How to Make a Hoop House for Your Garden & Seedlings

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How to Make a Hoop House for Your Garden & Seedlings

Easy, inexpensive way to make a large mobile hoop house/small greenhouse for your garden to extend growing season or protect seedlings. Inside temps 10+ degrees higher (more if you add a heat lamp).

Aaron von Frank

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Step 1 of 8

Get your materials from a home supply store. *A pickup truck is helpful, but we managed to get all of these supplies into a small car without killing anyone or causing a wreck.

Step 2 of 8

Cut one 8' 2x4 into two 4' 2x4s. Assemble wood pieces into 8x4' floor base using screws & drill. Attach 5 metal PVC braces evenly on outside of 8' sides - 2 braces on edges, other 3 at 32" increments.

Step 3 of 8

Slide one side of PVC pipe inside the metal bracket, bend and insert into opposite side. Go down the line sliding all 5 PVC pipes into their places into brackets.

Step 4 of 8

Use a plastic cutter or saw to cut top-mounted PVC to proper length (8 ft). Then attach top-mounted PVC piece to center of hoops using plastic cable ties (add duct tape if desired; we just used ties).

Step 5 of 8

Unroll 1st fold of plastic sheet. Lay plastic from end to end of hoop house, dropping to ground on both ends. Extend 18" out from ground on both sides, then cut with scissors. Clip sheet to PVC pipe.

Step 6 of 8

Carry hoop house structure to desired position in yard. If using for seedlings, we recommend putting down a bag of cedar mulch to help maintain steady temps, moisture + control unwanted bugs & slugs.

Step 7 of 8

Place seed trays inside, leaving room for person to step in. For extra heat add plastic bags with active compost (2 bags in photo are full of compost that naturally heats itself during decomposition).

Step 8 of 8

Close or open sides & ends when desired to let in sun, air or pollinators. To reinforce/hold plastic sheeting to ground, we simply used wood logs. You can go more high-tech if desired.

You're Done

Check out other guides by this author!

Aaron von Frank

Greenville, South Carolina

tyrantfarms.com

We love growing, eating and sharing home-grown organic food + helping other people do the same. Come on over! www.TyrantFarms.com

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Lisa Murphy

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Michelle Barrett

(3) 8' treated 4x4s

(6) 10' long pieces of 1/2" PVC pipe

(1) roll of 25' plastic (at least 6 mil thickness)

(10) metal 1/2" clasps to attach pipes to frame

(Optional) (1) bag cedar mulch- temp & bug control

(12) clamps to hold plastic sheet to PVC

(5) cable tiesh

Large screws for wood frame

Small screws for PVC braces

Julie Green: Here's a link to an office supply store showing the exact clips that we used: http://www.quill.com/acco-binder-clips/cbs/165364.html?cm_mmc=SEM_PLA_OS_165364 Thanks and hope that helps!

Aaron von Frank (author) 3 weeks ago

Binder clips? The tight spring loaded black office type? Is that the small black things I see in your last photo? They are cheap at Walmart too. Be sure to get big enough ones for your pipe. Great idea thanks for snapping this!

Julie Green 3 weeks ago

One note: we've found it works better to use large butterfly clips (like you get in an office store) to attach the plastic sheets to the frame rather than the smaller clips in the original guide.

Aaron von Frank (author) 3 weeks ago

Love this. Thanks for sharing

The Drew last month

Thank you Caroline!

Aaron von Frank (author) 3 months ago

Great job thanks, looks very doable

Caroline Jones 3 months ago

Sherry, the type of plastic sheeting we used probably wouldn't last a full year outdoors. It's more for short-term seasonal/seedling usage. There is greenhouse plastic that you can find online if you want to build this as a long-term structure. Hope that helps, and happy growing!

Aaron von Frank (author) 3 months ago

Does it stay outside all year ?

Sherry Berry 3 months ago

Akilah: Anywhere in the garden that is level and sunny should be fine if you're using it as a greenhouse for seedlings. If you're using it as a mobile hoophouse, just put it in place over the plants you want to protect. Hope this helps your gardening!

Aaron von Frank (author) 4 months ago

I was thinking what area of the garden would this work for.

Akilah Theriot 4 months ago

Glad to hear it, thanks Kathleen!

Aaron von Frank (author) 4 months ago

I live in WA this is so needed! Thanks!

Kathleen Schwenk 4 months ago

Thanks River, hope it helps you grow some great food!

Aaron von Frank (author) 4 months ago

Thank you so much. This is defiantly a doer. Thanks!!

River Haven 4 months ago

Sounds like a cool add-on Mike, thanks for the tip! We have family in Tampa and always love eating starfruit, citrus, and other tropical fruits right out of their yard that we can't grow here in South Carolina.

Aaron von Frank (author) 4 months ago

Great guide, I actually built this exact greenhouse last summer I live in florida and the weather gets to hot for some plants. It was great ,I even added a selfwatering thin hose on a timer to water plants. It works great try it

Mike Sealie 4 months ago

Sure Cherry! Here's what we used to brace the PVC to the bottom frame: http://www.lowes.com/pd_301380-34146-AV301380_0__?Ntt=301380&UserSearch=301380&productId=3223469&rpp=32 To clamp the plastic sheeting to the PVC, we used these removable plastic clamps: http://www.lowes.com/pd_301296-34146-AV301296_0__?Ntt=301296&UserSearch=301296&productId=3223427&rpp=32

Aaron von Frank (author) 4 months ago

Can you tell me what sort of 'clamps' you use to attach the plastic to the frame? Thanks!

Cherry Jeffs 4 months ago

Thank you Trisha!

Aaron von Frank (author) 4 months ago

I LOVE this thank you! Great guide!

Trisha Amarante 4 months ago

Thanks Lisa! Yes, I think our total bill was about $75. My wife and I are not the world's best builders, but it only took us about 2-3 hours to complete. If we can do it, I'm sure you and your husband could easily to do it too.

Aaron von Frank (author) 4 months ago

Wow! This really is an amazing & inexpensive greenhouse! I've always wanted one because I absolutely love my flowers but thought it'd be crazy on our wallets. My hubby & I could probably build this in half a day - if that! Thnx so much for sharing! I can't wait till spring to build it! 🍃🌺🍃

Lisa Murphy 4 months ago

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Hi Laura! Hope your hoophouse worked well for you!

Aaron von Frank (author) 3 weeks ago