Couple to show how to build hoop houses for gardening

By Chris Jones

Published: September 4, 2008

NORMAN — On cold, dreary winter days, Tod and Jamie Hanley harvest fresh garden vegetables in their backyard. These Oklahoma gardeners use homemade hoop houses to produce fresh vegetables for their table and to sell to individuals and local health food and natural food stores.

A hoop house works like a greenhouse, but without powered heat or ventilation.

High hoops, also called high tunnels or hoop houses, were originally designed for commercial growers, but their popularity has led to backyard gardeners' use of smaller structures.

Homeowners interested in winter gardening using a hoop house will find information at a hands-on workshop conducted by the Hanleys on Sept. 14, sponsored by the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture on the Hanleys' land. They will go through the process of building one of their hoop houses to show how the structures can be built inexpensively.

"We're going to bend some pipes and put in rebar,” Tod Hanley said. "It will be a very how-to demonstration. I'm not an expert on hoop houses; I just tried a bunch and looked at a lot that fell down.”

His trial-and-error methods resulted in successful hoop houses that have stood up to 50 mph winds that demolished commercial versions, he said. Jamie Hanley said the Oklahoma wind seems to roll over the structures. They also withstand ice and hailstorms.

Several factors drive the trend to return to backyard gardening and planting year-round: expensive fresh vegetables, concern for food safety, consumers' desire to know where their fresh vegetables are coming from and the push to "go green.”

The Hanleys built their first hoop house two years ago on land east of Norman they named Trebuchet Gardens. Tod Hanley, an engineer, used a homemade pipe bender to form hoops he fashioned from straight tubing to form the structure for the hoop house. The tubing cost was three times less than preformed tubes.

The tubes are covered with Reemay, a spun plastic that allows sun and rain to enter the structure. The Hanleys spent about $600 on a 17-by-100-foot hoop house, while commercial versions sell for more than $1,000.

The couple use one-third of an acre to grow their chemical-free, organic crops. They don't call their farm organic because their operation is not certified organic, Jamie Hanley said.

They plant many types of lettuce, broccoli, green onions, radishes, mustards and arugula. Jamie Hanley said they plant mache, a soft, tender leafy green grown in France. She also planted a 104-by-17-foot area of Detroit dark red beets that she said are delicious.

The Hanleys sell their vegetables year-round to Native Roots, Turquoise Cafe, The Earth, Forward Foods and Earth Elements.

"We both have a love for gardening,” Jamie Hanley said, "and it is amazing how easy it is to grow food year-round. It's nice to have green vegetables growing inside when everything outside is cold and brown.”

Comments