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  • From: Leigh Hauter <bullrunfarm AT hughes.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] hoophouses and snow
  • Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:45:33 -0500

In answer to several requests about my experience with how the different hoops and greenhouses withstood our record 33 inch snow. Here's what we have.

We have greenhouses and hoops coming from 4 different manufacturers/distributors.

Our 96 X 30 ft greenhouse first went up 15 years ago (the first year I bought 48 feet (then 24 more feet the next year and another 24 the following year). I got it from our local greenhouse supply company, Wetsels, but I recall it came from a manufacturer up in the midwestt. I don't recall the name and looking in their latest catalog they now handle greenhouses from another manufacturer. Regardless, its a good house, a gothic design using 1.90 inch tubes in its hoops (which I see are called bows). Apparently an issue is whether the purloins (the cross supports) are connected by screws or straps. Screws require holes drilled into the bows and therefore weaken the steel. Straps, which are more of a pain to hook up are architecturally stronger.

About a decade ago I bought our first two 96 ft long hoops from FarmTek. I thought they were 17 foot wide but looking in their latest catalogue I see 18 foot. Regardless, they are also gothic but the hoops are made out of much smaller dimension pipe. I would have to go out and look to be sure of the size but from their catalogue its either 1.315. Again screws are used to connect the pipes, and this is probably important. There are not pre-drilled screw holes everywhere particularly at the crown where the purloin is attached or at side, where the pipes are connected. These houses have the lowest price of all the houses we bought. They were also the house that failed. All four houses (we bought two more over the years) failed at every place where the pipes were connected. At this point the pipe narrows and the connection is supported with a screw.

Last year I bought two more hoops from Griffin greenhouse. I bought them before Griffin restructured. Now when you try to buy a greenhouse you are transferred to whichever office handles that aspect of their business. The greenhouse office is up in MA. Last year I got to talk to the Virginia office and he found me two nice 17 ft wide houses made by XS Smith in NC. the hoops are the 1.315 of the FarmTek houses. the difference is they are round and not gothic (snow is more likely to stay on the top), however the bows (hoops) are one piece (no screw holes). Smith, in the literature comijng with their houses denies all responsibility for houses that are left up with a covering over the winter when/where its likely to snow. In otherwords, they won't guarantee that snow won't take down their houses.

And finally we just purchased to structures from Rimol in Vermont. The houses were going to see their first usage this season and we hadn't finished putting them up when the snow came so I can't speak to how they hold up but they seem to be the most snow conscious manufacturer. They make their houses ability to withstand heavy snow one of their selling points as well as the heavier steel used in the bows. They are also the most expensive

So, my conclusion--

The houses that survived had the thickest pipe and/or the least screw holes in crucial points. They also were made out of less pieces needing connecting. The surviving houses were more expensive.

The houses that failed were lower in price than the others, they had some of the smallest pipes, more pieces and used screw holes that had to be drilled by the owner to put together.

Again, though, I knew what I was buying when I bought from FarmTek. An inexpensive but practical hoop suited for what our climate has been. However, one of the reasons I have been adding so many hoops to my growing mix is because of the more and more chaotic weather we have been encountering in recent years (last year it rained 45 days out of the first 60 days of our planting season). Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the same craziness that gave us all that rain would change our snow patterns. My expensive mistake.




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