Using wire for frost cloth hoops? Need advice

JRinPA · February 16, 2021

Sorry I just saw this.

3/16" hi tensile steel hoops is what I buy. They don't rust much, I can't say if they are galvanized, but only rust if left on the ground over winter, or the parts stuck in the ground.
64" x100 hoops is $44 this year.
76" x 100 is $50. This a produce supply place, and that would not include shipping.

64" is what I have used, and to stretch them to 4ft wide bed, I need to ziptie a pair of them together to make a big hoop that can be wide yet sunk deep.

If you have good tilth I would buy them/make them longer, and just sink them deeper when you don't need the width. My brother ordered some this year and I advised the longer version.

If you only need a narrow span, you lay the hoops in at angle to the bed edge to retain height but decrease width.

I usually use two crossed and ziptied at each row end, I call it castling, so I can pull the row cover fairly tight without pulling that farthest hoop back toward me.

GoDawgs · February 16, 2021

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRinPA

64" is what I have used, and to stretch them to 4ft wide bed, I need to ziptie a pair of them together to make a big hoop that can be wide yet sunk deep.

If you have good tilth I would buy them/make them longer, and just sink them deeper when you don't need the width. My brother ordered some this year and I advised the longer version.

If you only need a narrow span, you lay the hoops in at angle to the bed edge to retain height but decrease width.

I usually use two crossed and ziptied at each row end, I call it castling, so I can pull the row cover fairly tight without pulling that farthest hoop back toward me.

Thanks for the tips, JR. By shoving them in deeper and crossing longer hoops at an angle to support the covering, longer hoops can be used on more narrow strips and thus eliminate the need for two different length of hoops.

kurt · February 16, 2021

Before placing in the soil ,we spray the wire with a pruning spray seal or plain old dip in bucket of pure roofing asphalt(which is organic).Stops the rust from exposures from latter ferts that contain the salts.Stops the cutting of ends after seasons.

February 16, 2021	#1
JRinPA Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: SE PA Posts: 964	Sorry I just saw this. 3/16" hi tensile steel hoops is what I buy. They don't rust much, I can't say if they are galvanized, but only rust if left on the ground over winter, or the parts stuck in the ground. 64" x100 hoops is $44 this year. 76" x 100 is $50. This a produce supply place, and that would not include shipping. 64" is what I have used, and to stretch them to 4ft wide bed, I need to ziptie a pair of them together to make a big hoop that can be wide yet sunk deep. If you have good tilth I would buy them/make them longer, and just sink them deeper when you don't need the width. My brother ordered some this year and I advised the longer version. If you only need a narrow span, you lay the hoops in at angle to the bed edge to retain height but decrease width. I usually use two crossed and ziptied at each row end, I call it castling, so I can pull the row cover fairly tight without pulling that farthest hoop back toward me. Last edited by JRinPA; February 16, 2021 at 03:49 AM.

February 16, 2021	#3
kurt Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Homestead,Everglades City Fl. Posts: 2,491	Before placing in the soil ,we spray the wire with a pruning spray seal or plain old dip in bucket of pure roofing asphalt(which is organic).Stops the rust from exposures from latter ferts that contain the salts.Stops the cutting of ends after seasons. __________________ KURT