Replacing the Cover on My Hoop House
Autumn is a busy time for gardeners in cold weather regions - it's a race to get all the tropical plants stored indoors and safe in their greenhouses.
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, I currently have three hoop houses designated specifically for warm weather specimens. The hoop houses are constructed from steel frames and Polyethylene panels. While they are extremely durable and long lasting, it was time to replace the existing cover and curtains on the structure located next to my stable barn and across from my vegetable garden. My crew took on the tedious task this week.
Here are some photos, enjoy. And don't forget, starting today you can watch my newest show, "Martha Gardens", now streaming free on The Roku Channel. My first show is about my living maze and how to grow trees from seedlings. You can stream a new episode every month, and get lots of my favorite tips, ideas, and solutions for tending your garden year round.
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- This is one of two large hoop houses where I keep many of my tropical and citrus plants during the cold season. The plants that are displayed at Skylands, my home in Maine, are brought back to Bedford every fall for proper storage and care. Looking here, one can see it was time to replace the Polyethylene skin.
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- The old skin is removed from the hoop house and neatly rolled. What is salvageable is stored and what is not is discarded.
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- Here is the hoop house without its skin. The entire structure is built using heavy gauge American made, triple-galvanized steel tubing. I chose this gothic style because of its high peak to accommodate my taller plants.
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- The fabric comes in two rolls – one is a heavy-duty, woven polyethylene that features an anti-condensate additive to reduce moisture buildup and dripping. The other side contains UV additives that allow the fabric to maintain its strength through the seasons.
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- Doug and Pete hoist one roll on top of the frame and start to unroll it. The cover arrives on thick, hard cardboard tubes, so this part is quick and easy to do.
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- The other roll is then brought up and placed on top of the first roll. The greenhouse is 60-feet by 40-feet so there is a lot of space to cover.
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- The two sheets are well labeled, so there is no confusion as to what side faces up and what side faces down.
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- Next, the crew unfolds the fabric over the sides – they do this slowly, so the fabric pieces remain together and straight. Both fabric pieces must be perfectly in line to cover the structure properly and fully.
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- It fits just right. This Polyethylene fabric is designed to stand up to just about any climate. It also resists rips and tears, so it could last up to 10-years depending on the weather. Fernando walks around the perimeter to ensure the fabric is completely flat.
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- Next, Fernando and Doug work together to pull the fabric taut at the ends of the framework and secure it with double spline extrusions and special latches.
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- The latches are then pushed into the lock channels and tightened.
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- All the metal used to secure the skin is high grade aluminum for added durability.
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- Meanwhile, Fernando moves onto the straps of the curtains.
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- These curtain clips hold the straps in place. Teeth on the clips ensure that the straps stay taut.
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- Pete and Fernando secure the straps onto the clips one by one on both sides. It’s coming together very quickly. Soon, we will be moving many plants into this temperature and humidity controlled space.
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- Using black PVC pipe, Pete cuts three inch half round sections to secure the curtain to the rod.
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- These manual roll-up curtains raise and lower the bottom section of the Polyethylene fabric for ventilation when needed.
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- Here is one side all completed.
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- And here is a view of the inside. The space between the two layers of plastic is also filled with air to keep the hoop house taut, smooth and insulated. The air layer prevents heat loss at half the rate of single-paned glass.
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- The finished hoop house is now ready for storing my tropical plants. This greenhouse works by heating and circulating air to create an artificial tropical environment. It includes three fans and a propane fueled heater. It is an excellent way to ensure my warm weather specimens survive the cold winters of the Northeast. Wait until you see how many plants we can fit in here – you’ll be amazed. Stay tuned.
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