How to Build a Simple Hoop House

Create a simple hoop house to protect your garden from the elements

If you live in a climate with a short growing season, you can extend the amount of time you can grow vegetables outdoors with a hoop house. A hoop house is a semi-portable structure made up of clear plastic sheeting supported by a series of arches. Hoop houses can be as large as a greenhouse, complete with doors, like those installed in first lady Michelle Obama's White House garden, or sized to protect a single raised bed. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, a simple hoop house can be made for less than $200--including soil.

Things You'll Need

• 4 cedar or pressure-treated 6-inch boards, each 10 feet long
• 2 cedar or pressure-treated 6-inch boards, each 8 feet long
• 4-by-4 inch cedar or pressure-treated post, 5 feet long, cut into four 15-inch lengths
• 3-inch galvanized nails
• 1 1/2-inch PVC pipe, 6 feet long
• 12 U-shaped 1 1/2-inch pipe clips with galvanized screws
• 3/4-inch black plastic water pipe, 30 feet
• Plastic sheeting, 10 by 16 feet
• 9 plastic sheeting clamps
• 2 hand spring clamps

Instructions

1. Cut your 8-foot piece of cedar or pressure-treated lumber into two 4-foot pieces with a circular saw. Build two 10-by-4 foot rectangles by by nailing together 4-foot and 10-foot pieces. Stack the two rectangles in the place where you want your hoop house and place a 15-inch section of 4-by-4 post inside each corner. Dig out about 3 inches of soil under each corner so the tops of the posts with be flush with the top of the stacked boxes. Secure the boxes to each of the posts with your hammer and 3-inch galvanized nails.

2. Fill your raised-bed box with soil. NCRS recommends using a mix of loamy sand, potting soil and organic granular fertilizer, such as composted manure. Local topsoil may be used, but it may carry weed seed.

3. Cut the 1 1/2-inch PVC pipe into 1-foot segments with a circular saw or handsaw. Use the U-shaped pipe clamps to attach the segments vertically in pairs opposite each other on the exterior of the 10-foot side of the box, at each end and the middle. Using your screwdriver, screw in one pipe clamp at the top and bottom of each segment.

4. Cut the 3/4-inch black plastic water pipe into three 10-foot pieces with your saw. Slide one end of the first piece of water pipe into one of the PVC segments attached to the box. Gently bend the water pipe into an arch and slide it into the PVC pipe opposite. Repeat with the other sections of pipe until you have three arches over your raised-bed box.

5. Unfold your plastic sheeting. Center it over the hoops so 3 feet hang down over each end. Snap a plastic sheeting clamp around the plastic and the water pipe at both ends and the center of each hoop.

6. Gather the excess sheeting at each end at the bottom center and secure with a spring clip.

Tips & Warnings

• Plant your raised bed before putting on the plastic.

• Plastic can be adjusted or removed based on weather conditions.

• Plastic sheeting will last approximately two growing seasons.

• The temperature inside the hoop house can rise quickly on a sunny day. Monitor the temperature and adjust the plastic for adequate ventilation to avoid killing your plants.

• Heavy snow can crush your hoop house if the plastic sheeting is not removed.

References

• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service: Season Extension-Hoophouses
• USDA Blog: USDA Helps Winterize White House Gardens

Resources

• Green Living: How to Make a Home Garden Greenhouse Like Michelle Obama