Hello CSA Members!
We are almost done with our vegetable hoop house! The PVC frame has been put together and we are in the process of constructing the wooden end walls (the front and back of the greenhouse). Putting up the PVC took longer than anticipated. After we had the wooden 2×6” ground foundation set in place and leveled out, we drove 2” PVC pipe into the ground at 3 foot intervals just on the inside of the foundation. These sleeves became the base of our hoops, which are made out of 1.25” PVC pipe. Driving all this pipe into the ground, while being careful not to break it, took a lot longer than expected. When the soil is as wet as it is, the further the pipes went into the ground, the harder the job became – like cutting a wedge of cheese with a butcher knife. But with a little brute force and some off-the-cuff thinking, the job was completed.
The next step was assembling the 1.25” PVC pipe into hoops. This was fairly easy, but the devil is in the details – we had to secure these hoops to the foundation. This seemingly easy concept to grasp proved to be a full day’s endeavor. We had to keep the lengths of the hoops equal to each other, while keeping the sleeves level to the foundation and securing the hoops to this foundation through the sleeves… all the while the hoops were being put under pressure, pulling away from where they were supposed to be… and well jeez, that’s a lot to juggle at the same time.
So all that was pretty tough, but here we are. We made it and the greenhouse stands. For now at least. No, I’m just kidding, it’s very sturdy and I’m super excited to put the plastic film over it so we can put little baby tomato seedlings in there. Yay!
Organically yours,
Will
Assistant Farmer at Frog Hollow Farm