Before I begin, I want to apologize the squirrelly code on the website, and the store isn’t working. I’ve not gotten the chance to call Bluehost to see if they can fix it. So please bear with me (and wish me luck!).
The hoop house build is done! [In case you missed it, here is part 1 of the build.]
Now on to the grand finale!
Adding the plastic sheeting
We finished all the wood sides and securing the wiggle wire channel. That also meant grinding off all of the sharp edges and the screw points that went through the wood. The sound of the grinder is like a dentist’s drill but the sparks are fun.
Now we waited for a not windy day to add the plastic. In an effort to make sure we’d have enough, I went a teeny bit overboard (we only used about half). I bought 4 Year UV Resistant 6 mil White Greenhouse Plastic Sheeting 55% Opacity from Farm Plastic Supply.
We rolled it out to see what we were working with, and cut the length to 25′. Now we had a 25’x25′ sheet.
With Mr. B at the front and me at the back, we pulled the sheet up and over the frame, easy as pie.
Wiggle Wire install
This is super easy to install, once you get the hang of it. I tried to get a good picture but the sun was blinding on the phone so I had no idea where I was aiming!
Basically you hold the wire up and the bottom curve snaps in, then you move the wire down and the top pops in. It’s just the very last one that’s a bear.
It holds the plastic in place taut and smooth!
Figuring out how to operate the roll-up sides
Figuring out how to keep the lower sides stable, how to keep them up, and how to keep them in place on windy days continues to be a moving target.
I duct-taped the plastic to this long pipe (it was part of the previous greenhouse) and rolled it inward. This way, the plastic rolls around the outside of the pipe so rain will run right off, instead of collecting in the fold.
Then we had to figure out how to hold the rolled plastic sides up. For the time being, bungee cords seem to be working just fine. The pipe and plastic is not too heavy and I can roll them up by myself.
Problems arose with the wind. The slightest breeze and the plastic completely unrolled from the pipe and lifted the sides like sails.
We added stakes to the corners so the pipe fit inside, like a bracket. But that did not prevent the sides from billowing out! So we clipped a heavy-duty clamp to the edge of the plastic, drove a big screw partly in the front board corner, and bungeed the clamp to the screw.
This was working satisfactorily, then the wind really picked up and pulled the pipes right out of the ‘brackets’ and of course pulled the clamps off so 28°F wind blew all night over my newly planted ranunculus! ARGHHHH. But they lived, thank goodness.
NOW there are bungee cords holding the pipes to the stakes, and ratchet-straps going across the front and back of the hoop house from pipe end to pipe end which holds the pipes tighter across the sides.
And a rug on the sides…
Oh My Goodness! This is so complicated!
Right now I haven’t needed to raise the sides but we will need an easier system soon. I can’t be un-hooking and re-hooking eighty-seven bungee cords and ratchet-straps every day. And the rugs. And now there are rocks on the corners too. SMH.
But in the end
I’m happy as can be now it’s usable!
There are plants inside (next blog post topic!) and growing. Although my optimism on how many plants I can fit inside is severely curtailed by the reality that 140 square feet is not as big as I thought.
In other good news, the daffodils are popping and the tulips are growing! ~Pam 🌷