Beautiful build!! I'm in zone 3 Wisconsin and I built a cattle panel house 3 years ago for my daughter's chickens. I have a few suggestions. 1st when you close up for the season give the ridgepole some support. Most winters you won't need the support. Our first winter was a normal winter and the structure held up beautifully 👍. The winter of 22/23 was a real monster in our area. The house held up great until a freak storm in April squashed it like a bug. No chickens living there at the time. 2nd the people that owned my home before me left a roll of reflective livestock fence fabric. Its not expensive and worked great for securing the plastic. Much easier on the plastic than any ropes. It spreads out the pressure. 3rd put a vent on each end above the doorway. Your end walls and doorways are much nicer than mine. I'm a hack 😊. Lastly I think putting rebar in the plastic is brilliant!! You guys did real good 👍
It is too soon to know how long it will extend my season. By the time we had it ready to plant in the spring, it was almost time to plant the heat-loving plants outdoors. We haven't had our first fall frost yet and hopefully won't for a while. While the hoop house gets very hot in the sun, it does cool down as much inside as outside at night. I have put a couple black barrels of water in it to absorb the heat by day and radiate it at night. I may have to put a little electric heater in it when a frost is predicted. Next year, I will be able to give you a better answer. 😃
In a hot climate, you probably want to look at more ventilation with fans at both ends and you want to leave both doors wide open in your hot season. Assuming you still have a winter of some type, it can still be a great season extender for you.
