November 21, 2024

VIDEO: Caterpillar Tunnel Support For Less Than $10


Our low tunnel has taken a tiny bit of a beating with no support. I ran to my local hardware store and found a super inexpensive option for less than $10 and it definitely made all the difference. Worth every penny in my opinion.
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28 thoughts on “VIDEO: Caterpillar Tunnel Support For Less Than $10

  1. I just built my own version of this here in central indiana. My bed was 3'x4'. I used three 8' pieces of 1/2" pvc pipe, then took another piece and zip tied it across the top. Made my own clips from a piece of 4' 3/4" pvc pipe to secure the 6mil sheeting. I then used spring clamps to secure the plastic to my bed frame. So far has held up to 7" of snow and 40mph winds with torrential rain. I spent just under $50 ($25 was for the sheeting, but 100ft should last me quite a while!! Already have leaf lettuce, radishes, carrots and romaine lettuce sprouting.

  2. This Is what amazing happend in my back yard .one year In 2005 my dad ate a bag of cherrys the throw about 100 seeds out but they did not survive one at a time the trees were dying the squirrels were eating them and when my mom was weeding she pulled allot of them up but there was one in the bushes that mom/squirrels couldn't reach it grew and grew and just this year-2018 it blossomed me and my dad couldn't believe it it has been 2005 plus 13 years is 2018 so it's 13 years old now can't believe it !

  3. I learned that you can't tie a half hitch, and you don't know how to keep the cord in the skeen and only let an amount that you would be using drape free. Keeping all the lines on the top an the half hitch holding itself taught. Leaving your hands free to play out a little more than you would need a d be able to hitch the skeen and pull the whole skeen through in one shot.

  4. You went under, under, under, over, under. Not Alternating like you stated in the video why did you change the plan 3/5 of the way in? I subscribed As i'm starting my first garden here in the chicago area and we have similar climates. Keep the videos coming.

  5. Another and perhaps easier method would be to run the line under the crest of each arch, then pull both sides of the line up above the arch and use a short string to tie them together. This creates an independent loop around each arch that won't easily slip. I could send you a video or pic of this method if you'd like.

  6. Just watched both vids. Thanks. These cloches are the defacto tunnel cloche used in UK allotments as they’re inexpensive, customisable and flexible. They can be used to retain heat, protect from birds or insects or create localised environments.

    The blue pipe here is for underground water – there’s a black version for overground water which is UV stabilised but is more expensive and the Blue pipe is OK for this purpose as it lasts for years.

    We tend to use Debris/scaffold netting as it can be gotten off building sites when they’re done with it or is a lot cheaper than buying horticultural netting and is fine for most purposes. The most common colour of the debris netting is green but I like using the blue debris netting because if you’re going to block light you want to block the light that isn’t used by the plants (green).

    Bird Netting, fleece and polythene sheeting is also used depending on what you want to do.

    For the clips I just cut short lengths of the same tubes (3-4 inches) and split them up one side, rounding off the corners ans smoothing the cut. This is soaked in hot water then pressed over the hoop and net. It’s less expensive but can be stiffer to apply. To access they’re just slip up the pipe instead of being pulled off.

    To add rigidity and support the centre of the net we often tie in a bamboo cane along the ridge of the hoops or attach stats to them.

    By the way – neon green is more visible than black so you should see it better and not trip over it as often 🙂

  7. So if by chance you look at comments a few years later can you tell me what the materials are. Is that like plastic hoola hoop? What is the plastic you put over top and what were the clips you attaches to hoops to hold plastic down?
    Tks so much. Appreciate your work.

  8. I know you used PEX, but due to a comment below, I'm going to look for hoola hoops at Big Lots (discount store) and see if those and rope/twine and tent stakes from the dollar store can get the cost much lower 🙂 I found a dozen 30" dia hoops for $35 in a quick amazon search. I bet the discount stores would be a lot less. Have to look for the old style hoops that only have one connection point to make the hoop. If needed, some boiling water or a heat gun could help bend the ends to be more vertical (to fit over rebar) while maintaining the arch. And I bet you could find some thin walled PVC pipe to cut length wise to replicate the plastic clips you used to hold the sheet plastic. Heck, might be able to get the cost under $25 per bed (assuming you can split the dozen hoola hoops between 2 beds).

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