hoop house travails

There was a calm day on Wednesday and so I slipped the plastic on my hoop house. That makes it sound a great deal simpler than actually was. I wrapped 2 feet on either side sandwiched by a 1 in 4 and screwed to the plate. Because it was just me the plastic was not perfectly pulled tight, little lapse of plastic were free to flap..a wee bit. I piled hay bales around the end walls over the plastic, saving the the end frame doors and sandwiching for the next day.

The wind came up that night. While it (hoop house) wasn't quite aerodynamic, I worried all night it might become more so. Going out in the snowy blasts to secure the end plastic with temporary slats screwed in on top of the end frames: Jimmey job. At least I used screws and there is greenhouse tape.

However, three arch connector pieces cracked and sent the end of the arch through 2 spots in the plastic. I spent that evening in a ball of misery hoping the damn thing would pick up and blow down the valley. "Its too windy here for a hoop house or a garden..." blah blah, trouble! I was ready to catch a train on outta here.

Today things are looking up. I spent it at the side of my battered hooper and ...she's not so bad. I fixed the broken connectors with 1 1/2 " black pipe that fits as a sleeve- this seems a better solution to connecting the 2 10 foot pipes at the ridgepole than the connectors which are much more brittle than I recall. She is gaining dignity although she will always have character. And it even seems pretty strong now. I'll post a pic in the morning.