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Gardening Health & Lifestyle

Extend Your Gardening Season Up To 4 Months Longer For Less Than $10

Extend Your Gardening Season Up To 4 Months Longer For Less Than $10 | WholeLifestyleNutrition.com

 Extend Your Gardening Season Up To 4 Months Longer

 

Would you believe me if I told you that you could extend your gardening season to be 4 months longer? Think of how much more you could grow with 4 extra months!

You might believe that this can be done but when I tell you that you can do this for less than $10, you might be a bit skeptical. I am here to show you how easy it is!

This project will take you 10 minutes to put up, requires little to no watering and will cost you less than $10. Sound good? I sure think it does!

A Little Thing Called A Hoop House

 

So just what is this? I call it a hoop house. Not sure if that is the correct name or not….but it sounds good. My neighbor and I did this project yesterday in less than 10 minutes. She was nice enough to allow me to shoot some photos while she put hers up! Thanks Tracy! 🙂

We live in Wisconsin and we have brutal winters (with exception of this year). I usually start planting early May and my garden comes to an end in late September. By putting this hoop house up, we were able to plant in March and will extend our season though November! That is 4 extra months!

You will be amazed how easy it is to put up and also how easy it is to maintain. Once up, the hoop house creates its own moisture (humidity) and keeps the soil warm creating a perfect environment for the plants to flourish. The plants are protected from frost and hard freezes in this self made hoop house.

Building A Hoop House In 4 Easy Steps

 

So lets build this hoop house shall we? Here is what you will need to get started.

  • 1/2-inch PVC pipe (they are sold in 10 foot pieces). Depending on the size of your garden/raised bed, you will need one of these for every 3-4 feet. These cost roughly 1.50 a piece.
  • cement pavers – you will need about one every 3-4 feet. These will cost you about $.30 cents a piece.
  • 1 piece of 3 mil clear plastic sheeting, make sure it is large enough to cover your bed. This will cost you about $3.00
  • handheld saw to cut the pipes. You can also have your home improvement center cut them for free.

Step 1 ~ The first thing you want to do is saw the PVC pipes to 7 feet long.

Extend Your Gardening Season Up To 4 Months Longer For Less Than $10 | WholeLifestyleNutrition.com

Step 2 ~ Next put the PVC pipe into the soil and bend it to the other side. PVC piping is very flexible. This will make a dome like shape.

Extend Your Gardening Season Up To 4 Months Longer For Less Than $10 | WholeLifestyleNutrition.com

Step 3 ~ Drape your plastic over the PVC creating a dome like structure.

Extend Your Gardening Season Up To 4 Months Longer For Less Than $10 | WholeLifestyleNutrition.com

Step 4 ~ Place cement pavers or bricks around the perimeter of the bed securely holding the plastic down. You should place enough bricks around the hoop house so that cool air stays out and the air in the hoop house stays in to create the proper humidity.

Extend Your Gardening Season Up To 4 Months Longer For Less Than $10 | WholeLifestyleNutrition.com

The Finished Product

 

Once you are done, this is what your hoop house should look like. I know, how simple was that, right?

Extend Your Gardening Season Up To 4 Months Longer For Less Than $10 | WholeLifestyleNutrition.com

Look at these two photos. The plants were grown in the hoop house here in Wisconsin. The average temperature has been around 45-50ºF and the evenings have been in the low 30’s.

These were planted last month and are ready for harvest already. Pretty amazing how these hoop houses create such beautiful healthy plants that thrive in this environment.

Extend Your Gardening Season Up To 4 Months Longer For Less Than $10 | WholeLifestyleNutrition.com

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Extend Your Gardening Season Up To 4 Months Longer For Less Than $10 | WholeLifestyleNutrition.com

 

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59 Comments

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Comments

  1. Wendy Zeimantz says

    April 15, 2012 at 11:36 pm

    Wonderful idea! I think I will use that in my gardens here in OR!

    Reply
  2. loves2spin says

    April 16, 2012 at 6:41 am

    Very Nice Tutorial!  Thank you so much.  I have a walk-into-it hoop house and actually grow things in such a way that we have fresh greens all winter.  With your idea, if I need more space, we’ll be all set and I’m going to share this with my gardening daughter too.

    Reply
    • hallecottis says

      April 18, 2012 at 10:43 am

       @loves2spin I am glad this post is helpful to you!  It really is quite simple to do this.

      Reply
  3. TheRedeemedGardener says

    April 17, 2012 at 8:11 am

    Great Post! I hop over from the hop! I will be building a couple of these this fall! I hope to visit often here! Anyone interested can come garden at: http://www.theredeemedgardener.blogspot.com

    Reply
    • hallecottis says

      April 18, 2012 at 10:43 am

       @TheRedeemedGardener Welcome!

      Reply
  4. thats_sew_jenni says

    April 18, 2012 at 10:31 am

    How do you water your garden if its got that cover on it?

    Reply
    • hallecottis says

      April 18, 2012 at 10:42 am

       @thats_sew_jenni a few things here…you won’t need to water very often because it is so humid in there and it creates its own moisture.  If you do need to water, look at the last pictures in this post…you simple undo the bricks on one side and lift the plastic off, water, and then cover it back up.

      Reply
    • Karen Jackson Simmons says

      April 19, 2012 at 12:51 pm

       @thats_sew_jenni I use soaker hoses in my raised beds…just hook up the garden hose to the soaker hose and there you have it!

      Reply
      • hallecottis says

        April 19, 2012 at 7:35 pm

         @Karen Jackson Simmons  @thats_sew_jenni Great idea Karen!

        Reply
  5. Karen Jackson Simmons says

    April 19, 2012 at 12:52 pm

    Thanks for sharing…too easy!!!

    Reply
  6. Adrienne Whole New Mom says

    April 19, 2012 at 6:50 pm

    Love this. Thanks!  I was hoping we’d be able to do this but I didn’t know it was so easy. Thanks so much for sharing!!!  I’m going to share on FB!

    Reply
  7. lom8nance says

    April 20, 2012 at 4:20 am

    That’s a great idea! Thanks so much for sharing this!

    Reply
  8. OurNaturalJourn says

    April 20, 2012 at 7:22 am

    Thanks for this tutorial! I pinned it: http://pinterest.com/pin/91690542383722488/

    Reply
    • hallecottis says

      April 20, 2012 at 12:47 pm

       @OurNaturalJourn Your welcome, thanks so much for pinning!

      Reply
  9. Chandelle says

    April 20, 2012 at 12:28 pm

    This is basically a floating row cover. A hoop house is more like a free-standing greenhouse. I’m hoping to do this myself this year. Great idea!

    Reply
    • hallecottis says

      April 20, 2012 at 12:46 pm

       @Chandelle Ahhhh the right name 🙂  Thank you so much!  

      Reply
      • George says

        May 5, 2020 at 9:17 am

        Isn’t it actually called a cliche? I think it’s an old gardening idea.

        Reply
        • George says

          May 5, 2020 at 9:18 am

          C l o c h e

          Reply
  10. BeyondThePeel says

    April 20, 2012 at 7:11 pm

    I see a lot of this in my area and thought it was a great idea. Thank you for your inspiration and thanks for coming by and sharing it at Whole Food Wednesdays.

    Reply
  11. The21stCenturyHousewife says

    April 23, 2012 at 3:41 am

    This is an excellent idea, and a wonderful way to extend the growing season frugally!

    Reply
  12. airynd says

    May 4, 2012 at 6:01 pm

    I went out and bought the supplies for this setup a couple of days after Adrienne from Whole New Mom shared it with me. Great idea! I wish I’d seen it last month, when I really needed it. As soon as I got them built, our temperatures rocketed up into the 70’s and 80’s. [sigh] However, it’ll be super handy in the fall, and going forward! Important safety tip: .3 mil painter’s plastic is NOT the same as 3 mil – DERP. I bought the wrong stuff on the first try, and it pretty much shredded if I looked at it funny. Oy.

    Reply
    • hallecottis says

      May 4, 2012 at 6:10 pm

       @airynd good safety notice 🙂  Glad it is working out now and it will be super beneficial in the fall to carry your harvest all the way up to the first snow fall.  Thanks for sharing your progress with us 🙂

      Reply
  13. amprotec says

    August 17, 2012 at 3:40 am

    Excellent posting
    I am sure that you have got good water tank to water these plants
     
    cheers

    Reply
  14. amprotec says

    August 17, 2012 at 3:45 am

    Excellent use of home made resources
     
    I will be more happy to see plants that require good <a href=”http://pinterest.com/amprotec/”>water tanks</a> to water
     
    cheers

    Reply
  15. amprotec says

    August 17, 2012 at 3:45 am

    Excellent use of home made resources
     
    I will be more happy to see plants that require good water tanks to water
     
    cheers

    Reply
  16. plastic hats says

    October 5, 2012 at 12:13 am

    Wow..It’s awesome and really interesting. Now it has become easy to grow plants even without any season.. Brilliant idea..

    Reply
  17. John1942 says

    February 26, 2013 at 6:03 am

    Wow. a cheaper hoop greenhouse. I use 6mil plastic for my small greenhouse, never thought about making one that I could not walk into. have to try this one this year.

    Reply
  18. Nora Weston says

    April 10, 2013 at 6:34 pm

    Storming here all day in Joplin, MO

    Reply
  19. Whole Lifestyle Nutrition says

    April 10, 2013 at 6:41 pm

    Rain or snow Nora?

    Reply
  20. Jennifer Fera says

    April 10, 2013 at 6:45 pm

    Gearhead Gh we should do this!

    Reply
  21. Rhonda Harader Cain says

    April 10, 2013 at 6:45 pm

    Nora, I know Joplin! I am in KC, grew up in Cassville.

    Reply
  22. Rhonda Harader Cain says

    April 10, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    Halle, rain……Nora is a couple hours south of me.

    Reply
  23. Tracy Carver says

    April 10, 2013 at 6:48 pm

    We hit a high of 2 degrees and still have at least a foot of snow on my garden. I’ll live through your posts!

    Reply
  24. Jan Martin Whitlinger says

    April 10, 2013 at 7:58 pm

    It was 86 here today… unseasonably warm!

    Reply
  25. Tina Walker McCullom says

    April 10, 2013 at 8:02 pm

    Jan you know us Cali folk go from crazy cold windy rain right into summer, I was dying today it was 88 here but the sun makes it feel like high 90’s

    Reply
  26. Jan Martin Whitlinger says

    April 10, 2013 at 8:03 pm

    Tina, still really windy here from the weekend… Allergies are crazy!

    Reply
  27. Tina Walker McCullom says

    April 11, 2013 at 12:49 am

    Our wind died down last night & I’m just east from you, next time I come to the bay area we need to connect 🙂

    Reply
  28. Jan Martin Whitlinger says

    April 11, 2013 at 12:51 am

    Hope it’s soon, Tina! That you come to the Bay Area… AND that the wind dies down! 😉

    Reply
  29. Tina Walker McCullom says

    April 11, 2013 at 12:55 am

    You know it’s only a 2 hour drive

    Reply
  30. The_Leslie1 says

    April 14, 2013 at 12:26 pm

    Where do you buy the sheeting??

    Reply
  31. shelly says

    January 27, 2014 at 11:39 pm

    Do you take the plastic off in warm weather?

    Reply
    • Jerry says

      March 6, 2015 at 11:10 pm

      Can seeds be started in this in April in Pa.?

      Reply
      • Halle Cottis says

        March 9, 2015 at 3:11 pm

        Absolutely! Warm the soil first, then plant the seeds and cover.

        Reply
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    April 18, 2014 at 8:20 pm

    Do you mind iif I quote a couple of your articles as long as I provide credit and sources back tto
    your weblog? My blog is in the exact ssame area of interest as yours and my users would genuinerly benefit from some of thhe information you present here.
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  33. Feibe Huang says

    November 9, 2014 at 10:11 pm

    I was wondering if the temperature drop in 30s, will the plants survive by only covered with plastic? Or should i covered with something else to make it warmer?

    Reply
    • Halle Cottis says

      November 11, 2014 at 8:56 am

      Yep they will survive. My temps dropped below 0F and they did great under the plastic.

      Reply
  34. akhila says

    March 8, 2016 at 1:02 pm

    Please let me know why you specified the pipes need to be cut at 7 feet? Was it to make the hoops higher or is that the minimum required for flexibility? Many thanks!

    Reply
    • Halle Cottis says

      March 25, 2016 at 10:05 am

      Hi akhila! 7′ was just the height that I prefer to make a hoop house that is high enough for the plants to grow and thrive in. You certainly can make them smaller a bit if you’d like, but I wouldn’t go too much smaller.

      Reply
  35. Barbara says

    March 24, 2016 at 12:52 pm

    I have the same question as akhila. I live in southern OR

    Reply
  36. Meg says

    August 2, 2016 at 8:04 pm

    Hi! I have a question were these planted directly into the beds as seeds? Or were they grown indoors and transplanted? If so when did you move them into the beds?

    Reply
    • Halle Cottis says

      August 3, 2016 at 8:19 am

      Hi Meg!

      These were planted directly in the soil as seeds. Look to plant cool weather crops when you are extending your seasons. Hope this helps!

      Reply
      • Meg says

        August 3, 2016 at 4:31 pm

        Thanks so much! I live in NJ and have a similar growing season

        Reply
  37. LeeAnn says

    September 22, 2016 at 11:06 am

    I am doing this with peas this fall. What about pollination?

    Reply
    • Halle Cottis says

      September 22, 2016 at 2:55 pm

      Just tap the vine and the peas will pollinate on their own. Peas are a perfect crop for an extended season!

      Reply
  38. Desiree says

    October 23, 2017 at 1:10 am

    What type of snow load can the pvc and plastic withstand?

    Reply
    • Halle Cottis says

      October 25, 2017 at 8:59 am

      A LOT! I lived in Wisconsin, so you can only imagine the amount of snow that we got!

      Reply
  39. Ellen says

    March 6, 2018 at 3:59 pm

    Great idea! Do the hoops stay up in the wind?

    Reply
    • Halle Cottis says

      March 9, 2018 at 6:02 pm

      Yep, they sure do!

      Reply

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I'm Halle: food lover, modernized hippy, blogger, and a mama trying to solve all problems naturally.  I love photography, especially shooting images of food!  My goal is to make you drool and inspire you to want all things healthy!  ❤Learn More →

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