Are you a backyard gardener or professional farmer looking to improve your yield and extend your growing season? Then protected growing space is the way to go. Let’s learn how you can use tunnel greenhouses to protect your crops and extend your growing season.
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What Is A Tunnel Greenhouse?
A tunnel greenhouse is typically a steel structure and polyethylene cover. High tunnel greenhouses are usually semi-circular or square. The interior of tunnel greenhouses heats up from the sun and warms the soil and plants inside the greenhouse. The polyethylene covering then retains the air warmed by the heat.
You can then control the temperature and humidity by fixing equipment into the tunnel greenhouse or manually opening and closing vents. The tunnel provides higher temperatures and humidity than what is available in the environment.
Tunnel greenhouses also protect the plants from bright sunlight, intense heat, cold waves, hailstorms, and wind. This protection will allow you to grow plants during any season. Fruits, vegetables, and herbs are among the best plants to grow in tunnel greenhouses. If you are growing plants that do not need much space, then you can consider low tunnel greenhouses.
Low tunnel greenhouses are mini-greenhouses. They provide a temperate micro-growing climate by warming the soil. If you are growing in your backyard, where space is limited, a high tunnel greenhouse might not be practical. In this case, it would be best to consider installing a high tunnel hoop house. A PVC hoop house is smaller in size and maximizes simplicity while maintaining the benefits of a tunnel greenhouse.
Why Have A Tunnel Greenhouse At Home?
Greenhouse farming has many benefits compared to conventional agriculture. The following are the benefits of tunnel greenhouses.
Extended Growing Season
Tunnel greenhouses allow growers to produce crops for longer periods during the year. The greenhouse will protect the plants from extreme temperatures.
Lower Price
Tunnel greenhouses are cheaper compared to window greenhouses. Despite the reasonable price, tunnel greenhouses are still dependable and robust. The price offers a quick and high return on investment.
Easy To Assemble And Disassemble
You will only require a few tools to assemble and disassemble tunnel greenhouses. It is hence easy to relocate a tunnel greenhouse. You only need to unbolt the rafters, remove the cover, and move your greenhouse to a new location. Once in the new site, install the ground posts, bolt the rafters, and put back the covering.
Easy To Expand
If space is not a challenge, you can quickly and easily expand your tunnel greenhouse lengthwise.
Increased Yields
Tunnel greenhouses create an ideal environment for your plants to grow. Plants yield more when they grow in their optimal conditions. The tunnel will provide more control over inputs such as temperature, water, humidity, and fertilizer.
Deters Pests And Diseases
The controlled environment in tunnel greenhouses reduces the occurrence of pests and insects. The atmosphere is also less hospitable to diseases. Growers can reduce the cost of pesticides and chemicals.
Use Of Farm Machinery
High tunnel greenhouses accommodate one specific need: the ability to use farm machinery. High tunnels are often taller than a standard greenhouse. Growers are therefore able to bring in tractors and other farm machinery directly into the growing space.
Best Tunnel Greenhouses For Home
High tunnel greenhouse kits are ideal for home gardeners. Here are the best high tunnel kits.
Outsunny Walk-In PE Tunnel Greenhouse
This greenhouse is the perfect tunnel greenhouse for home gardeners who want to grow their plants in the soil all year round. The cover allows natural light to pass through the entire greenhouse Six windows with interior netting ensure that the greenhouse has proper ventilation. Two independent zip mesh doors allow you to walk into the greenhouse. A galvanized steel frame extends the service life of the greenhouse. The cover is UV and age-resistant hence extending its use.
Best Choice Walk-in Tunnel Greenhouse
This greenhouse is arch-tunnel-shaped and encloses a large space. It allows you to grow various crops, with ample space to grow and plenty of room to tend to them. Eight rollup windows and a zip door enable you to regulate airflow. A durable fabric softens and traps sunlight. The fabric also insulates your plants, controls humidity, and allows you to grow all year round. A powder-coated steel frame and mesh cover protect your plants while increasing the lifetime of the structure.
Bio Green Palma Greenhouse Heater
Able to heat enclosed spaces up to 120 ft. ², the Bio Green Palma Heater is ideal for tunnel greenhouses, sheds, and other outdoor structures. Made using high-quality stainless steel, the unit come fully equipped with a digital summer/winter thermostat. External temperature sensors measure the ambient temperature inside the structure. With 1500 W of heating power, the Bio Green Palma Heater is a cost-effective heating system for any home grower.
Greenhouse High Tunnel Tent
The plastic cover of this high tunnel greenhouse protects all your plants from rough weather. The tent gives growers the confidence they need in the safety of the crops they grow. This greenhouse is tall and spacious, allowing you to walk in and tend to your plants. There is ample space to grow various plants without compromising on the space they need to develop fully.
Heavy Duty Walking-in Tunnel Greenhouse
This heavy-duty greenhouse has a galvanized steel pipe frame that is resistant to rust and corrosion. A high-grade fabric leads to high light transmission. Six windows with netting offer ventilation to the greenhouse. A rollup zipper door allows you to walk in and tend to your plants.
VIVOSUN Walk-in Greenhouse Tunnel
A galvanized heavy-duty steel frame offers support to a reinforced cover. A rollup zipper entrance gives you access to the greenhouse. Eight-side windows provide excellent air circulation even in hot weather. The greenhouse cover is transparent and waterproof, protecting the plants from UV light while giving them optimal light.
Quictent Portable Tunnel Greenhouse
Quicentent’s Portable Tunnel Greenhouse measures a spacious 20’x10’x7’ allowing plenty of space to grow delicious vegetables and herbs. Made of heavy-duty yet light two-layer polyethylene the unit can easily be broken down and relocated. Doors on either end of the unit allow for easy access and proper ventilation. 10 exhaust vents along the sides (5 on each side) provide superb cross ventilation. The greenhouse is 100% waterproof and a transparent cover allows for 85% of the sunlight through.
Tips To Make The Most Of Tunnel Greenhouses
The following tips will make it easy and fun to use your tunnel greenhouse.
- Choose the suitable type of plants. Tunnels greenhouses are large and will allow you to grow a variety of plants. There is ample space to grow nearly anything. However, you should carefully choose the plants you grow. Vegetables, fruits, and herbs have a fast turnaround, making them among the best plants to grow.
- Easy to install and maintain. Choose a greenhouse that is easy to install and maintain. This feature will make it less frustrating and fun to start growing.
- Space utilization. Consider the amount of space available. Space your plants properly in the greenhouse to ensure they get ample room to grow and reach their nutrients. Remember to leave enough space for tending to your crops.
Tunnel greenhouses are the ideal walk-in greenhouses for your backyard. If you want ample space to grow a variety of plants, then tunnel greenhouses are the way to go.
FAQs – Tunnel Greenhouses
Tunnel greenhouses are in fact highly effective for growing flowers, vegetables, and other plants. Their curved design helps rainwater run off more easily compared to other greenhouses. With different heights, their design creates pockets of varying temperatures, ideal for different plants.
Prices for a tunnel greenhouse are going to vary based on overall size, quality, and the materials used to make them. On average, you are looking at a cost between $2 and $7 per square foot.