Hoop House Glides Open and Closed

Vern Harris likes setting up hoop houses over his vegetable beds, but he doesn't like the hassle of working under them. Most designs require lifting the plastic sides to get at the produce. So, Harris came up with hoops that glide on rails, making access as easy as pulling on two ropes.

"Anybody who is even slightly mechanical can build one," says Harris. "If they run into trouble, I'd be glad to help. My hoop houses have let me grow greens even in the snow."

Harris lives in Northwestern Washington State where winter temperatures are commonly in the 30's and 40's so hoop houses make year-round gardening possible. Harris builds his garden beds from 8-ft. long, 2 by 6-in. untreated fir. The main component of the hoop house is schedule 40 pvc pipe. The rails the house slides on are 3/4-in. diameter pipe. The hoops are 1/2 in. diameter. They fit into 1-in. diameter tees that glide over the rails.

"I needed to raise the rails slightly above the bed sides so the tees can glide down the rail," says Harris. "To get the height, I predrilled holes through the pipes and set 1/2-in. long pieces of 1/2-in. aluminum tubing under the holes. Screws driven through the holes and through the tubing secure the rails in place."

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