Now it's a Hoop House! (Complete rant then a question)

[thankful_k]

Honestly, this garden is turning into the Vietnam War of homesteading projects (no offense to Vietnam War vets). Sunk costs after sunk costs. What an incredible boondoggle. Finally after getting all the irrigation set up, and having to hire a concrete contractor (they did it wrong ) to fill up the cavities in the cinderblocks my raised beds are made from (my arm was torn up at the time). I've spent thousands so far. I have exactly one tomato and five cucumbers to show for it. The worst part has been the bugs. The accursed, blackhearted monstrous hellspawn we common refer to as the grasshopper. Any plant that sprouts is immediately set upon and devoured.

Sprays and dusts are useless. You have to coat the bottoms of the leaves as well, and I simply cannot stand for hours in the Texas heat only to have it washed away by the next rain. Or I could spray/spread whatever toxo-metha-plutonium-cyanoxo-unobtainium the industry is hawking, as long as I'm willing to accept having gills and webbed feet, and tumors growing in every organ in my body.

Nothing I try works, I am absolutely infuriated, frustrated, and in complete despair. Every attempt at mitigation ends in complete utter abject failure, and defeat after humiliating, exhausting defeat. Incompetent contractors. Flimsy crap. Wives' tales, Pagan rituals and voodoo advice that works for everyone except me. Ground like concrete. Heat. Bugs. Skyrocketing costs. Equipment rentals. Dirt hauling. Screaming and throwing things like a madman. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail.

Even after all that I am absolutely determined to make food come out of dirt. I swear to god I will do it if costs me every nickel I have, and I have to call in a fighter squadron and sweep this land clear with a napalm strike. It WILL happen.

[BANG FIST ON DESK REPEATEDLY]

I have become convinced that the only solution is a (mostly) sealed physical barrier. I'm unwilling to entertain any other option. So it's gonna be a hoop house this fall. I was going to try & build one out of PVC but I'm tired of trying my own ideas.

Now the question. Does anyone know of a company that makes absolutely bombproof hoop house kits? It has to meet these requirements:

• Size is about 24ft x 36ft
• Must be metal (galvanized steel or aluminum)
• Solid (or at least EXTREMELY sturdy) ends, with a 4ft door
• Powered ventilation option
• Frame cannot penetrate the ground. This ground will NOT yield. There is NO WAY to place poles or posts at regular intervals. I can install some anchors, but there's no guarantee where they can go. Best I can do is weigh it down with sand bags.
• Quality must be top-notch, professional-grade, intended to last for decades

 

[Magus]

Honestly, this garden is turning into the Vietnam War of homesteading projects (no offense to Vietnam War vets). Sunk costs after sunk costs. What an incredible boondoggle. Finally after getting all the irrigation set up, and having to hire a concrete contractor (they did it wrong ) to fill up the cavities in the cinderblocks my raised beds are made from (my arm was torn up at the time). I've spent thousands so far. I have exactly one tomato and five cucumbers to show for it. The worst part has been the bugs. The accursed, blackhearted monstrous hellspawn we common refer to as the grasshopper. Any plant that sprouts is immediately set upon and devoured.

Sprays and dusts are useless. You have to coat the bottoms of the leaves as well, and I simply cannot stand for hours in the Texas heat only to have it washed away by the next rain. Or I could spray/spread whatever toxo-metha-plutonium-cyanoxo-unobtainium the industry is hawking, as long as I'm willing to accept having gills and webbed feet, and tumors growing in every organ in my body.

Nothing I try works, I am absolutely infuriated, frustrated, and in complete despair. Every attempt at mitigation ends in complete utter abject failure, and defeat after humiliating, exhausting defeat. Incompetent contractors. Flimsy crap. Wives' tales, Pagan rituals and voodoo advice that works for everyone except me. Ground like concrete. Heat. Bugs. Skyrocketing costs. Equipment rentals. Dirt hauling. Screaming and throwing things like a madman. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail.

Even after all that I am absolutely determined to make food come out of dirt. I swear to god I will do it if costs me every nickel I have, and I have to call in a fighter squadron and sweep this land clear with a napalm strike. It WILL happen.

[BANG FIST ON DESK REPEATEDLY]

I have become convinced that the only solution is a (mostly) sealed physical barrier. I'm unwilling to entertain any other option. So it's gonna be a hoop house this fall. I was going to try & build one out of PVC but I'm tired of trying my own ideas.

Now the question. Does anyone know of a company that makes absolutely bombproof hoop house kits? It has to meet these requirements:

• Size is about 24ft x 36ft
• Must be metal (galvanized steel or aluminum)
• Solid (or at least EXTREMELY sturdy) ends, with a 4ft door
• Powered ventilation option
• Frame cannot penetrate the ground. This ground will NOT yield. There is NO WAY to place poles or posts at regular intervals. I can install some anchors, but there's no guarantee where they can go. Best I can do is weigh it down with sand bags.
• Quality must be top-notch, professional-grade, intended to last for decades

https://www.carpetandrugbacking.com/backing/action-bac/
Fairly easy to get here, you'll likely have to order it. its a fine netting with fuzz, not even noseeums get through!

HOOP HOUSE?!
Go buy up a few scrap sections of orange gas line and sink them in concrete and cover it in foundation liner plastic. Back in the day, we built one for a hundred bucks and most of that was for concrete. make a walkway out of used pallets and there you go!

 

[Morgan101]

Thank you for sharing. Most people think there is nothing to it. You just bury seeds in the ground and, voila!! You have food. There is definitely a learning curve, and much failure before success. I hope you find a solution.

 

[Magus]

There ain't nothing easy about growing, everything in nature comes after your crop on day one!

 

[Neb]

Honestly, this garden is turning into the Vietnam War of homesteading projects (no offense to Vietnam War vets). Sunk costs after sunk costs. What an incredible boondoggle. Finally after getting all the irrigation set up, and having to hire a concrete contractor (they did it wrong ) to fill up the cavities in the cinderblocks my raised beds are made from (my arm was torn up at the time). I've spent thousands so far. I have exactly one tomato and five cucumbers to show for it. The worst part has been the bugs. The accursed, blackhearted monstrous hellspawn we common refer to as the grasshopper. Any plant that sprouts is immediately set upon and devoured.

Sprays and dusts are useless. You have to coat the bottoms of the leaves as well, and I simply cannot stand for hours in the Texas heat only to have it washed away by the next rain. Or I could spray/spread whatever toxo-metha-plutonium-cyanoxo-unobtainium the industry is hawking, as long as I'm willing to accept having gills and webbed feet, and tumors growing in every organ in my body.

Nothing I try works, I am absolutely infuriated, frustrated, and in complete despair. Every attempt at mitigation ends in complete utter abject failure, and defeat after humiliating, exhausting defeat. Incompetent contractors. Flimsy crap. Wives' tales, Pagan rituals and voodoo advice that works for everyone except me. Ground like concrete. Heat. Bugs. Skyrocketing costs. Equipment rentals. Dirt hauling. Screaming and throwing things like a madman. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail.

Even after all that I am absolutely determined to make food come out of dirt. I swear to god I will do it if costs me every nickel I have, and I have to call in a fighter squadron and sweep this land clear with a napalm strike. It WILL happen.

[BANG FIST ON DESK REPEATEDLY]

I have become convinced that the only solution is a (mostly) sealed physical barrier. I'm unwilling to entertain any other option. So it's gonna be a hoop house this fall. I was going to try & build one out of PVC but I'm tired of trying my own ideas.

Now the question. Does anyone know of a company that makes absolutely bombproof hoop house kits? It has to meet these requirements:

• Size is about 24ft x 36ft
• Must be metal (galvanized steel or aluminum)
• Solid (or at least EXTREMELY sturdy) ends, with a 4ft door
• Powered ventilation option
• Frame cannot penetrate the ground. This ground will NOT yield. There is NO WAY to place poles or posts at regular intervals. I can install some anchors, but there's no guarantee where they can go. Best I can do is weigh it down with sand bags.
• Quality must be top-notch, professional-grade, intended to last for decades

Growers supply

https://www.growerssupply.com/home
Keep chickens

Truck in good dirt

Ben

 

[LadyLocust]

Honestly, this garden is turning into the Vietnam War of homesteading projects (no offense to Vietnam War vets). Sunk costs after sunk costs. What an incredible boondoggle. Finally after getting all the irrigation set up, and having to hire a concrete contractor (they did it wrong ) to fill up the cavities in the cinderblocks my raised beds are made from (my arm was torn up at the time). I've spent thousands so far. I have exactly one tomato and five cucumbers to show for it. The worst part has been the bugs. The accursed, blackhearted monstrous hellspawn we common refer to as the grasshopper. Any plant that sprouts is immediately set upon and devoured.

Sprays and dusts are useless. You have to coat the bottoms of the leaves as well, and I simply cannot stand for hours in the Texas heat only to have it washed away by the next rain. Or I could spray/spread whatever toxo-metha-plutonium-cyanoxo-unobtainium the industry is hawking, as long as I'm willing to accept having gills and webbed feet, and tumors growing in every organ in my body.

Nothing I try works, I am absolutely infuriated, frustrated, and in complete despair. Every attempt at mitigation ends in complete utter abject failure, and defeat after humiliating, exhausting defeat. Incompetent contractors. Flimsy crap. Wives' tales, Pagan rituals and voodoo advice that works for everyone except me. Ground like concrete. Heat. Bugs. Skyrocketing costs. Equipment rentals. Dirt hauling. Screaming and throwing things like a madman. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail.

Even after all that I am absolutely determined to make food come out of dirt. I swear to god I will do it if costs me every nickel I have, and I have to call in a fighter squadron and sweep this land clear with a napalm strike. It WILL happen.

[BANG FIST ON DESK REPEATEDLY]

I have become convinced that the only solution is a (mostly) sealed physical barrier. I'm unwilling to entertain any other option. So it's gonna be a hoop house this fall. I was going to try & build one out of PVC but I'm tired of trying my own ideas.

Now the question. Does anyone know of a company that makes absolutely bombproof hoop house kits? It has to meet these requirements:

• Size is about 24ft x 36ft
• Must be metal (galvanized steel or aluminum)
• Solid (or at least EXTREMELY sturdy) ends, with a 4ft door
• Powered ventilation option
• Frame cannot penetrate the ground. This ground will NOT yield. There is NO WAY to place poles or posts at regular intervals. I can install some anchors, but there's no guarantee where they can go. Best I can do is weigh it down with sand bags.
• Quality must be top-notch, professional-grade, intended to last for decades

I realize this isn't what you were asking for, but if you have a chicken or two, they really help with such pests.

 

[Neb]

Another idea

I have read that healthy plants are less susceptible to pests. Using good quality dirt may produce healthier stronger plants.

I subscribe to TexasPrepper2



He uses containers for a lot of what he grows. In the video above he is sharing how shade cloth has been working for him.

Ben

 

[Neb]

Duplicate

 

[Pearl]

Duplicate

Oh come on Ben, no more nonsense

 

[Magus]

I like Neb when he's being cryptic.

 

[Peanut]

I know very little about hoop houses but would like to help. I live on the farm where I was born, have learned a few things.

Details were a bit sparse in the op... I will say, knowing the exact species of insect or weed makes fighting them much easier. It allows you to focus your efforts on an individual villain. I use the broad shotgun approach sometimes but not often. I find focusing on the villain(s) is usually more effective.

Here in Bama too much sun can be a problem at times… I use a product called ‘Plant Shade’. It blocks a % the suns uv rays and is sold that way. I see it offered from 40% to 70% protections. I buy it in 20ftx6ft rolls. My porch is 50ft long and faces south. I grow a lot of plants, start plants out there. Shade cloth works great against sun. Especially if I start plants in late summer.

Also, there is a lot of good information available at universities. Many work closely with their state's extension service. As it happens, Texas A&M is a wonderful agriculture resource I’ve used for many years... I saw tonight hey have a program for beginning/new farmers ard ranchers. It takes a little digging sometimes but they have great information.

https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/assets/business-community/business-development/beginning-farming/
And a section on insects and diseases too
https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/assets/plants-crops/insects-pests-diseases/
Or the main page.
https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/
Another thought... Most here in the forum grow veggies, some have farmed for decades, we've seen a lot. A few photos might allow us to better grasp your situation and offer constructive info.

 

[UrbanHunter]

I have been fighting vine borers for years on my squash, This year I had 8 plants, 4 in the open and 4 inside a bug screened enclosed raised bed. I have lost 3 of the 4 exposed plants to the vine borers. I did not expect the plants that were screened in to produce (no pollinators that I could think of) but danged if I'm not seeing fruit on them. They may not be producing as much fruit, but if I can get a steady supply I'm good with that.

I am thinking insect netting on tall hoops over a raised bed might help @thankful_k 's issue a little.

I tried a plastic green house one year, and it was great, until it got warm and I left the door open to help it cool. The next thing I discovered that my lovely crop of tomatoes were completely destroyed by caterpillars, seems like once they get a foothold in an enclosed space the really multiply over night.

 

[sonya123]

We don't have a lot of grasshoppers around here, so not sure. I have learned that some stuff grows really well here and others doesn't, so I just stopped trying to grow things like watermelon and egg plants ( not enough heat and sun here , too short a growing season)
As for insects, if all else fails , I still have some functional sevin dust . Everything causes cancer, not worried about it. I just make sure I wash the potatoes off really well ( one of the few things that need it here)
But yeah, I just put seeds in the ground and stuff grows, no hoop house
( we are in SW Virginia, lots of rain here)

 

[Pearl]

Honestly, this garden is turning into the Vietnam War of homesteading projects (no offense to Vietnam War vets). Sunk costs after sunk costs. What an incredible boondoggle. Finally after getting all the irrigation set up, and having to hire a concrete contractor (they did it wrong ) to fill up the cavities in the cinderblocks my raised beds are made from (my arm was torn up at the time). I've spent thousands so far. I have exactly one tomato and five cucumbers to show for it. The worst part has been the bugs. The accursed, blackhearted monstrous hellspawn we common refer to as the grasshopper. Any plant that sprouts is immediately set upon and devoured.

Sprays and dusts are useless. You have to coat the bottoms of the leaves as well, and I simply cannot stand for hours in the Texas heat only to have it washed away by the next rain. Or I could spray/spread whatever toxo-metha-plutonium-cyanoxo-unobtainium the industry is hawking, as long as I'm willing to accept having gills and webbed feet, and tumors growing in every organ in my body.

Nothing I try works, I am absolutely infuriated, frustrated, and in complete despair. Every attempt at mitigation ends in complete utter abject failure, and defeat after humiliating, exhausting defeat. Incompetent contractors. Flimsy crap. Wives' tales, Pagan rituals and voodoo advice that works for everyone except me. Ground like concrete. Heat. Bugs. Skyrocketing costs. Equipment rentals. Dirt hauling. Screaming and throwing things like a madman. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail.

Even after all that I am absolutely determined to make food come out of dirt. I swear to god I will do it if costs me every nickel I have, and I have to call in a fighter squadron and sweep this land clear with a napalm strike. It WILL happen.

[BANG FIST ON DESK REPEATEDLY]

I have become convinced that the only solution is a (mostly) sealed physical barrier. I'm unwilling to entertain any other option. So it's gonna be a hoop house this fall. I was going to try & build one out of PVC but I'm tired of trying my own ideas.

Now the question. Does anyone know of a company that makes absolutely bombproof hoop house kits? It has to meet these requirements:

• Size is about 24ft x 36ft
• Must be metal (galvanized steel or aluminum)
• Solid (or at least EXTREMELY sturdy) ends, with a 4ft door
• Powered ventilation option
• Frame cannot penetrate the ground. This ground will NOT yield. There is NO WAY to place poles or posts at regular intervals. I can install some anchors, but there's no guarantee where they can go. Best I can do is weigh it down with sand bags.
• Quality must be top-notch, professional-grade, intended to last for decades

Welcome to Texas!!

 

[Magus]

I have been fighting vine borers for years on my squash, This year I had 8 plants, 4 in the open and 4 inside a bug screened enclosed raised bed. I have lost 3 of the 4 exposed plants to the vine borers. I did not expect the plants that were screened in to produce (no pollinators that I could think of) but danged if I'm not seeing fruit on them. They may not be producing as much fruit, but if I can get a steady supply I'm good with that.

I am thinking insect netting on tall hoops over a raised bed might help @thankful_k 's issue a little.

I tried a plastic green house one year, and it was great, until it got warm and I left the door open to help it cool. The next thing I discovered that my lovely crop of tomatoes were completely destroyed by caterpillars, seems like once they get a foothold in an enclosed space the really multiply over night.

Have you tried the red pepper and soap? 1/2 a cup of red pepper seethed and strained in a quart of water, a tablespoon of Sulfur and a tablespoon of Joy dish-washing soap.
Mist it over the plants, it seems to run off things that dig into them.

 

[thankful_k]

I realize this isn't what you were asking for, but if you have a chicken or two, they really help with such pests.

Actually I do ... but won't they get into the beds & scratch/dig/peck everything to pieces?

 

[LadyLocust]

Actually I do ... but won't they get into the beds & scratch/dig/peck everything to pieces?

If you don't feed them kitchen scraps from day one, they don't. Mine were free range and I never had a problem with them. Most people don't realize that chickens are carnivores and prefer meat to veggies so will go after bugs before plants.

 

[winds-of-change]

It’s so hot and dry here and I don’t get around very well, especially dragging a hose. Most of my plants (ornamental and vegetables) have shriveled up and died. I but fresh produce from local farmers.

Same with farm eggs. I’ll just buy them. I’m not up to tending chickens. I just got 3 dozen chicken eggs and two dozen quail eggs for $15.

 

[Magus]

If you don't feed them kitchen scraps from day one, they don't. Mine were free range and I never had a problem with them. Most people don't realize that chickens are carnivores and prefer meant to veggies so will go after bugs before plants.

Ducks are better, they don't scratch. If you turn a dozen quackers loose in a potato patch, by dinner time, every potato bug will be duck lunch!