an easy beginner size.
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2
Pound rebar pieces into each corner and along the length at 3-foot intervals with the sledgehammer. The rebar should go into the ground far enough so it can't be wiggled back and forth. This is the foundation for the plastic conduit support of the shelter. Each piece of rebar should be 2 feet long and 3/8 inch in diameter.
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3
Place one end of the PVC plastic conduits over the rebar protruding above ground on one side. Press down firmly so the conduit end sinks into the dirt, with the rebar inside of it for rigid support. The plastic pipe for the hoop is now free standing straight into the air. Each PVC plastic conduit should be 1/2-inch diameter and 10 feet long.
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4
Grab the top end of the plastic hoop, bending it to the rebar on the opposite side. Insert this end over the rebar, once again pressing down firmly. The conduit has now become the plastic greenhouse hoop and is securely fastened to the ground.
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Tips & Warnings
Position the plastic greenhouse hoop season extender in a south-facing, sunny location for best results. The hoop and plastic shelter is not a strong permanent structure, so shelter from wind will give it a longer life.
Mail order catalogs and garden stores sell garden clip fasteners that snap the plastic sheeting right onto the PVC hoops once they are securely attached to the ground.
In summer, the plastic covering from the hoops can be removed and replaced with bird netting, using the same clip-on method and keeping all kinds of varmints out.
Shade cloth is another material that easily attaches to the plastic hoops with the garden clips.
Late snow in spring or early fall accumulations should be gently brushed off if the greenhouse hoops are covered with sheet plastic or greenhouse film as the weight may create small rips in them.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit greenhouse image by tofuwarrior from Fotolia.com
