December 26, 2016

Avalanche column

Dec 1, 2016

Recently a gentleman asked me how high are my hoops over my beds. These hoops support the fabric that covers my plants.

I aim for 18 to 24 inches.

There are several ways that you can support the fabric and all of them work quite well.

The most common hoop materials are 9 gauge wire, 1/2 inch metal conduit and 3/4 inch schedule 40 PVC pipe.

The biggest thing that influences the height is the width of your fabric. Agribon fabric comes in several different widths. I like the 10 foot wide width. This allows for a lot of versatility. If you use narrower fabric you need to be very careful that your hoops do not exceed the width of your fabric.

Unless you bury some of your hoop in the ground, the hoop needs to be narrower than the fabric. I like to have 12 inches of fabric on either side of the hoops. This is needed to anchor the fabric to the ground. Besides the width of your fabric , the width of your bed will also determine the finished height of your hoops. This is where using the 10 foot fabric helps.

The folks who use the more rigid hoops can either bury the hoops on either side of the bed or drive pieces of re-bar at your preferred spacing along either side of the bed

If your bed is wide enough the PVC will easily bend and slip over your re-bar.

If you use metal conduit, a pipe bender is required.

The use of the rigid hoops does give a very nice profile to your beds.

I prefer the use of the 9 gauge wire. Once your hoops are cut it is very easy to install and remove to only be used on the next bed. Granted the profile isn't as nice looking but it protects the plants very well.

In less windy areas the fabric can be just laid over the plants and the plants will raise the fabric as they grow. In West Texas as the wind beats the fabric, the un-hooped fabric would destroy your plants. The fabric protects your plants from the wind along with frost and/or heat.

To anchor the fabric, the edge can be waited down or buried. Unless your hoops are high enough to walk under, burying would hamper doing bed work. I like to use rocks, they are very available. Sand bags would work, but the bags would need to be UV resistant. Besides this is just another expense and the rocks are accessible.

I have found by gradually raising the fabric I can create a better growing environment for seeds and or plants. This can keep the seeds and or plants moister and warmer for more rapid growth. Placing the wire diagonally across the bed varying heights can be achieved . This can not be done with the rigid hoops.