Hoop House

Measuring out the hoop house is the first step	After setting rebar stakes, we proceed by bending 20 ft lengths of 2" PVC piping to make our hoops
After attaching 2 X 4 baseboards to secure the bottom of the hoops, we attach 3/4" PVC pipe to bolster the upper structural portion	We attached the plastic housing and retire for the day to listen to music, shape beds, and plant in the greenhouse
Note the lack of doors and the loose plastic on the hoop house	The tightened plastic holds up better against the element and conveys more sun to the plants within. Doors that easily close and open maximize our control over the hoop house temperature.

The hoop house allows SLUG to extend our growing season by about two monthes. The hoop house uses the greenhouse effect to trap heat during the colder months of April and October. Now we can begin some crops as early as mid-April, while we await mid-May to plant other crops. A late last frost date and early first frost date here in Wisconsin mean a short growing season, but relatively cheap and easy to build hoop houses allow us to extend our growing season and feed more Lawrence students during the school year.

We used the following design plans for our hoop house project: http://cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/CR-606.pdf (New Mexico State University)

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