Dixana
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The difference...is there one?

Can someone tell me the difference between a greenhouse and a hoop house like the nurseries around here use?
It seems to me a hoophouse would be cheaper....but maybe not better?

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lorax
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Well, it may just be a matter of semantics, but I tend to think of greenhouses as having square, rigid frames and a rigid construction material (ie glass or lexan or something), while hoophouses have flexible frames and flexible coverings (UV plastic and the like).

Hence, what I've got in my backyard is neither - it's a temporary plastic hothouse with a rigid frame but UV plastic covering....

There are benefits and drawbacks to both designs. The rigid greenhouse is a more permanent solution than a hoophouse or hothouse, but it's also much more limited in its height and it may require more complex systems of venting. However, if you're in an area that gets hail at all, a greenhouse is the way to go - tempered glass and lexan are generally unaffected by hail until it's the sort of grapefruit size that would damage anything it hit. In tornado zones, though, you do get potentially deadly debris.

Hoop and Hothouses, on the other hand, are very flexible, easy to raise/lower according to your needs, and simpler to vent (just open a flap). The advantage to these in harsh weather is that when they blow apart, the debris is non-damaging. However, the design is perfect for areas that get just rain without a whole lot of wind/tornado/hail issues - it just rolls off the hoop design. Hoophouses will also generally be cheaper to build than greenhouses.

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soil
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are hoop houses cheaper yes, better...well it depends on what you define as better and what you want from a greenhouse. for a nursery a hoop house is perfect to keep the frost and hard rain or snow off, lots of floor space for there pots and such. a greenhouse made from much better materials and one that has some thermal mass in it will stay warm during the night better, which would cost more for a nursery to build on a large scale, but the homeowner could grow food year around now easily making up for the cost.

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hendi_alex
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I think that that a greenhouse can be most any structure that is covered with a material that allows light to pass through and which then traps the heat that is generated. Whether the greenhouse is covered with film, polycarbonate, or glass, to me is just a detail. The same is true with respect to the structure. It can be formed from a commercially available aluminum frame, or from wood, or from flexed/formed tubing. The greenhouse can be heated or unheated, depending upon the use and desired temperature range. Most commercial operations are trying to get the most bang for the buck, and I think that is generally found with hoop shaped structures which are covered in U.V. stabilized semi transparent film.

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hendi_alex
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BTW, when I shopped on line a few years ago, deciding whether or not to buy a greenhouse kit, most that I checked out offered three choices for the skin: plastic film, polycarbonate, or glass. Each of those materials had definite advantages as well as disadvantages, so neither is clearly superior to others as a choice of greenhouse covering.

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Kisal
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IMO, the primary difference is that the covering can be, and often is, removed from hoop houses, to expose the growing plants -- which are usually planted in the ground, rather than in containers -- to open air and sunlight. It is put on to provide a warmer environment for the plants in early spring and in the fall, and perhaps at times to protect against certain insects pests. In my experience with them, hoop houses are never left covered year-round. That, of course, doesn't mean that they never are left covered year-round in some part of the world, only that I have never personally seen them used that way.

The plants growing in greenhouses, however, are usually in containers of some sort, and are removed from the greenhouse to grow outdoors. The covering of the greenhouse is usually permanently in place.

That's just how I make the distinction between the two. :)



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