I've been struggling with trying to keep the plastic on my low tunnels in my garden. Recently I figured out how to make some secure clips that won't come loose in the wind.
I made something similar. I used a cutting disk in a hand held grinder. I clamped a length of pipe in a vice, then cut along the centre line, then I cut another line a quarter of an inch away. so I had cut out a long strip. Then I could cut 1 inch pieces along the pipe. This leaves lots of smaller clips that are easy to are easy to fix into place or remove. I have made dozens of them.
Thank you so much for this! I have a raised bed that I want to put shade cloth on (and a tarp to protect it from our FL summer monsoon rains!) and this worked wonderfully. I put the pieces in a vice and used a recip saw to slit them lengthwise; it wasn’t perfect but it got the job done. I took my hoop pvc pipe into the kitchen and put my pieces in slightly boiling water (stove was set to 5 -medium heat-and they melted in like 30 seconds and I was able to shape them very quickly and easily around the hoop. So happy to have found such an easy and thrifty way to secure materials onto my hoops! Hope you have a great gardening season and God bless!😊
Sure.😊 I am going to try to make another set to clip a tarp over the shade cloth I currently have clipped on to protect my veggies from our torrential rains…we’ll see if I can get away with 2 layers.🙂🤞🏻
Those covers should stay on there forever now. Clearing the beginning of the warm weather tipping point. Stay safe and motivated. Thanks for the share!
They have stood up to some fairly windy days now. As a bonus I can pull them back almost like a curtain to plant in the beds and quickly cover them back up.
Great demonstration and tip, PPG. Adding the pipes in hot water was a good idea. I don't use plastic on my tunnels, but fleez and net. I attach the net with plugs in the ground. Hope your plastic tunnels will work for you. All the best.
Thanks. I’ve found my frost guard fabric ripped when I would peg it in the ground. I have some on the hoops with these clips right now and it is staying intact.
That's a great idea I used a heat gun to do the ones on my plastic another thing that works great is old garden hose spilt the sane way. Have a great day !!!!
I had another suggestion for a heat gun. That would work well I’m sure. I tried garden hose another year and it wouldn’t hold for me. Must have been the wrong diameter for the piping I have. Thanks for the suggestions.
Nice of you to do this. The problem though is in high winds the irrigation pipe clips pop right off. Last night we had 20 mph wind. Make them with Sch 40 pvc pipe they stood up to the wind force.
Thank you. We have 80 km winds today. They are lifting the hoops out of their holders but the plastic is staying on. It is much easier to grab a hoop and pop it back into its holder than wrestle with the plastic and little clamps in this wind.
You did a good job demonstrating this idea. To make it easier and safer for your self you might try garden hose for the clamps. I take a leaky garden hose and cut it to about 6 inch lengths and split it. The same as you're doing but it is not necessary to heat the hose pieces. I enjoy evey one of your videos. Maybe one day you could put all your gardening tips and ideas into a book. I would buy one. Best Wishes. Grandpa Jones. 😃
I made a few shorter. They are easier to get on but they don’t hold quite as well. I was not comfortable trying to cut a thin slice out to make a wider slot. I’m sure that would help if you keep your fingers intact.
Great idea. I know that irregation pipe can be tough stuff to work with. I haven't used plastic for my hoops yet. They call that Yankee inginuity over here in New England. Lol🙂. I hope you have a great weekend. Off to plant my leeks and potatoes.
I’m really liking having these clamps. It makes it easier to pull the plastic back by pulling the hoops back, then they are easy to put back in their spots without fussing with the plastic again. Before I was fussing with clips and boards and bricks to keep the plastic taught and in position. Enjoy your planting.
@@PrairiePlantgirl thank you. I know what you mean by fusing with boards. By the way, distraction this afternoon. One of my hives swarmed today. Unusual for this time of year. I kinda knew that might happen because of the number of bees in this hive. We were able to capture it into another box. Talk to you soon.
Hi PPG, Might I suggest that you use some of those strips of wood and fasten one side of the plastic permanent to the side of your raised bed, that will leave you with only one long side to fasten down with bricks/stones or whatever, That idea you have is a finger breaking job, Stay safe and take care.
That’s a great idea and I tried it. The plastic blew off one night and crawled through the yard dragging the wood with it. We can get some pretty fierce winds here. I just leave the clips on now and lift the hoops and fold them back out of the way right now. It is working so far but we haven’t had a crazy wind yet since I did this.
😀luckily we’ve had such nice weather since then that I’ve even got a sunburn so I can laugh at that. Sun is shining bright again today. We just skip spring here.
Don’t know if it’s possible, could you slice a gap in between the pipes, making into a c shape instead? I am guessing that if it’s c shaped then you won’t need to use hot water to soften it and another piece of pipe to pry it open. Also you could make it shorter for ease of cutting the gap? Of course that will mean that you need more clips. I think it’s a fantastic idea. I definitely taking in on. Thanks!
I thought about the gap, but I think I’d slice a finger off, maybe others are more coordinated. Shorter pieces would work. I made a few shorter ones and used one on each side and one in the middle (top). Thanks for your feedback.
Yes, I made shorter pieces and made 2 cuts with a saw to open up the pipe more. Worked well for me. Strong winds aren't really a problem where I live so the clips are only required to keep the netting in place.
I’m sure any heating would work. I actually came across another piece of hose that is thinner and a slightly larger diameter yesterday. Trying that out on a more sheltered tunnel. So far it’s staying on, but it doesn’t hold as tight.
I’ve taken one off. It was easier to put back on without heat now that it’s been on for a while. I usually just pull the plastic back with the hoops and it folds back like a curtain.
