A link to several blog posts about how to build one of our scissor houses that are easily movable

Here is a link that might be useful: Hoop House How to

After reading Eliot Coleman's books and seeing the high tunnels on castors that are moveable with a tractor I fell in love. They do cost a lot more but the ease of moving through the season is so awesome! Otherwise you either have to pick and choose crops to cover or try to grow them (cool and warm crops) together next to each other. Johnny's has a video about building a moveable one and has the castors for sale but it isn't as wide as the one in Grower's Supply.

I have worked on a farm with two moveable tunnels, one based on Coleman's design, but it was very difficult to move (so perhaps the design was not well implemented) and the other one we just jacked up and put wheelbarrow wheels on and then pushed it. That was quick and easy.

I saw the advantage for the soil as being huge - no build up of greenhouse pests, and can do soil rotation each year of your protected crops. I guess the other aspects, of covering more than one crop each season would depend on your climate and how easy it is to move your tunnels. I couldn't see myself doing it more than once a season, but then I don't have any other workers on my farm to help.

We move each of our movable high tunnels 4 to 5 times each year. I do this by myself without a tractor. As I said earlier mine are only 16 by 32, so they aren't too big. I tried to use my tractor but it was more difficult. It usually takes me 10 minutes to undo all the bolts (use a cordless drill much faster than a wrench) and about 15 minutes to move one space, then about 10 minutes to put the bolts back in.

It isn't hard work, but in my situation time is more abundant than money, so I opted to not go for caster wheels. Way to expensive for me.

Jay

one of my plant customers, another vender at market just got one through ncrs. they got it from growers supply or farmtek whatever you want to call it, but they couldn't hardly figure out how to put it up. it's pretty involved because it moves on pipes. I think myself in a couple of years when everything gets rusty its going to be a pita to move it. I like the idea of something lighter myself.

for me i can grow crops in the hoop house all season and i have a shortage of hoophouse space, so when i consider adding a new hoophouse, i can easily get 2 times the square footage or more with simple stationary units than if i spent the money on the mobile one. i can get away with very light duty hoophouses as i have almost no snow and light winds. the extra bracing to make the movable house is cost prohibitive for me. if i already needed a more robust structure due to snow and/or wind, it might be cost effective to add the mobility

i would like a moveable tunnel but there's not enough level or almost level land here. i can get 2 crops per year out of a stationary house.i think a moveable house could increase that to 3 per year.

Posters, we need to put where we are at, so that we can decide whether your experience can work for us. Many of you, we know like family, others we would like to.

I have a stationery, but moveable houses have been around for years. I can remember an article in Countryside magazine in the early 2000s about a commune in MN (I think) with a home-made one. Not until years later, did I start hearing about others have them.