Extend Your Garden Season with a DIY Hoop House

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Have you seen the big hoop houses cut flower gardeners use to extend their garden season?

A hoop house can add several weeks to your growing season and if you are a plantaholic like me then that is a big win!

I have a very short growing season and any way I can squeeze out a few more weeks I am on it. So my husband and I contrived this DIY Hoop House that almost anyone can build.

DIY Hog Panel Greenhouse FlowerPatchFarmhouse.com

this is a very old post and the photos are lousy but you can get an idea. This is an post is to give you an idea of what you can do but I did not include specifics.

Materials

  • 16 ft x 5 ft feed lot panels (how many you use depends upon the size hoop house you make)
  • 2 x 6 boards (we used old scaffolding)
  • wire
  • plastic sheeting
  • wood screws to attach the base boards together
DIY Greenhouse from Hog Panels
DIY Greenhouse from Hog Panels
DIY Greenhouse from Hog Panels
Hoop House FlowerPatchFarmhouse.com (7 of 30)
Hoop House FlowerPatchFarmhouse.com (8 of 30)
Hoop House FlowerPatchFarmhouse.com (10 of 30)
Hoop House FlowerPatchFarmhouse.com (11 of 30)


Though this is by no means a glamour shot I wanted to show you an overall picture of my DIY Greenhouse. (don’t tell my hubby I am flaunting a photo of his backside to the world, he doesn’t read my blog and is clueless)
Each one of the hog panels is 5 feet wide so this makeshift greenhouse is 15 feet long.  If you didn’t manage to do the math that is 3 hog panels connected.
They are 16 feet long and wedged between a frame in the ground.  The height is enough for me to walk under without stooping and I am 5′ 5″ tall, my hubby has to bend his head and he is 6′.
If you want it to be taller you would, of course, space the frame a bit narrower.
I have straw all around my plants to reduce the need for water.
After we propped the panels in place my hubby wired them together.
Nothing fancy, just a piece of heavy duty wire twisted around it.
I took several photos at different angles to try and give you the most perspective.
You can see my tomato plants in this one.  He was very good at not hurting anything I already had growing.
We put this up over a week ago and my plants have grown considerably since. I will try to share more current photos tomorrow.
While I know many of you are already harvesting, it is typical for me not to really get anything until August, but I am hoping this new addition to my garden will help to get more earlier.
We can cover it with thick clear plastic once the temperatures cool and even maybe grow some cool weather crops after snow flies, we will have to add some supports to the center but I am told that is easy enough.
Here are my French Filet green beans.
My baby cucumber, it is the little snacking type that I love.
I had planted several seeds and a few came up but a skunk or other pesky creature dug them up while trying to get grubs. Grrr…These are the weeds that are growing on the outside of the DIY Greenhouse, I grow the lovliest weeds.Actually I am letting them go to seed so I can collect them then these plants will get pulled up and this area will be tidier looking.
And once this is filled and really pretty I will share some real beauty shots!
Here in the foreground you can see my bed of lettuce that bolted and went to seed.  I am pulling it up a bit each day to feed to my chickens.
It turned hot overnight here this Spring and made it turn bitter, but no waste here.  The chickens still love it.
I hope soon to be able to post about all the lovely veggies we will be eating.

Hoop House FlowerPatchFarmhouse.com (17 of 30)
Farm Fresh Eggs

Speaking of my hens, my Olive Eggers have started to lay.
I love the gorgeous green that I have in my egg collection each day.
I hope you enjoy you day….I am going out to the garden now for a lovely morning walk with my coffee!
I wish you a fabulous day!

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9 Comments

  1. These are 16 foot panels, height will depend on how far apart you place the ends. You can adjust to your space.

  2. I am curious how ide it is? I can’t find any width dimentions only length and height! Am I missing it ?

  3. I just read a blog of a gal in Ireland with your same issues and she had a hoop house and planted directly outside. The difference in growth within the hoop house told me this will be just what I wanted. I am also looking at ways to retain heat in it in winter. Some interesting info out there that I want to try.

  4. Hello – I popped over here from BNOTP – this is a great idea! I live in the PNW where we typically have cool, rainy Junes and very late harvests. I am just now beginning to get flowers in my cutting garden. Pinning your idea now 🙂

  5. I am certainly counting on it, I think it will work until the dead of winter. During the darkest months I get little direct sunlight from living among very large trees but up until then this spot does get some sun.

  6. I am going to test the greenhouse theory this coming winter. I will keep you all posted.

  7. This is great! I love the idea of using cattle panel hoops for climbing plants like pole beans. it’d be cool if you could then turn it into a green house during the winter. 🙂

  8. That looks great and I’ll bet you are going to get great results extending your growing season. I’ll be anxious to see how it goes! I found you through Between Naps on the Porch.

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