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Denver, CO

I know I have read this somewhere before, but I cant seem to find it in the search engine so I will ask again.

I have a chance to use 5 X 6 ft quick pop up tents to cover my plants when I get them outside. Will these work, or do I need more direct sunlight? Could I cut holes in the top and tape or sew in clear plastice panels?

Again, I know this is on the site somewhere, so I apologize for the repeativness. Any input or links would be great

5/8/2005 10:11:38 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

Why waste a good tent? For $12.00 I can run and buy all the supplies for a 6 x 8 hoophouse. A couple pieces of 10' pvc. A 12' x 20' piece of 3ml plastic. 1 dozen Binder clips. 15 minutes of work and bang you have a hoophouse.

5/9/2005 9:14:53 AM

Pocatello ([email protected])

You need more light. The more light the better.

It's surprizingly easy to build a hexagon shaped hoop
house, which is very similar in principle to many tents.

You need to make only one measurement. You make a string,
and tie a loop at each end. Pound a rebar into the ground
(not too deep!) and this becomes your center. Now use your
string with the loop at each end and scribe a perfect
circle around the post. (With plastic that is 20 feet wide
my string is 7.5 feet long.)

Now that you have the circle drawn in your patch, you are
going to place the base of the hoophouse entirely on this
circle. What we want are 6 points perfectly spaced to
create the hexagon shape. First, place the first one
"anywhere" on the circle. Now, use the exact same string
as you used to scribe the circle. The length of this string
is the exact spacing (linearly) around the circle between
each point.

I hope this makes sense.

Once I do this, I actually bolt the hoops together, and
add additional supports to fortify the structure, as I live
in a high wind area.

5/9/2005 10:57:57 AM

You could use the tent frame, and wrap plastic around it. But it would be very large.

5/9/2005 4:21:20 PM

Denver, CO

Thanks for the input. My overriding issue, which I should have stated, is to get somthing that i can put up and take down in little to no time, and it has to be easily stored as I dont have a lot space. The tents are ideal from that these aspects, but as I was afraid, there is not enough light without modifications. Also I should have stated that these tents can be purchased at Wal-Mart for about $13.00

5/9/2005 4:28:38 PM

Montoursville, PA

El Cheap'o is four crossed sticks and a ridge pole with ground or other weight, on the toss over covering.

5/9/2005 4:51:41 PM

Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

I will be using a frame for a sunshade with a missing roof for a "hoop" house. It's a bit tall. So, I'll push the bottom poles into the ground. (pictures of the frame are in my diary). I've seen this type of shade in all sorts of stores. Some are cheaper than others. But, the cheap ones are probably good enough.

5/9/2005 10:58:02 PM