I have a large
wooden SIP container. I want to extend my growing season by turning it into a hoop house like structure for the month of May. So here is the plan
The container has holders for PVC pipe built at its edges. I am planning to use these holders and construct a rectangular prism structrue 5 ft high, 4 ft wide and 3.5 ft deep using PVC pipe. There will be 6 vertical pipes (one in middle of short side and two on the longer side) and at 5 ft height, they will be capped off by T fittings. And I will use PVC piping and corner fittings to create a rectangle (the same size as the planter) at that height.
I plan to cover this structure with 6 mil poly.
I also have couple of earthtainers I plan to create a similar structure of PVC pipes that will snugly fit those two earthtainers and few more 5 gallon buckets. That will also have 5ft height from the soil level. It will probably be similar size (3ft x 3 ft x 7 ft high)
There will be a temp measurement unit inside which will record daily low and high temps for a week before I actually start using it, that will tell me what temps are reached.
Questions:
The available volume is much smaller than a hoop house/ high tunnel. Will that cause too much humidity, too high temperatures?
Will the plants grow more than 5 ft in one month, what would be ideal height for the hoop house?
How to make this covering easy to roll up and close up? - Or should I use some other material?
In June, when temperatures are higher and plants are higher, I plan to permanently remove the poly cover and add to the structure and make it 10 ft high. On the large container, the structure will act as supporting cage for tomato plants
Thanks for your ideas, suggestions, pointers to something similar you may have done