Posted: 1/25/2016 10:34:21 PM EDT
| Me and my daughter are planning to set up a food garden this year and Im thinking about a PVC greenhouse. My main concern is, living in Oklahoma, keeping it anchored into the ground incase of high winds from a gust front or a serious storm. I also want to use a plastic sheeting that can make it hail resistant. I live in the city and we don't normally get hail much bigger than a quarter. I kinda think I would want a 4X6 wood base, maybe some rebar or all thread to anchor it down. Im definitely not sure what mm of plastic I would need to use and if i would need to double it up. Thanks for any help. |
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Me and my daughter are planning to set up a food garden this year and Im thinking about a PVC greenhouse. My main concern is, living in Oklahoma, keeping it anchored into the ground incase of high winds from a gust front or a serious storm. I also want to use a plastic sheeting that can make it hail resistant. I live in the city and we don't normally get hail much bigger than a quarter. I kinda think I would want a 4X6 wood base, maybe some rebar or all thread to anchor it down. Im definitely not sure what mm of plastic I would need to use and if i would need to double it up. Thanks for any help. Are you going to heat it? |
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Honestly, I figured the sun would take care of that. Well, it depends on what you want the greenhouse for. With a greenhouse, the sun and the weather are both your friends and your enemies, depending on what you want, because the greenhouse makes heat more extreme, but unheated, does little more than a cold frame (and sometimes less) to alleviate cold. So...first....what are you wanting and expecting from this greenhouse? |
| We're only gonna plant a few different veggies so I'm not expecting a big yeld of anything. Things like lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and such, things that enjoy lots of sun. I've had food gardens before but they have been hit or miss with some foods. I figure with a greenhouse I can remove many bad elements from the equation and control what goes in to one extent or the other. Like I said, my main effort now, in planning, is to make it resistant to high winds and hail as best as possible. |
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... PVC greenhouse. My main concern is, living in Oklahoma, keeping it anchored into the ground incase of high winds from a gust front or a serious storm... I have also given this thought. I am North of you, but I would go nothing less then oil field pipe base w/ sucker rod or wood framing where I am at. But I have seen open side livestock shelters and irrigation pivots blown around like tumble weeds here. If you could set it up in a protected area, like in a fenced in back yard with wind protection, maybe a large pallet as a base, with concrete blocks as ballast, would work with the pvc framing. Good luck. |
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We're only gonna plant a few different veggies so I'm not expecting a big yeld of anything. Things like lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and such, things that enjoy lots of sun. I've had food gardens before but they have been hit or miss with some foods. I figure with a greenhouse I can remove many bad elements from the equation and control what goes in to one extent or the other. Like I said, my main effort now, in planning, is to make it resistant to high winds and hail as best as possible. So you are not wanting a greenhouse to supplement your food garden, as in starting plants early to move outside, or overwintering plants. You're wanting it to BE your food garden? And only in the summer months? If that's the case. are you aware that your veggies and fruits like tomatoes are not going to taste the same coming from the greenhouse as they do coming from an outside garden? They're going to taste more like they were grown for/bought in the store. Also, while you remove certain things, you will introduce others unless you plan a very sophisticated greenhouse--one that involves constant controlled air flow and temperature management. It's going to be hotter in the greenhouse in summer than it is outside, unless you control that. I've never been to Oklahoma, but I understand that it gets very hot there. So though you can certainly do what you're suggesting, it's not going to be as simple as putting up some pipe and slapping some plastic over it, even if wind were not a concern. The first step I would take, if I were you, would be to find some small local commercial greenhouses--like farmers who grow year-round for local markets--and talk to them. Find out what they're doing, and find out how they do their setup. Ask them how they manage temperature in the heat of the summer. While some of what they're doing may not apply to you, you're going to be indoor gardening under the same conditions, and you will learn. You may even find some good (and free) literature about exactly what you're doing at your local county extension office. |
I put up a greenhouse last fall over my shooting bench  I used 18" pieces of rebar driven a foot into the ground and slipped the PVC conduit over them. I went 2' on center for the PVC. I wrapped 2x6 around the outside and then used 1x2 to clamp the plastic to the 2x6. It's a good idea to drill out holes in the 1x2 so the screws slip in to make sure you get a good clamping action on the plastic. It's withstood 50 mph gusts, of course the rebar is frozen into the ground. I used the 6mm fiber reinforced plastic but I don't know if that would be the best to use for light transmission for a greenhouse.
From my research one other important feature is a ridge pipe, I used a 1.5" PVC pipe on the top of the hoops. This helps shed snow. I used duct tape and strapping tape to hold the ridge pipe on as well as the 1x2 supports along the sides. |
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We're only gonna plant a few different veggies so I'm not expecting a big yeld of anything. Things like lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and such, things that enjoy lots of sun. I've had food gardens before but they have been hit or miss with some foods. I figure with a greenhouse I can remove many bad elements from the equation and control what goes in to one extent or the other. Like I said, my main effort now, in planning, is to make it resistant to high winds and hail as best as possible. The creature called a "high tunnel" may be what you seek. They seem best suited to extending seasons on early spring and fall crops. I've heard them most praised in regards to kale and that sort of thing. They're enjoying some popularity around here due to a local push. This project is not local to you, but you can kinda see what's going on. I have no idea how any of this would relate to a place with your wind issues. |
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Quoted: I put up a greenhouse last fall over my shooting bench I used 18" pieces of rebar driven a foot into the ground and slipped the PVC conduit over them. I went 2' on center for the PVC. I wrapped 2x6 around the outside and then used 1x2 to clamp the plastic to the 2x6. It's a good idea to drill out holes in the 1x2 so the screws slip in to make sure you get a good clamping action on the plastic. It's withstood 50 mph gusts, of course the rebar is frozen into the ground. I used the 6mm fiber reinforced plastic but I don't know if that would be the best to use for light transmission for a greenhouse.From my research one other important feature is a ridge pipe, I used a 1.5" PVC pipe on the top of the hoops. This helps shed snow. I used duct tape and strapping tape to hold the ridge pipe on as well as the 1x2 supports along the sides. http://www.mnguntalk.com/download/file.php?id=21932&t=1 |
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This is what you need.
Build a mini-hoop house with the 6mil cover and their fastening kit. |