Easy to Build Polypipe Greenhouse
Sometimes you see something and you think “Wow! Thats a great idea.” We came across this very simple and easy to build greenhouse at Rosina Buckman’s backyard. Rosina has some terrific tips mentioned previously here and here.
Most greenhouse designs are overly complicated with lengthy instructions and steel engineering that makes them unaffordable to most people wishing to have something in their backyard to grow their seedlings or indeed even a basic shelter to cover their aquaponic systems from the rain, wind, birds and insects.
Star pickets are cheap to buy
Rosina points out where the star picket is inside the polypipe
Yet this one idea is not commonly found on the internet.
The Polypipe Greenhouse.
All you need are around 8 star pickets and a length of thick industrial strength irrigation pipe to make a Greenhouse of approximately 3 meters by 7 metres. Very easy and cheap to build too.
Star pickets are also called steel fence posts in some countries. They come in a variety of sizes from 900mm right up to 2400mm in length.
Buy the taller steel picket and hammer them into location in your desired spot in the backyard.
Polypipe comes in various sizes
Polypipe comes in a range of sizes. Do choose one that is wider enough to slip over the steel picket.
The polypipe Rosina uses fits snugly over the picket and slides down about half the length of the picket.
It is then arched and connected over the other picket. Bird-netting is connected to the pipe with large size zip ties.
Surprisingly there is enough tension to support most bird netting or greenhouse shade cloth. Rosina Buckman’s Greenhouse has been moved around the garden four times and has stood the test of time.
Steel picket and polypipe greenhouse
The beauty of building your greenhouse this way is that you can change the shape and length to fit any shape in the garden.
It doesn’t necessarily need to fit a standard hoop greenhouse either.
Rosina has some very creative uses for the polypipe and some people use them as a trellis for all kinds of climbing plants.
Polypipes have been around for a while and were commonly in irrigation. But here they have found a different use altogether. Many permaculture people use polypipe to build dome shaped Permaculture Chicken tractors.
These dome shaped constructions certainly required a little bit more work but as mobile chicken coops they are light enough for one or two people to move and drag around the garden with chickens intact. They don’t rot and if you decide you don’t need the structure anymore – you can cannibalize the parts for other purposes.
Using mobile chicken tractors are discussed in Geoff Lawton’s “Establishing a Food Forest” DVD where the chicken tractors were used to manure a field and moved incrementally and a food forest was sown behind it. A wonderful idea with minimal effort.
This polypipe and star picket structure supports a climbing vine.
These structures are great, but I have a problem finding the 50mm polypipe in reasonable lengths around here. Everywhere I’ve looked (e.g. rural stores, plumbing suppliers), you can only buy it in 100m lengths, and it’s about $4 per metre. I don’t need that much, and don’t want to spend $400 up-front for a 20-year supply of the stuff!
Any suggestions as to where I might find shorter lengths?
Hi Darren, you are correct the 50mm poly-pipe is expensive to buy in 100m and even 50m lengths. I have seen short off-cuts going cheap at the tip recycle centers because some piping had already been used or is punctured but the problem is you may not get enough length. Some farming co-op stores in the country areas generally sell sort lengths to individuals. Form a Permaculture group and do a bulk buy and sell to individual members. Our local Permaculture group bulk buy books and have formed their own lending library on this very principal. Others may offer better advice. Thanks for your feedback.
Hi Guys
I have found a few places around my area (central Vic) that are happy to sell it by the meter, if you see a farmer working in a vineyard or something similar stop and ask if they know any suppliers that sell by the meter. Its almost certain they will know somewhere or may have enough laying around to sell you cheap.
Russ
The best place to buy the right polypipe size, is to visit your local tanks sales outlet. Even better if they install them and sell pumps too. We purchased our pipe off the roll per metre, though I can’t remember how much it cost.
Bear in mind, you’ll need a ute or trailer to transport it home, and tied down with ropes. As pipe of that size, rolled up, is a rather bulky, inflexible item to move.