Introduction This 5.5 meters wide by 9.1 meters long PVC high tunnel is constructed using PVC pipe for hoops. Longer structures, up to 29 m, may be constructed with the addition of hoops. Additional support and purlins may be necessary. A crew of four can easily construct a high tunnel of this design in a…
By the Iowa State University Extension Office This program describes how to build a system to catch, store and reuse the rainwater for irrigation in a high tunnel. Shawn Shouse, ISU Extension and Outreach ag engineer, runs us through the process. The cost of installing rain gutters, rainwater storage tanks, and an electric pump is…
High tunnels are passively vented, solar greenhouses that are used to lengthen the production and marketing season of vegetable and fruit crops (Figure 1). No artificial heating/cooling or ventilation system is used within the high tunnel, and the only external connection is water for drip or micro-irrigation. Most high tunnels are covered with a single…
The type, size, etc. of high tunnels doors are important to their users. Doors influence ease and safety of access, high tunnel structural integrity, and the ability to maintain the targeted set of conditions in the structure.Doors also vary in cost.The Extension Vegetable Physiology Lab (EVPL) at The OSU-OARDC in Wooster, OH operates nine high…
Introduction This low-cost, 30’ long by 18’ wide PVC high tunnel is constructed using PVC pipe for hoops. The materials cost roughly $500 (including shade cloth for summer production) and we didn’t shop for the best buy on materials and lumber. A slight disadvantage of the design is that curvature of the hoops may allow…
Growing Under Cover 2 is here!! Written by Tom Buller, Kansas Rural Center; Dr. Cary Rivard, Kansas State University, Fruit and Vegetable Extension Specialist; and Kim Oxley, Research Extension Associate, Kansas State University, Growing Under Cover: A Kansas Grower’s Guide, provides success stories from Kansas farmers who use tunnels on their farms, additional general management strategies,…