Building a Low Cost Tunnel House

Lets make a tunnel house to protect our plants from frost and wind. I looked about and started cataloguing what resources I had at my disposal and came up with a plan for building a tunnel house.

Here's the materials you need:

• Wood for the bottom frame = 2 @ 3 meters and 2 @ 1.8 meters
• Pipe for the spine = 1 @ 3 meters x 50mm pipe
• Pipe for the ribs = 5 @ 2.5 meters x 25mm pipe
• Wire for handles = 4 @ 300mm
• Pipe for handles = 4 @ 100mm x 10-15mm pipe
• Screws = 28 long
• Cloth / plastic for covering = 2.5 meters x 4 meters
• Fastening strips = 2 @ 3 meters of thin strips to fasten cloth to frame
  

And the tools you will need

• Drill
• Hole saw/drill or sharp knife
• Screw driver
• Sewing machine (for joining cloth if needed)

Here are some photos of the end product

Evidence of Success

I have been pleased to notice that the seeds planted under the tunnel house have germinated and are poking out of the soil. The seeds in the other part of the garden still haven't come up despite being planted earlier. So, I am labelling this construction project a success.

Design Enhancements

Next time I make one of these I will make the spine from pipe in better condition so I can configure it with drippers or sprinklers. This would allow for watering the content simply by attaching a hose to the spine of the tunnel house.