Hoop House
Have you ever thought much about a hoop house? If you have, did you ever wonder what is really different between that and a green house? What can a hoop house do for me? Let's explore the answers to these questions. The teens spend time every year answering these exact questions, and are simply amazed at the usefulness of a hoop house. We spend time comparing the two, green house vs. hoop house. Let's do that right now. They are both very similar in construction, except for a few things. One of those things is tables. Tables are used in the green house to hold seed trays where we begin our starter plants for the spring planting. If we take a look at hoop houses, you will not find tables inside. What we will find inside is ground or raised beds. We can grow our produce inside the hoop house just as we would outside in our planting areas. Another big difference is the ground. Green houses typically have a black reflective cloth on the floor. This allows the heat to bounce back up to the tables to warm our starter trays and keep those seeds nice and toasty so they will germinate and grow. A hoop house does not have this cloth. Instead, we want the ground to be heated, since that is where our seeds and plants are. A third difference is heat. Both allow the sun to come in and heat the inside, but a green house uses an additional heater to keep temperatures inside at a constant level, day and night, so seeds will germinate properly and seedlings will grow. This is important for those seeds that require constant temps to germinate, such as tomotoes and peppers. A hoop house just uses the sun's heat, traps it inside, and warms the ground. Both systems can use a fan to inflate between the two layers of plastic to add in a layer of insulation to the houses. A final difference, that we notice, is a green house is used from generally late winter to early spring to start plants for spring and summer crops. A hoop house can be used all season. During fall through spring we can produce vegetables to sell or feed our families throughout late fall and early spring when fresh produce is scarce. In the late spring to early fall we can still plant in the hoop house and can use a shade cloth to help keep the hoop house cooler. Don't forget, the plastic holds the heat inside, just like a green house, and if you have ever been in a green house in the summer, it's extremely hot. The shade cloth will drop the temperatures and make it bearable to be inside for us and the vegetables.
Here are some websites you can check out with more information on hoop houses - how to make them, where to buy hoop house structures, and how to use them. Don't forget, we have one up at Rural Resources, that if you are near by, you are more than welcome to stop in and see how we have ours set up. There is by far more information on these sites than what was provided here. Here we simply have gotten you interested in growing your own fresh produce.
http://westsidegardener.com/howto/hoophouse.html, http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2003-02-01/Hoop-Houses.aspx?page=4, http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_7761_build-hoop-houses.html, http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/cat1;ft1_tension_fabric_buildings;ft1_hoop_buildings.html
