This is the easiest, smartest, hoop house I've ever created. It requires no tools, no building supplies and no skills. A potato could put it together. What you *will* need is this one popular camping item.
I've spent the better part of my gardening life trying to outsmart a bug. I'm still not there but I'm getting closer. Every year I take extreme measures to offer my plants protection.
What am I protecting them from?
The mothia.
I cover my vegetables with low tunnels, hoop houses and row cover to keep everything but me away from my vegetables.
Earlier this spring I had an idea to replace my hinged hoop houses. The wood frame was starting to rot but I didn't have the time or energy to rebuilt this year.
I had to come up with an alternative to the Hinged Hoop House that would be quick to build and just as effective.
After a few weeks of testing I can now present to you my latest and easiest way to protect your plants from flying pests.
Below is the quick video. At the end of this post you can watch the whole 5 minute installation in real time.
It's a bit unfortunate looking. But it works.
The happy camper hoop house made with 4 stakes, some tennis balls and a camping mosquito net.
Specifically one made for over a bed or sitting area.
Table of Contents
Easy Hoop House
MATERIALS
- 4 garden posts/stakes
- 4 tennis balls
- 1 camping mosquito net.
The camping mosquito net I picked is important. There are no flaps that can blow open. All 4 sides of it are sewn. This makes it one big netting rectangle.
You CAN use netting that has flaps that close, you just need to be very careful they're secured somehow so they can't blow open and let moths in.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place 1 metal post in each corner of your bed.
- Cut a hole into each tennis ball, then stick one on top of each post. This stops the post from catching on the netting and ripping it.
- Cover the frame you just made with the camping mosquito netting.
TIME REQUIRED - About 3 minutes from start to finish.
TOTAL COST - $15 - $35 depending on where you get your materials and what size they are.
This doesn't need to be used over a raised bed. You can put it up absolutely anywhere.
MY extra large MOSQUITO NETTING is available in Canada, but not the US.
THIS extra large mosquito netting is available in the US, just note that it does have flaps so make sure you keep those secured closed with clips.
Would you like to save this stuff?
We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.
For Smaller Gardens
If you're growing something that doesn't get as tall or big that needs protecting like:
🥦 Broccoli
Cauliflower
🧅 Onions
Leeks
🥬 Cabbage
You can then use smaller mosquito nets like these.
Or, if you like things looking a bit nicer and you love to pull out the tools whenever you can, you can build one of my hinged hoop houses which are incredibly easy to open and close and offer 100% insect protection. 👇
Gardening is NO fun if everything you try to grow up and dies on you. That's why a lot of people try gardening once and then give up. You have to know the tricks.
Insect netting and hoop houses are A REALLY GOOD TRICK.
What You Can Protect & Prevent
🌱 Cauliflower
Cabbage moths love the protective leaves of cauliflower and will eat them all, leaving massive amounts of green poop behind.
🌱 Broccoli
Cabbage moths are REALLY drawn to broccoli. The larvae will live out their whole lives in the head of broccoli. Because of their colour they're almost indistinguishable from the broccoli. I do not like to eat big juicy green larvae and have never had luck with simply rinsing the broccoli, or even submerging it in hot water with salt. There are always leftover green caterpillars holding on for dear life.
🌱 Peppers
Pepper flies lay eggs in the very top of ultra small peppers. The larvae then hatch and burrow into the pepper and eat it from the inside out. A sign of this is your pepper ripening before you think it should. When you pick it you'll realize it's just rotted mush inside.
🌱 Onions, Leeks, Garlic
Leek moth will lay eggs on these plants. The larvae will burrow down the stem, eating all the way until they hit the bulb. Then they'll eat some more. Your stem will get soft and mushy by the base of the bulb and it will stop growing and/or rot. Also there will be larvae in it.
To do any work in the bed you just have to lift the netting up.
So far so good. I really like how this is working. If that continues, I'll make it a bit prettier next year and only use the hinged hoop houses for shorter crops like strawberries, broccoli and pixies.
DROPSHOT
You won't get pretty flowers with it, but the ferny greenery of Dropshot (an herb in the Marigold family), tastes exactly like, IDENTICAL TO, black jellybeans.the ferny greenery of Dropshot (an herb in the Marigold family), tastes exactly like, IDENTICAL TO, black jellybeans.
Real Time Hoop House Installation
Sondra
I'd be curious to know if anyone has had any luck using this method to keep roaming and ravaging deer away from the veggies? I now know from experience first hand, without a dog on the property any longer (yes, she passed away too), that deer will eat almost everything and anything they get near if they can get to it. Flowers galore, bushes, ground covers and anything else you can think of except the giant trees on my 56 acres of problems!
Would these hairy monsters with teeth like steel chomp right through the netting I wonder? Once upon a time I had a massive fenced off garden that now the fence is rotted and gone and the weeds have taken over. I occasionally think about revamping it but can't figure out a way to keep herds of deer from eating every thing in sight, like they eat everything else in yard - acres of grass and weeds but sadly the flowers and veggies are now gone!
Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Always enjoy your site, humor and thought process.
Kat - the other 1
It looks like there are some sort of bands the stakes are inserted into in the beds?
Karen
Yes. Those were there from the previous hinged hoop house. They aren't necessary. ~ karen!
Jean
Why”don’t need this for raised beds?”
Kat - the other 1
"This doesn't need to be used over a raised bed. You can put it up absolutely anywhere."
I believe she means it works for in ground beds as well as for raised beds.
Karen
Hi Jean. I was explaining that it doesn't need to be used only in a raised bed. It can go anywhere. ~ karen!
Jane
Tennis balls, that's the ticket! Why didn't I think of that! Ingenious! Since hubby plays tennis, we have oodles of dead ones. Thanks, Karen!
Mary W
Perfect for the small garden I have an even smaller planting of brassicas. I bet a woman invented it that had a baby napping while she gardened! Genius idea and you always come up with the best answers. Bet you drove Betty nuts as a teen!
Terry Rutherford
I’ve put insect netting over all my melons, cukes, beans, squash and cauliflower for the first time but how do you allow pollinators access? I left cauliflower enclosed as no pollinating is required and the end one is still turned to lace! Grr. Thanks for the great tips always.
Karen
Hi Terry! Most things I cover with netting don't require pollinators; like red peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, etc. If I ever cover something like squash or zucchini (that needs pollination) I pollinate the plants myself. ~ karen!
Terry Rutherford
Me again, have you talked about how you pollinate yourself yet? Oh. That sounds bad, how you personally pollinate, say, cucumbers? Melons? Ooh ooh, have you covered, “What’s that eating my …?” My poor little peppers that I just planted (late) lost half a leaf today (there are only 4 leaves so it’s a lot.) Thanks!
Karen
I have indeed. Here you go ... How to Pollinate Vegetable Plants ~ karen!
Randy P
Very clever cross-purposing. Do you find a need to secure the bottoms of the screens to the ground?
Karen
Hi Randy! I haven't so far, but I did go to the garden a few days ago to find the wheat netting had blown up a bit. The netting over the wheat is to keep birds from stealing the grain before I harvest it in the next couple of weeks so having it lifted a bit wasn't a bit deal. I did secure the two ends down after that though. ~ karen!