20 feet but they sit up on a wood frame to get the head room high enough.mine takes 26 foot plastic to cover it . In theory 24 would just make it but not wanting to trust a skimpy fastening I went with the bigger one. Lots of ways to build these things I kinda think post down the center with a 2x6 ridge pole on top would be a good way to go.
What time of year did you take these pictures? I'm telling you, if you can get tomatoes that size and ripe too in western Washington any time of year you are doing pretty darned good.
Late august lol its automatic tons and tons well hundreds anyway but at the end of the season I picked over two hundred pounds and kept them in my warm gh untill I could sause, freeze, eat fresh, and give away.
edited to say if the cover is off it is july the pics the plastic is on are august
Hi, all. I am new here, but just had to add a comment to this thread. I am new at this plant stuff, but saw plans for a greenhouse that I thought would be fine for my emerging needs. The plans said it could be built for less than $90 with supplies from any local home improvement center. Well, I don't know what home improvement center they shop at, but it ended up costing twice that (which was still acceptable in our opinion). Anyway, this is the finished product. I really wish I had joined this list earlier and had seen the cattle panel hoophouse designs. Ours is only 12 x 12 and I think I could have done one with the cattle panels that would have been plenty adequate and saved some money. We are only using this for starting plants, then they get moved to the shaded pad area for growing, but I am ready now to do another one and will definitely use the ideas posted here! Thanks everyone for the great ideas from this newbie!
It's nice to meet you! Welcome do DG!
That turned out really nice! A good friend of mine has one like that and is going into here 4th year I believe. She does very well with it and turns out all types of plants, even for retail.
Enjoy it! You did a nice job!
Hi and welcome to our family of plant addicts.
Good job on the HH.
Happy Growing,
Shirley
This message was edited Apr 23, 2006 9:57 AM
Thanks for the warm welcome. I am fairly pleased with the little place - I just hope it makes it through hurricane season. We have already said it could be a replay of Dorothy's house in the Wizard of Oz if a good wind came along! LOL I started some patchouli and white sage seeds yesterday; can't wait to see how they do. The plants I relocated to the gh this week are already looking better since being moved in there. I originally found the DG website when researching different plants and am just so happy to have come across it - everyone seems just so nice and so willing to share ideas, which as a newcomer to this whole business, is invaluable. I look forward to gradually reading many more posts on different subjects. Vicki
Vicki I cant see endwall braces in your little hoop house most of these type plans have braces going from the top part of the end wall door up rights at an angle down to the base. Maybe they are there if so good if not you may want to consider them. Not being critical here because I see a good job hope you enjoy it . Ernie
Ernie, I don't understand what you are talking about. In your picture you have 3 or 4 pieces of lumber that it looks like are just lying there. Are you talking about those? I am going out to take a picture of my catt;le panel hh and maybe you can tell me. However, I don't have ends in mine yet. If you are talking about the ends I sure would like to know before I do mine wrong.
Thanks, Jeanette
Ernie the 'eagle eye' is right as usual, side braces form a triangular brace that will keep your HH from folding down lengthwise . Just as your end braces are preventing the folding or flexing sideways.
Jeanette, I d-mailed Ernie and he explained what he was speaking of. If you look at his photo, the brace he was speaking of is at an angle coming from the door frame/brace. I was also confused as that looked like just an extra piece of pvc at an angle, but it turns out this is actually the wood brace he was speaking of. Makes perfect sense to me and I will be picking up som 2-by's to add these to my little hh. Actually, when I showed Ernie's photo to my husband, he was in total agreement and said he had thought about that, but as the hh was MY project, I guess he didn't want to say too much! I personally would love to see your photos when you add them here, as I have already decided I am going to do another one with the cattle panels this time. I also need to do a dog run area and think I will use the cattle panel idea for that, also. I am so excited about finding this thread - we may just have cattle panel hh's all over the place! Vicki
Jenette I am a messy gardener you are looking at scrap I never hauled off yet .lets see if I can get you a better picture.Now see the angled piece comming down the end wall to the base thats what I am talking about. The front of my hoopie is 14 feet wide so I braced it on the next upright over from the doors because I could do it with an 8 foot 2x2 which I had .I should get off my kister and go to town and get 12 foot 2x4s so I can reach higher and more to the center. Every one seems to build these things differently and I say as long as you get something that works and pleases you then you have the right way.Ernie
Jenette as long as you are in the mood to get cattle panels I use them for flowering sweet peas, sugar snap peas, string beans, cukcumbers and have been toying with the idea of smaller squash like ambercup or autum cup. I stake my panels flat but they would be awsome as an arbor with beans on both sides . Ernie
Ernie, you have no idea how many things I have imagined with these cattle panels. I love them. And as long as you get them wired together good they will not collapse like you had to brace for. They are so strong that you could use them for arbors for almost anything. Even fastening them to a structure such as your house, barn etc. You would need bolt cutters to cut them.
The picture Scooter posted was fantastic. I have even thought about using them for animal houses such as a dog run, possibly chickens if they get big enough, I would love pigmy goats. . . . . . . . .
I am going to post a few pictures. The first one was while we were putting it up and in better light. The rest I just now took at 6 o'clock so the light isn't great. I built a raised bed 4x7 feet inside of the hoophouse which is 8x16.5 feet. So, I still have 9 feet on one end where I am going to put tomatoes in strawbales.
Ok, these are not good light.
Well, something went wrong so I had to disconnect and start over.
ok, I think it doesn't like it to just send a picture without any text.
Ok, this is the last one. I also have the little 11.5x12 ft. hexegon portable greenhouse I have had for about 3 years. I really like it.
Sorry about the blue color.
LOL, I discovered what turned all of my pictures blue. I have a blue tarp over the raised bed and that reflecting off of all the plastic of the hoophouse turned everything blue. But, I wanted to give you an idea of what I was doing. That is funny.
supposed to be red for tomatoes and green for cukes lol blue is for mondays lol. Ernie
You're right Ernie. I had forgotten blue Mondays. Jeanette
April 24 was a Monday :0)) so the pics fits perfectly
Janett
You guys are real clowns. You aren't going to let me forget it are you. LOL
Hi!
I have just posted about transofrming a chicken wire kennel into a greenhouse and this looks perfect. How can I keep it warm in winter? I want to have a geranium collection there so it needs to be warm. Does anyone know of any materials I can use? thank you
!
Spider, what are you talking about, a hoop house? If so, don't know. Maybe someone else can help you. Don't know why it would be any different than any other portable greenhouse. I just don't heat mine in the winter. In fact, I don't put mine up until April. But a lot of people do heat theirs.
These cattle panel greenhouses/shadehouse are absolutely fabulous. I have GOT to have one. Could anyone tell me where in Florida I could get these cattle panels? Thanks much.
Kathy
Do you have like a Tractor Supply Company?
any farm/feed stores?
I do have Tractor Supply, Ill check them tomorrow. Thanks. This is really a terrific idea and affordable.
Halo, I have one and they are so cheap and easy to put up!!! I was surprised at how many places do carry them without even thinking about it. Feed stores are a great place to look.
I started out with 4 panels and then added another. Have fun!!
Jeanette
I have to tell you that I am so pleased with the cattle panel hoophouse. I put mine up in early April with a visquine cover and I still have that on it. I put a raised bed full of flowers, both annuals and perennials in it and they are beautiufl. That is on one end.
The other end I have tomtoes planted in strawbales and am using hemp or jute to time them to the top of the cattle panels for support.
I am about to take off the visquine on the end with the flowers. When I do I will post pictures.
Also, I cut one panel in half with bolt cutters and I have cucumbers growing on one half and used the other half on one end of the hoophouse to keep the deer out.
Jeanette
Jeanette,
How tall are you; and how much taller than you is your cattle panel hoophouse?
~* Robin
Robin, I am 5'3'' and the top is about 6'. I have my tomatoes in strawbales in the middle and don't have to bend over to work with them.
Oh, I'm just an inch taller.... Jeanette, lost 1 inch in 2 years.... uhg! I couldn't get mine that high up. I probably need some more he-man strength to lift it a little higher.
Thanks.
~* Robin
Robin, did you look at the original link in Melissa's post beginning of this thread? The fellow that started the hoophouses said he tried everything else and 8 feet apart on the bottom made it best. You really should read the link. It is great. I will take some pictures tomorrow. I love the raised bed. I do not have any place to grow flowers so this works great.
I am going to take the visquine off by the end of this week I believe. Altho, it is so hot that I may not. The sudden sun just might blister all of the leaves on the flowers.
Cripe, I even have corn growing in buckets in there. Found out today I have tassels.
Jeanette,
I thought I read the whole thing the right way; but I do have dyslexia; I always have not been able to understand all written instructions. I have to go back & re-read it once again. I'll get my 2 oldest in on too.
Thanks.
~* Robin
Robin, you didn't say whether or not you looked at the link in the very first post by Melissa but the fellow who posted it was very good in his directions. Where he tells how wide, under one of the pictures, he says that he made it 8 ft wide on the bottom and that his son in law who is just over 6 ft tall can stand up in it.
Jeanette
Yeah, I read it & printed it out too, Jeanette.
It was my boyfriends fault... he & his friend (who are both 6 ft. tall) changed the specs & made it wider & shorter because he thought that it would fit better for my height. I didn't realize it till just now. I went outside today & measured it, then had a talk with him about it.
He says he doesn't have the energy to fix it the way it's supposed to be.
~* Robin
Well Robin, if you can use it comfortably it doesn't matter. If not, tell him to fix it or get a new boyfriend. :)
My dauaghter, who is more understanding than I, said that, in his defense, he meant well. Maybe he is not a gardner?
I don't know if it will help you or not as it's not so scientific. LOL When I built mine, I laid out rows of skids with an aisle between them. I attached the cattle panels by screwing into a decking board, through the holes of the panels and into the skids. Mine did not blow around at all and I could easily walk through the center without bopping my head. I'm 5'5" and had a couple of inches to spare.
