How to Make a PVC Hoop Greenhouse

Here’s an idea that strecthes the seasons a little, for bedding plants and early veggies:

Get several pieces of 1/2 or 3/4 inch diameter PVC tubing from the hardware store, the kind used for indoor plumbing. Also get a few pieces of re-bar (reinforcing bar- steel rods used for cement construction, also available at the hardware store: cheap) Cut the re-bar into lengths about 18 inches long, and the PVC to about 4 to 6 feet. Drive the re-bar into the ground in two rows, slanted slightly towards each other. If the PVC is four feet long, the rows of stakes should be three feet apart, like this:

o 6feet o 6feet o

3feet

o 6feet o 6feet o

Now, place one end of a piece of PVC over a stake, bend it up, and slip the other end over the opposite stake. Do this down the row. Finally, cover the entire framework with heavy clear plastic, place rocks or soil over the edges and ends, and you have yourself a very inexpensive greenhouse, or cold frame, to beat the frost by a few weeks. Easy to put up, easy to take down and store. If you need to work the garden, just peel back the plastic and replace when done.

A friend’s Scout Troop did the same thing, using heavier tubing in sections 20 feet long (2 ten footers connected. They put a large (40 x 50) tarp over the whole thing and had a little ‘quonset hut’ for a cook tent and dining hall. It was fantastic.