Portable "Scissor" Greenhouse

Portable Scissor Greenhouse BUILDINGS Miscellaneous Whenever possible Eugene and Lucy Goodman try to make money by not spending money on their Eaton Ohio farm     They had looked into hoophouse kits but opted to design and build their own moveable greenhouses which they ve now been using for about six years     Though they admit they re not fancy the structures allow the couple to plant their vegetable crops earlier and then extend the other end of the growing season as well harvesting a second crop The plastic tunnels protect plants from wind and when used with a fabric row cover over the plants they get extra cold protection      Hoophouse kits are stationary and require a foundation so you can t move them away from bug or disease problems that may occur Eugene says They re also very expensive     Instead the Goodmans came up with what they call scissor hoophouses      You can move them sideways because the pieces are light enough that they can be lifted he explains You can lift them over plants without crushing them      We have four 50 by 4-ft beds under the scissor hoophouses and it only took me about a day to make them from scratch when we first started Eugene says It takes me only about two hours to set up a 100-ft tunnel     Goodman s greenhouse design doesn t require perlins He made each metal hoop using two 10-ft pieces of electrical conduit bent in a mirror image of each other Then he connects them together at the top using an electrical conduit connector     Then he placed two of these hoops together at an angle to each other so that their straight sides formed scissor-like legs Goodman connected the legs with U-bolts about halfway up the sides The adjustable angle formed between the two hoops determines the height of the greenhouse Goodman sets his up so the legs are three feet apart and this creates a 7-ft tall structure which is freestanding at this point     To prevent the scissors from opening and closing under pressure Goodman drives a 2-ft long 3/8-in rebar brace into the ground one foot deep at the base of each scissor leg     He then places a 4-in long piece of 2 by 4 wood with a hole drilled in it over top of each rebar brace and slides it down until it sits on the ground Goodman then lifts up the foot of the hollow electrical conduit hoop and sets it over the top of the rebar sliding it down so it s sitting on the wood     Once a series of hoops has been set up with one foot of space between them the plastic is dragged over the top     The block of wood against the ground surface prevents the hoop legs from being driven into the ground by natural forces such as wind or weight from snow The Goodmans have found that strong winds can actually push the wood into the ground flush with the surface which loosens the plastic a bit     The Goodmans use 24-ft wide plastic sheeting so there s a little extra sticking out on the sides to bury under 4 to 6 in of dirt      It s important to keep the plastic pulled tight over the hoops Eugene says The scissor hoophouses sort of look like caterpillars when you get them set up We reuse our plastic each year with this system     The couple has used up to 13 of these scissor structures to make a 100-ft long tunnel      I don t suggest making them more than 100 ft long if you want acceptable air circulation he says We use them in the spring until the air gets warm enough to remove the plastic To move them I generally close the scissors and take them up and over the plants then set them down and open them up again As long as the two feet on each side are attached to the ground they won t open up any more and they ll support a fair amount of weight     Goodman says he spent a total of about $300 on materials to build the system and it quickly paid for itself      Conduit and plastic prices have gone up significantly since then so I think it would be about $600 now to build what we have he says     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Boulder Belt Eco-Farm Eugene Goodman P O Box 593 Eaton Ohio 45320 ph 937 456-9724; goodows@infinet com; www boulderbeltfarm com

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