I’ve been meaning to post another update on the hoop house. It isn’t the most glamorous DIY project, I know—but as someone trying to grow vegetables at 8,800 feet, I’ve been genuinely excited about it. And I’m a nerd and this has all of the ingredients that make me excited: 3D printing, growing things, building something, problem solving. What’s not to get excited about? I admit it’s no kitchen reveal…which I will post at some point!
Despite the update that is to follow, we have had some success, and I’m so happy I put up this little DIY greenhouse.
So far we have had two cherry tomatoes. One full-size tomato. A few cucumbers that are actually growing instead of shriveling up like they usually do in this climate.
It’s the little things.
I grew up in the Midwest, where tomato and cucumber plants basically multiply on their own. People beg you to take their extras. Out here in the Colorado mountains? It’s a different story. Short growing season, cold nights even in July, and sudden temperature swings that make outdoor gardening feel like a cruel game of chance.
That’s why I built a hoop house—to create a microclimate and give our plants a fighting chance.
How I Built It
You can find more details here, but the gist is I used 1/2″ PEX tubing, arching from the side of our garage to a raised garden bed. The ends of the tubing are inserted into short pieces of metal conduit buried in the soil and secured to the side of the bed with conduit straps. No formal base frame—just a tension structure bridging garage and garden.
To connect the tubing mid-span and reinforce the arch, I used 3D-printed PETG connectors. Everything was covered with 6 mil greenhouse plastic, held down with pavers and cinder blocks around the perimeter.
Simple. Light. Totally adequate… until it wasn’t.
PETG + Heat = Sad, Droopy Elephant Trunks
The PETG connectors started strong. Sturdy and exactly what I needed to get the PEX tubing shaped just right. But they didn’t hold up under heat. After a few weeks of summer sun trapped under greenhouse plastic, they warped.
Badly.
The structure started sagging. Slowly at first, and then all at once. It began to look less like a hoop house and more like a collapsed art installation.
Yesterday I lifted the plastic to water the plants and cool things down. I figured I’d nudge the structure back into shape. It was almost looking respectable again—until I couldn’t leave well enough alone and managed to snap two of the flanges anchored to the garage.
Now the supports are on the ground. The plastic is loose. And the cucumbers are fending for themselves.
What I’d Do Differently
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Skip PETG: Even though it has a higher heat tolerance than PLA, it still couldn’t handle a sealed greenhouse in Colorado sun.
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Use PVC fittings: Real ones. Not ones I tried to invent with a printer.
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Use PVC pipe: I thought the PEX would be sturdy enough with the tension, and it technically is, but PVC would be less frustrating.
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Add redundancy: The flanges may need backup or redistribution so the force isn’t so centralized. Right now, they just look like sad, melted elephant trunks.
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Walk away sooner: When it’s “good enough,” stop tweaking. Please.
I have a rough plan to fix it. I just haven’t found the motivation to go down the hill and lose an hour to the chaos of the plumbing aisle. Eventually, I’ll try to mod some hardware store parts to get PVC and PEX to play nicely together. There might be duct tape involved. Again. I may have to go round 2 with the printer and re-print the flanges on the garage and just hope that having more rigid support from the PVC connectors puts less force on them and it will prevent the droopiness.
Materials List (for the curious)
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PEX tubing (1/2″) – for arches and support
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Metal conduit pieces – inserted into ground to anchor tubing ends
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Conduit straps – to secure PEX to raised bed
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3D-printed PETG connectors – (do not recommend)
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Greenhouse plastic (6 mil)
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Pavers + cinder blocks to secure plastic
Final Thoughts
Despite the structure failing, the plants are still going. And that feels like something worth noting.
They don’t need perfection. Just a little protection. Enough to keep growing.
It’s kind of like every DIY project. And life.
Live and learn. Or at least live and keep trying.
There will be some photos to come, (I know, I know. Way to make a utilitarian project even less exciting) but for now I have to go take down some trees thanks to some evil pine beetles. The joys of mountain living no one mentioned!
If you’ve built a hoop house that didn’t collapse in shame, tell me your secrets. If you haven’t, welcome to the club.