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1/2" conduit hoop tunnel

Phaeton

Speed of Dark
Veteran
Looking at the DIY hoop greenhouses I decided on an open tunnel. Due to winter snow any hoop based structure will have to be taken down in the fall. The local University did a study on tunnels and found a three week advantage. That is nice but keeping the rain off is my main goal. Last year's outdoor crop was devastated by rain.

33 sticks of 1/2" conduit, 13 four way connectors, 26 each 1/2" rebar 4' long, and a roll of 20' wide clear plastic sheeting.

The conduit jig is 1-1/2" blocks of wood screwed in place along an arc drawn on a wall. To get the 13' diameter 90 degree bend the blocks were set along a 4-1/2' diameter arc and bent to 140 degrees. They came out perfect.
The rebar was pounded two feet into the ground and the conduit slipped over the ends.

Almost too easy, although the wind storm that came up just as we were finishing caused a little excitement with 20 mph gusts on the 6 mil plastic.

Eleven plants, 8 Super auto Chaze from Flash Seeds and three auto Euforia from Dutch Passion. The auto Euforia has yielded over a quarter pound indoors, last year's outdoor was rained to death. Hope for better this year with the tunnel providing shelter.
 

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  • Empty containers and conduit arcs.jpg
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  • Hoops matched up on the ground.jpg
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  • Hoops are halfway up.jpg
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  • Rainstorm with 20 mph gusts right after the plaxtic went on.jpg
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  • Calm before the storm, plants just set down.jpg
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Phaeton

Speed of Dark
Veteran
This is pertinent to the hoop tunnel because I used 6 mil clear plastic sheeting for the covering. This is a common covering.

The light was measured inside and out during clear conditions and a 10:00 AM sun. The plastic absorbs more higher frequencies than lower, same as the atmosphere as the sun angle increases.

UVB 167 uw > 88 uw = 52%
Blue 8.3 mw > 5.3 mw = 61%
Green
Red 20.1 mw > 14.6 mw = 72%

PAR 1803 umol > 1214 umol = 67% Total intensity under the plastic versus open sun.

This is still quite a bit more than I can achieve inside so the transmission loss is accepted with a smile.
The photo is a Super auto Chaze in a 17 gallon container. Five inches now, great things are expected later.
 

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  • Plastic sheeting filters out 30% of the sun,still  leaving more light on the plant than indoors.jpg
    Plastic sheeting filters out 30% of the sun,still leaving more light on the plant than indoors.jpg
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stoned-trout

if it smells like fish
Veteran
I kept my hoop houses all year in new England...and new England gets a lot of freaking snow.....but I did heat mine with hydronic heating and mine were sturdier... ....YEEHAW...I don't have pics of my 98 footers ...farmtek./clearspan did me right...good luck bro...
 

Phaeton

Speed of Dark
Veteran
It seems all diameters of conduit comes in 10' lengths. Bent to 90 degrees this come out to 13' diameter (6.5' ceiling), a 40' circle divided by pi. Putting the ends over rebar a foot and a half above the ground gave me an 8' peak as well as a full width cool air intake.
I would have stuck the conduit directly into the ground but the super autos are supposed to hit over 6'. A double row would have been too tight.

Ground is still icy 6" down so pallets or tires are under all the containers.
 
Nice, I just built some pvc hoops for some quick light deps this year but I'm looking into building something like that for a more permanent solution
 

DG1959

New member
I also am just finishing up with a new greenhouse. 4 foot walls with livestock panel, then 3/4 pvc with "T" s, Greenhouse is 24' long X 12' wide and 10' tall. 6 ml. plastic and clear corrugated on the ends 4 foot down. I enclosed both ends but one end is able to open so I can drive my tiller in every year.... I am loving this!
Plants go in tomorrow, Chernobyl, Cinex, 9 lb hammer, mango kush.
 

Phaeton

Speed of Dark
Veteran
The new climate pattern is holding. A nice first week or two in May followed by possible freezing and rain/snow.
78 F followed by low thirties and one morning with snowflakes falling but not sticking.
The tunnel is keeping the temperature above freezing and the plants are not dripping wet with 40 degree rain. Last year the cool and wet destroyed the entire outdoor crop. Mostly the nonstop rain.

So far it is wet more often than dry but the plants are doing really well. The tunnel keeps them dry and the one day it was over 80 F the open ends and sides kept the temperatures under 100.

Photos are today and it is raining still. The plants are doing fine, their present size is larger than many of last year's crop at the end of the season.
I have enough plastic to put the tunnel up two more times and most definitely without a doubt it will be used again next year. It making the difference between no crop (zero) last year and healthy plants this year.
 

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  • Super Chaze auto had a ten day headstart before being put outside one month ago.jpg
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  • Super Chaze lines the south side.jpg
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  • Freddie's Best is a photo vegging with the autos in the hoop tunnel.jpg
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  • Nights down into the thirty's slowed the plants very little the first weeks.jpg
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  • Rainy day a month along.jpg
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Phaeton

Speed of Dark
Veteran
Out of 41 days since the tunnel went up it has rained 34 of them.
The plants are thriving, even with clouds the 20+ hours of daylight feed the plants adequately.
Last summer's weather was quite similar and the harvest was zero with many plants not reaching a foot tall. Marijuana does not grow well when waterlogged.

The first two photos are of an auto Euforia. The indoor record is 49" with 107 grams of dry bud. Last year's outdoor was just over a foot high with no buds large enough to fill a bowl.
This year's looks to at least match the indoor. I have past experience with the Euforia so it acts as my control. And having it in the tomato cage gives perspective on growth.

So far I am a happy gardener.
 

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  • Auto Euforia in the tomato cage at 30 days.jpg
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  • Auto Euforia in the tomato cage at 41 days.jpg
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  • Super Auto Chaze.  Planted early May, picture at solstice.jpg
    Super Auto Chaze. Planted early May, picture at solstice.jpg
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catalyte

Active member
Veteran
this is an interesting grow to me because of your location and good photos. :yes:

i would try to keep the hoop tarps on whenever you know it's going to rain....wonder if that would make a difference?
 

Phaeton

Speed of Dark
Veteran
The hoop tunnel is all auto flowers, too weak to hold up a tarp system.

Not to waste the midnight sun I do have a 7' by 7' shed with a roll up tarp. It has three plants this year and they began life inside last February/March then moved to the shed in May.

Very low budget, the plants are manually pushed in and out of the shed and the tarp is rolled up by hand and tied there.
The results are OK, during rainstorms the plants are pushed 3/4 back into the shed.

This is interior Alaska, within 100 miles of the Arctic Circle and not suitable for outdoor cultivation of marijuana plants.
 

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  • Outdoor dark shed bud after a month or so.jpg
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  • Outdoor dark shed with the tarp up and plants in the sun.jpg
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  • Outdoor dark shed with the triple layer tarp down.jpg
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CrushnYuba

Active member
I'm into the conduit! I use conduit for everything! My greenhouses are made of top rail though bent with jig. We get some crazy wind and i wouldn't trust connectors with tek screws in the center. I think I'm going to put conduit rows inside my greenhouse though.
 

Phaeton

Speed of Dark
Veteran
Independence Day was all foggy and wet just like the rest of the summer.
A shot of the shed plants. They are budding fairly well, even the one (foreground) with the huge leaf mass from the 24/0 Far Red, although bud rot is starting to show in the centers. The two rear plants (closeup of bud) have less dense buds and have no sign of bud rot.
Far Red is used outside in the shed for a half hour overlap with putting down the tarp. It is not absolutely light tight and the Far Red seems to help with bud density. Although with so many variables it is hard to say for sure but 26 watts of LED costs nothing to use.

The Super Autos in the tunnel are showing about two white pistol hairs per top cola at 62 days. The race against cold weather is going to be a close finish. The season is over at the end of August. Am really counting on a 110 day harvest with these plants. So far they are larger than any other of the autos I have tried, which is about 15 strains. Auto Euforia from Dutch Passion is a close second in size to these from Flash Seeds.

Two seeds gave me runts. The last two photos are of 62 day old plants put in containers the same day as the others. These two never broke four inches tall and are putting a bud on top about the size and shape of Clover. Odd result.
 

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  • All three shed plants showing buds, the Chronic Haze has bud rot from the steady rain.jpg
    All three shed plants showing buds, the Chronic Haze has bud rot from the steady rain.jpg
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  • Less dense buds do not have rot in spite of the rain.jpg
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  • This runt was immediately obvious and Cat Grass was planted at day 25 out 62 to date.jpg
    This runt was immediately obvious and Cat Grass was planted at day 25 out 62 to date.jpg
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  • This runt is 62 days old and 4 inches tall.jpg
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catalyte

Active member
Veteran
that "runt' is the smallest finished plant i have ever seen. Either way keep up the good work. When does the growing season end up where you're at?
 

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