Home High Tunnel Construction
Elizabeth Buck, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program
Are you interested in building your own high tunnel? Bowman and Hill Micro Farm hosted an October 18, 2012 Cornell Vegetable Program workshop in which participants learned to build a tunnel - onsite, in one day. This full color, step-by-step workshop transcription includes pictures, helpful hints, and notes about common mistakes.
Part I
Part 1 introduces the farm, lays out the background information, gives specifics on tunnel dimensions, lists all materials needed and includes construction instructions from site preparation to ground post installation.
Part II
Part 2 continues outlining the construction process. Includes information on bending, installing and anchoring hoops.
Part III
Part 3 concludes the construction process, covering ridge-pole installation, plastic attachment, end wall construction and photos of finished tunnels. It also contains links to additional resources.
Additional resources that may be helpful to you:
Quick Tunnel Instruction Guide - Johnny's Selected Seeds (PDF; 2701KB)
Zero Disease Tolerance in High Tunnels (PDF; 216KB)
Part I: General Info from Site Preparation to Ground Post Installation (pdf; 2760KB)
Upcoming Events
Niagara Region Vegetable Meeting
August 14, 2024
Clarence Center, NY
We'll start this meeting off at Root Down Farm to hear late season disease management updates in peppers and cole crops, plus current best management practices to limit fungicide resistance. Potato variety recommendations and disease control questions in potatoes will be addressed.
Then we'll head to Kreher's beet field to view and discuss alternative weed control technologies. The beet field is an on-farm demonstration of various flame weeding protocols in comparison with stacked tool cultivation equipment. One or two weeding robots will be on-hand for live demonstrations and discussion of the technology's current abilities and future potential. We'll also cover industry updates and a review of late summer disease management in squash.
2.0 DEC credits will be available in categories 23, 1a, and 10.
2024 Chipping Potato Twilight Meeting
August 20, 2024
Dansville, NY
Join us for a brief, on-farm meeting including insect pest updates and viewing of the chipping potato variety trial. 1.0 DEC credits in categories 10, 1a, and 23 will be offered. Dinner follows!