Anyone familiar with "Bootstrap Farmer" DIY Greenhouse kits or something similar?

MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
I found these 20'x60' & 11 1/2' tall hoop houses for about $5k. I know that I'll spend like 3x that when I am finished, but this is exactly what I'm trying to figure out here, if my daydream is real or not lol. I'm a 100% disabled veteran and I have plenty of time to work in my back yard and I have a reliable income that allows me plenty of free time. I don't have to get building permits where I live and it's pretty much free game to build whatever I want. However, to have a commercial license in Okla, you have to have a 8ft chain link fence around the grow area. I don't exactly know what I'm getting at here, I'm just excited about the possibility and the start up cost really isn't that bad like $20k. I guess that I'm just nervous about DIY'ing this kit together.

www.bootstrapfarmer.com

All-Steel Greenhouse Kit | Bootstrap Farmer - 20' / 60' - Bootstrap Farmer

The USA Made, All-inclusive Greenhouse Kit with prebent hoops from Bootstrap Farmer. Order your hoop house kit today for fast, free shipping in the lower 48!
www.bootstrapfarmer.com www.bootstrapfarmer.com
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
I have 4x worm bins and a compost pile that I have been using for my soil. Each wooden bin holds about 550gal or 2.67 cubic yards.
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One of these bins was able to provide worm castings for 12x 100gal pots and I had a few gallons of EWC left over. I also had about 250gal of pure black leaf mold that is about 2 1/2yrs old(Coots) that I split between these pots. I guess that this is my trail to see if I am capable of doing it, and it seems to be going just fine! I've been growing organically indoors for about 6yrs and 9yrs total(started with hydro). I've been composting since late 2015 and it's been good to me.
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GrassBurner

GrassBurner

Well-Known Member
Looks like a nice kit, I like that they're using steel made in the USA, much higher quality than that cheap Chinese "steel".
Go for it man!! Worst thing that happens is you get a great story to tell the grandkids, and have a sweet greenhouse to boot. Chainlink fence is crazy expensive, I wonder if you could use hog panels instead. Does the requirement specifically say chain link, or does it say something like "chainlink or equivalent"?
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
Here is why I'm thinking about using beds instead of fabric pots again. I had one clone left and about 30gal of EWC left, so I built a 2x12(boards) wooden box that was about 4'x4'. I didn't mix the castings with Promix, like I did with the fabric pots, and I didn't use any aeration because I ran out of perlite. I also ran out of straw, so I used straight rabbit bedding with alfalfa hay as the bedding. So I used pure EWC and uncomposted rabbit bedding for a mulch layer and it's the best looking plant health wise. I thought that I was going to burn the plant from too much fertilizer, but it looks like a darker green than my other plants. These are plants from the same seed pack, so they are not the same pheno. So, I know it's not the best experiment. It looks like the extra N helped a lot. The buds don't look as developed as some of the others, but again, they are different. Anyways, my goal is to bring organic bud to Oklahoma. Bud that hasn't been sprayed by any essential oils or neem. I attract beneficial insects with flowers and they patrol my cannabis garden. Good idea to have a flower bed next to your cannabis garden!
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MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
GrassBurner said:
Looks like a nice kit, I like that they're using steel made in the USA, much higher quality than that cheap Chinese "steel".
Go for it man!! Worst thing that happens is you get a great story to tell the grandkids, and have a sweet greenhouse to boot. Chainlink fence is crazy expensive, I wonder if you could use hog panels instead. Does the requirement specifically say chain link, or does it say something like "chainlink or equivalent"?
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I'm about to google it, but it said something like a minimum of 6ga chain link 8ft high... I hear that there are a lot of growers that don't even do it. My idea was just to build the chain link around the greenhouse and not my entire 2 1/2 acres.
 
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MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
GrassBurner said:
Chainlink fence is crazy expensive, I wonder if you could use hog panels instead. Does the requirement specifically say chain link, or does it say something like "chainlink or equivalent"?
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Man, I looked for it and couldn't find it. I thought that I saved it in my tabs, but I guess not. I kind of fudged on my words the first time the I replied to you. What I meant to say is that I could build a fence around the greenhouse by itself. The chainlink would allow light to pass though, so that's not a big deal if it's close. Just leave enough room between the greenhouse and fence. Say like a 20'x60' greenhouse but have a 10' space in between, like a 40'x80' fence. That shouldn't be too expensive. I think that I would be able to pay my house off in no time with this set up. The start-up is about the same price as a car. Plus, I think that everyone is about to get another stimulus check and if that's true, I'll get $6k(Heroes/Heals Act). Man, I'm just hurting to get this done now...
 
GrassBurner

GrassBurner

Well-Known Member
What about chainlink around the greenhouse as required, then an 8' privacy fence around the property to ward off any prying eyes?
Im sure there are places to buy chainlink fencing in bulk, but I just looked at Lowes, for 8'x50' chainlink it was $400. Tractor Supply sells 16'x50" hog panels made out of 1/4" steel for $25 The hog panels would save $5 per linear foot of fencing, and if you gave yourself 10' around the greenhouse you're looking at 240 linear feet of fence. That's $1200 savings over chainlink for the actual fencing. Maybe a phone call would help clarify what they specifically require. I don't know what the prices are right now, but about 4 years ago my buddy got quoted $10/ft for a 4' tall chainlink fence. I ended up building him a welded wire fence 6' tall with round treated posts for about $5/ft.
 
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thumper60

thumper60

Well-Known Member
MustangStudFarm said:
I'm about to google it, but it said something like a minimum of 6ga chain link 8ft high... I hear that there are a lot of growers that don't even do it. My idea was just to build the chain link around the greenhouse and not my entire 2 1/2 acres.
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Just run chain link on the GH, we only need 6 ft here, How tall are the side walls.
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
I found it, it's on page #3 section 4:
The entire outdoor or greenhouse facility shall be surrounded by a fence and entry gates. The fence shall measure at least eight (8) feet from the ground to the top of the fence and shall be constructed of at least six (6) gauge or higher metal chain link fence or another similarly secure material or wood. All support posts shall be steel and securely anchored
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
stealthfader508

stealthfader508

Well-Known Member
what about something like this? would the wooden walls qualify as being secure? ... this one is 16x30, i built it all myself and it probably only cost a few grand when all was said and done

I originally looked into bootstrap farmer greenhouses, and they're a good way to go ... I actually bought a lot of my fittings and stuff from them ... but in the end I ended up just buying the bender and bending all my own pipes... it was so easy

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thumper60

thumper60

Well-Known Member
Tell ya what dont buy any thing without at least a 7 ft side wall or you just end up running 1 row down the center. I run 6 plants in a 20-30 an it gets tight 2 rows i have 7 ft side walls.center hight is 14 ft.IMG_2549.JPG
 
GrassBurner

GrassBurner

Well-Known Member
Yeah super easy. Here is an idea for your posts, something similar should be available local to you. https://www.farmstore.com/product/4-treated-blunt-wood-post-10-ft Id look on Craigslist and Facebook, ive bought posts a couple time from farmers who will buy a truckload of post bundles, and sell what they dont use. 10 footers might be a little harder to find, but if you keep looking you'll find them somewhere. Even if you have to pay $20 a piece for the posts, thats about $650 (get 2 extra posts to set where you want your gates). 30 fence panels would run about $750. You could probably find a farmer that has a fence post setter for his tractor, they basically just hammer the posts into the ground, no concrete needed. Not sure if they can set a 10' fence post or not. If not, figure (2) 80lb bags of concrete per hole. 64 bags will run around $5 a bag, but if you buy 42 or more you get a 20% discount. So about $250 for concrete. Couple set of gate hardware will run $100, heavy duty staples will probably run $60-$70. For under $2k you could have all the materials for a rock solid fence :D
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
stealthfader508 said:
what about something like this? would the wooden walls qualify as being secure? ... this one is 16x30, i built it all myself and it probably only cost a few grand when all was said and done

I originally looked into bootstrap farmer greenhouses, and they're a good way to go ... I actually bought a lot of my fittings and stuff from them ... but in the end I ended up just buying the bender and bending all my own pipes... it was so easy

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Oh man, that's a nice set up! It's encouraging that you bought parts from Bootstrap Farmer too, it looks like it worked out for you!!! Really though, $20k for a business start up is not bad at all, so I'll probably stick to the kit. I tend to get overrun by jobs around here and I plan on keeping this as simple as possible. You did a great job of bending the poles, I would probably end up with egg shapes and they would look like hell! It looks like a pro did yours...
 
H

Heavy1971

New Member
MustangStudFarm said:
I found it, it's on page #3 section 4:
The entire outdoor or greenhouse facility shall be surrounded by a fence and entry gates. The fence shall measure at least eight (8) feet from the ground to the top of the fence and shall be constructed of at least six (6) gauge or higher metal chain link fence or another similarly secure material or wood. All support posts shall be steel and securely anchored
Click to expand...
 
H

Heavy1971

New Member
I found black deer netting was called,at Lowe's,it's 7ft tall and has like one inch squares made out of plastic,it was cheap I got 100 ft for less than 60 bucks,works well
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
GrassBurner said:
Yeah super easy. Here is an idea for your posts, something similar should be available local to you. https://www.farmstore.com/product/4-treated-blunt-wood-post-10-ft Id look on Craigslist and Facebook, ive bought posts a couple time from farmers who will buy a truckload of post bundles, and sell what they dont use. 10 footers might be a little harder to find, but if you keep looking you'll find them somewhere. Even if you have to pay $20 a piece for the posts, thats about $650 (get 2 extra posts to set where you want your gates). 30 fence panels would run about $750. You could probably find a farmer that has a fence post setter for his tractor, they basically just hammer the posts into the ground, no concrete needed. Not sure if they can set a 10' fence post or not. If not, figure (2) 80lb bags of concrete per hole. 64 bags will run around $5 a bag, but if you buy 42 or more you get a 20% discount. So about $250 for concrete. Couple set of gate hardware will run $100, heavy duty staples will probably run $60-$70. For under $2k you could have all the materials for a rock solid fence :D
Click to expand...
From what I can tell, it has to be steel posts. I had the same idea that you had, then I realized that the fence can be wood, but the post has to be steel. Wood post would be a lot easier, so I'm with you on that...
 
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