Mini-Hoop / Minihoop Houses / Mini Polytunnels (Take 2!)
We decided on a “fleece” material of polyethylene mesh. Arguably not a nice plastic…? We decided that we wanted a material that could last 5-10 years or more, rather than traditional gardening fleece (which we believe is also plastic) which will only last 2-3 years. Perhaps no material is perfect. Swings and roundabouts. But the theory of lasting longer seems to have logic.
The challenge is that the material comes in 2m or 4m widths. Ideally we were thinking that 3m would have been perfect but it was not available when we were looking so we went for 2m to avoid wastage.
We also used 3m mild steel poles (4mm diameter). We originally cut these to 2.5m but as the previous post shows, the sides were lacking length of fabric to be secured to the ground.
So the conclusion was to cut the poles again. This time to 2.2m. We tried it again, but still, we decided that we had unnecessary hoop height and insufficient material on the ground at each side.
Finally, we decided on the following:
Bed length = 8m
Fabric size = 10m X 2m
Pole size = 2m X 4mm diameter
Pole material = mild steel (however, we would research suppliers of more “springy” tensile steel in either stainless steel or galvanised steel for next season, to maintain straightness and avoid rust - but not essential)
6 X battens 2.4m X 25mm X 10mm (to wrap sides)
12 X U-shaped pegs to hold battens in place (2 per batten)
2 X 0.5m X 100mm X 50mm wood (as weights on ends)
Another night of high winds forecasted so we will check and report how they are working.
