Hoop de DO!

Making low tunnel hoop frames to protect plants from the winter winds of Fairwinds

Rach and Milly bend EMT electrical conduit into the perfect shape using a bender made by Keith.

The Fairwinds FBG team installed two low tunnels to allow winter growing for the food bank!  These two new tunnels provide protected space on two 70' rows in which to grow less cold-hardy plants which, in addition to one open-air winter crop bed containing frost-tolerant plants, will allow us to provide food to the food bank even during the colder late fall through early spring months. 

The design was initially inspired by a pre-made low tunnel kit Gayle discovered in 2024, but Gayle, Milly and Keith researched and brainstormed a sturdier design using more common materials.  Hoops are made from 10' EMT electrical metal conduit.  They are bent by hand using a home made hoop bender which was inspired by an on-line design and embellished and built by Keith Lierman.  The base of the hoop bender is an old corner cabinet piece from the Lierman residence, with decking and other re-use materials for the other pieces. 

Thanks to Mother Nature, we learned quickly that the hoop ends need to fit securely down into the ground as far as possible, as the not-so-fair winds across the open field at Fairwinds love the large "sail" created by the hoop plastic cover and push hard against it!   This means the carabiners need to be tightened at LEAST 6" up from the end of the hoop, so that the 6" end can be pressed/pounded into the ground to hold the hoop securely under high wind conditions.

Thanks to all the HOOP-la, we look forward to being able to provide more healthy fresh produce to the food bank all year long!

In case anyone wants to nerd out on the design...

Each tunnel required 18 hoops total and the bent conduit was slid over short rebar stakes pounded into the ground.   The beds are 30" wide and the hoop ends were spaced around 35" -  36" to give growing plants some space.  The distance between hoops is 5' except at the very ends where it gets a tad closer.  Thanks to last year's rebar donation (among other things) from Mary Hunt when the Red Hen FBG garden closed down no rebar purchase was required - we had plenty on hand!  Small carabiners were clamped to the bottom of each side of the hoop using pipe clamp.  1/4" thick round bungee material was purchased and cut into 16.5' lengths, tied off, and clipped into the carabiners on the "feet" of each hoop at ground level, holding the plastic cover down on each side of the metal hoop.  The ends of each tunnel terminate in an angled hoop (~ 45 degrees from the ground) and a tie-down stake, to which the bundled up plastic end is tightly wound and attached with twine.

Contributed by Milly Lierman