As we head into fall and winter, we wanted to make some hoops for our raised beds.
Last weekend, armed with knowledge from YouTube (here’s the most helpful video we found) we headed off to Hankins Hardware to get supplies:
3 PVC pipes: 10 feet long, 1/2 inch diameter
12 tube straps: 3/4” size
24 screws: #6, 1 inch long
For each end of each PVC pipe, we put two of the tube straps to help keep them more stable.
Two 3/4” tube straps holding the PVC hoop in place
We repeated the process and put three hoops on our 4ft by 4ft raised bed.
Three PVC hoops on a 4ft by 4ft raised bed
This is the height of the hoops with the full 10ft of PVC. This is a good height for established plants, and we’ll likely use this length to help overwinter our already mature kale plants. However, for the other bed where we want to start some small salad greens, we will cut the PVC to make shorter hoops, keeping the warmth closer to the soil—at least that’s how we hope it works!
Useful tool for cutting PVC
Cut a foot off of each end of the PVC hoop, and it dropped the height of the hoop by about a foot.
Hoop in front is an 8ft. length of PVC, while two in rear are 10ft.
Overall, a fun, easy project. Total cost for one bed is less than $25 (exclusive of tools). Will update when we have one planted and covered for winter.