“Made It Myself” Movable Hoop House
“I love my moveable 25 by 48-ft. hoop houses. Salt and nutrient buildup in the soil is not an issue like it is in my stationary structure that’s watered by drip irrigation. I also don’t see disease buildup, and pests don’t overwinter,” says Wendy Carpenter, Modoc, Ind.
“I built my first one, including the track it moves on, for less than $5,000. I started with a standard stationary hoop house and added extra bracing. I attached diagonal pipes from the purlins to the uprights at 3 different locations. Eventually I raised them up on the sides so I wouldn’t run into them.
“My son welded the track using black steel pipe. It’s long enough for 3 moves of the 48-ft. hoop house. He welded T’s to the track every 10 ft.
“I initially tried putting lawn mower wheels on the sides, but they couldn’t handle the weight. My son then welded brackets to each upright to allow us to slide the hoop along the track. The brackets also keep the sides from bowing in or out.
“To move it, I put cheap vegetable oil on the track and use a pickup truck and lawn tractor chained to the ends to pull it back and forth.
“A big concern was how a moveable hoop house would hold up to high winds. I decided to anchor the hoop house to the track with turnbuckles. I bent the loop ends open into hooks and attached them to holes in the uprights of the hoop. Then I ran chain from the lower hooks on the turnbuckles around the track and back to the turnbuckles. There are chains on every other hoop for a total of 7 on each side. I also installed large earth anchors at the 4 corners of the track. When the hoop house is at one end or the other, corner turnbuckle chains are attached to the earth anchors.
“So far, it has stood up to the wind, including 5 hrs. of winds above 50 miles per hour.
“One challenge is sealing the bottom edge of the hoops. This limits the crops that can be grown in the winter. My most reliable crops are arugula and spinach. Lettuce does all right into December.
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“Made It Myself” Movable Hoop House BUILDINGS Miscellaneous “I love my moveable 25 by 48-ft hoop houses Salt and nutrient buildup in the soil is not an issue like it is in my stationary structure that’s watered by drip irrigation I also don’t see disease buildup and pests don’t overwinter ” says Wendy Carpenter Modoc Ind “I built my first one including the track it moves on for less than $5 000 I started with a standard stationary hoop house and added extra bracing I attached diagonal pipes from the purlins to the uprights at 3 different locations Eventually I raised them up on the sides so I wouldn’t run into them “My son welded the track using black steel pipe It’s long enough for 3 moves of the 48-ft hoop house He welded T’s to the track every 10 ft “I initially tried putting lawn mower wheels on the sides but they couldn’t handle the weight My son then welded brackets to each upright to allow us to slide the hoop along the track The brackets also keep the sides from bowing in or out “To move it I put cheap vegetable oil on the track and use a pickup truck and lawn tractor chained to the ends to pull it back and forth “A big concern was how a moveable hoop house would hold up to high winds I decided to anchor the hoop house to the track with turnbuckles I bent the loop ends open into hooks and attached them to holes in the uprights of the hoop Then I ran chain from the lower hooks on the turnbuckles around the track and back to the turnbuckles There are chains on every other hoop for a total of 7 on each side I also installed large earth anchors at the 4 corners of the track When the hoop house is at one end or the other corner turnbuckle chains are attached to the earth anchors “So far it has stood up to the wind including 5 hrs of winds above 50 miles per hour “One challenge is sealing the bottom edge of the hoops This limits the crops that can be grown in the winter My most reliable crops are arugula and spinach Lettuce does all right into December
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