Show Transcript
0:00In this video, we're going to be demonstrating the use of low tunnels for crop protection. We've used this a lot over the years in winter growing. And
0:07then in this application, you can see behind us, they're just using it for insect protection right now. But it's a simple and easy way to cover beds and uh
0:17and protect your crops. So, let's do a quick demonstration on some different low tunnel methods.
0:22Yeah. So, I would just say low tunnels are the poor man's high tunnels.
0:32In other words, if the poor man or short man,
0:35the ideal is a high tunnel, something that you can walk and work in. But if
0:43you're not there yet, and of course when we started out, we were not there. And we had we had literally acres of these.
0:52You remember that? Yeah, it does. Yeah.
0:54Um definitely. And so they work. That's the bottom line. They do work. But the other bottom line is that they are work.
1:04Yeah.
1:05You know, the the taking on and off the covers and the sandbags and everything,
1:10it's a lot of work. But if you have more time and energy than you have money, go for it. These are great. So there's
1:18there's a couple options. You can just use the little wire wickets. You can buy these. I think. Do you all sell these?
1:26Yep. We have that design there.
1:29Or you can buy the the metal rod. I don't know what size is that. 316.
1:36316. And you know, Elliot talks in the winter harvest handbook about this kind
1:43of design. Um, but basically, you're covering one bed at a time and just pushing it in and spacing them out, you know.
1:54If you're outside, you may want them a little closer, but inside we go like 5T.
2:04Um, so that's the cheapest option, just covering individual beds.
2:10But then the next option would be um using um EMT, electrical
2:19metal. What What is it? What does EMT stand for? Uh yeah, metal metal tubing. Tubing I think. Yeah.
2:27So these most of them would cover two beds and so it's half the work basically of covering individual beds.
2:39And this is this a half inch EMT is readily available at Lowe's and Home Depot and any local electrical supply.
2:48So it's easy to get more expensive than it used to be. Yeah. That's not cheap.
2:53I don't even know what it is now. It's been a while. But yeah, we used to get it for less than $2. I know that.
3:01think it may be upwards of six or seven. Yeah.
3:06Yeah. Anyway, it works well. And so then you just you need a a 10 foot wide piece
3:14of row cover or um insect netting or shade cloth, whatever to to cut that
3:22gives you enough to go down and flare it out so you can anchor it down with with sandbags.
3:30Now I will say there's some innovative options coming out now. Um, Never Sync Tools has an option where you can put
3:39little hooks on these and use bunggees to cover. So, so there's still innovation happening with this.
3:47It eliminates the the need for sandbags.
3:50And then the other thing that is a benefit of NeverSync's design is that with the bunggees, you have kind of some
3:58constant pressure on it. So even when you take your sandbags off, it's not entirely loose. cuz I remember having that issues like you would take the
4:05sandbags off and you'd maybe push it up here when you're trying to harvest or do something and then if it like slides all the way over it's really annoying. Um so
4:15I think I can see that I think there are some definite benefits to the method that they have developed.
4:21So we're not the only ones doing cool things.
4:26Jonathan's not above promoting his competitors. So that's a good thing. Just a word or two about the bending.
4:34Obviously, you go to the store and it comes in a straight stick, so you got to bend it. And Johnny's has a number of different benders.
4:44This is the bender that they um promote for the this is a three foot
4:51wide one but and then this is the the kind of the standard
4:59um I guess it's 6 ft wide to cover two beds. But what they don't tell you,
5:07if you read the instruction manual, that this one will create three, four, five,
5:16or 6 foot wide ones. So, here's an example using this bender. And they tell you how to do it in the instructions.
5:27They just don't tell you before you buy the 6' wide one. This is, I think, 4 foot wide using the same bender.
5:38And this is the 6 foot wide version using the three-foot bender.
5:45And so the only downside, I guess, is you have a little bit of a flat top, which I mean, to me, the upside is you have much straighter sidewalls,
5:56more clearance on the side. Whereas, you know, with these, there's not much clearance down here. So, I like this. I
6:03think the only downside would be if you lived where you had a a heavy snow load
6:10and the the snow or ice would just sit on that and I could see that you might have catastrophic failure.
6:20Yeah. If uh but otherwise I think that's a better shape for the if I'd known that
6:28earlier all our hoops would be this shape. Yeah.
6:33But we didn't learn that. You can learn from our ignorance.
6:37So just buy the the three-foot bender from Johnny's and unless you really want to have those 6ft nice radius arches.
6:47Yeah. If you feel a need for the arch,
6:50then obviously you need that. So then it's just a matter of of pushing it in and covering it with your material.
7:01this case, it's insect netting, but it can e just as easily be row cover um or shade cloth
7:08or shade cloth or uh or greenhouse plastic and row cover. Lots of different options.
7:17And you know, this is usually all the anchoring down we do. Um, if if you live
7:26in high wind areas or if you're if you're going to be, you know, if it if
7:34there's snow coming and you're wanting something that would can withstand the snow, you there are number of different
7:41options. One option is to just put another one this way and like zip tie it together.
7:51So that strengthens the ends. Okay. And then you can really pull it tight. Put a stake in or something.
7:59Another thing I've done is put one at an angle this way. And again, just zip tie
8:05it here. And so that keeps it from pulling in. You know, the longer you go with them,
8:13the more it's going to want to pull in. Gotcha.
8:17So, yeah, just to demonstrate that a little bit, you would Let's just pull this off.
8:24Again,
8:28if you want to brace this end hoop to keep it from kind of collapsing in, you would put a second one.
8:38Yeah. A little more diagonally. And then where they intersect, um,
8:46yeah, just zip tie it. That gives us keep it from pulling in. Okay, cool.
8:54Um, so I mean, at the beginning we said,
8:56uh, these are kind of like your poor man's high tunnel, but you know, there's places for them. You guys use the low
9:03hoops for shade cloth over salenova in the summertime, and it's just a quick,
9:09easy way to to give you the ability to cover. So, that's not necessarily the case. There's places and uses for them
9:16like this with the netting where you don't need a high tunnel. You just need um and also in unheated high tunnels in the
9:24winter time, you need that inner layer of road cover. Yeah.
9:28I don't know how much we've talked about that, but that's probably another video. The two layer system.
9:34Yep. So yeah, they're they're yeah, I don't want you to get a complex
9:40thinking it's only for poor men, but uh it's good for a lot of things. It has its applications um for sure.
9:49One other thing I just say, in the winter,
9:53the first layer is going to be row cover. We use 1 ounce. We've just standardized on that. But then you can
10:02also cover that with a layer of plastic.
10:07And we have experience of getting down below zero, that's Fahrenheit, below zero.
10:17Um, with lettuce under these low tunnels, these quick hoops,
10:24um, and having marketable lettuce from below zero temperatures in these.
10:31Was that inside of a high tunnel? No, no, no. That was in the field.
10:35outside in the field with 1 oz one layer of road cover and a layer of plastic.
10:40Do you have uh do you have data on what the temperature was underneath there? No. Okay.
10:47We were not that sophisticated back then.
10:50Presumably uh quite a bit higher because lettuce wouldn't normally survive down to zero.
10:56Sure. No. And I have been known back in the day to climb under here, you know,
11:05when it's windy and rainy outside. And you can actually harvest from in here down the center aisle.
11:15Yeah. On your hands and knees.
11:18On your hands and knees a little bit. Don't do it if you get claustrophobic.
11:23Cramped for sure. But hey, better than freezing to death outside, maybe.
11:28Yeah, it can be the more comfortable option, actually.
11:34Cool. Um, that kind of covers the gamut on low hoop options and applications.
11:42So, I hope this video has been helpful.
11:44Give you some pointers for utilizing low tunnels in your farm. And if you have questions, uh, put them down below and
11:52maybe we'll respond to them in a future video. But until next time, happy growing.
11:57[Music]
Low Tunnels for Market Farmers: An Affordable Way to Protect Your Crops Year-Round
By Jonathan Dysinger and John Dysinger
Updated on
Low tunnels are small, low-profile hoop structures covered with row cover, insect netting, shade cloth, or greenhouse plastic to protect crops from frost, pests, and heat. They're the most affordable way for beginning market farmers to start growing under cover — and they remain a valuable tool even on established farms with high tunnels.
If you're not ready for a high tunnel yet — or you just need a quick, flexible way to cover a bed — low tunnels might be exactly what you're looking for.
My dad, John Dysinger, has been farming at Bountiful Blessings Farm for over 27 years. When he first started out, he didn't have the budget for high tunnels. What he did have was time, energy, and acres of low tunnels covering his crops. They worked. They still work. And for many beginning market farmers, they're one of the smartest places to start.
In the video above, my dad and I walked through the different low tunnel methods he's used over the years and demonstrated how to set them up. This article covers the key takeaways so you can decide which approach makes sense for your farm.
What Are Low Tunnels?
Low tunnels are exactly what they sound like — small, low-profile hoop structures that sit over individual beds or pairs of beds. You cover them with row cover, insect netting, shade cloth, or greenhouse plastic depending on what you're trying to accomplish.
As my dad likes to say, low tunnels are "the poor man's high tunnel." The ideal scenario is a high tunnel you can walk and work in. But if you're not there yet financially — and most beginning farmers aren't — low tunnels get you many of the same benefits at a fraction of the cost.
The honest trade-off? They are more labor-intensive. Taking covers on and off, moving sandbags, working on your hands and knees — it adds up. But if you have more time and energy than money right now, low tunnels are a great way to start protecting your crops and extending your season while you save up for bigger infrastructure. My dad covered acres with low tunnels in those early years, and it was that hands-and-knees work that kept the farm profitable long enough to invest in high tunnels down the road.
Two Main Low Tunnel Methods
There are two common approaches to building low tunnels, and each has its place on the farm.
Method 1: Wire Wickets (Single-Bed Coverage)
This is the simplest and cheapest option. Wire hoops are small, pre-arched pieces of heavy-gauge wire that you push into the ground over a single bed. You space them about 5 feet apart (you may want them closer if you're growing outdoors where wind is a factor), drape your covering material over the top, and anchor it down.
This method is straight out of Eliot Coleman's The Winter Harvest Handbook and it's stood the test of time. It's the most budget-friendly way to get started with protected growing.
Method 2: EMT Conduit Hoops (Two-Bed Coverage)
The next step up is using ½-inch EMT (electrical metal tubing) bent into hoops that span two beds instead of one. This essentially cuts your labor in half compared to covering individual beds with wire wickets.
EMT is readily available at any hardware store. You can find ½-inch x 10-foot EMT conduit at Home Depot or Lowe's, or your local electrical supply. It used to be dirt cheap (under $2 a stick), but prices have climbed — expect to pay somewhere in the $5–7 range per 10-foot piece (prices vary by location). Still, it's a solid investment for the coverage you get.
You'll need a 10-foot-wide piece of covering material — whether that's row cover, insect netting, shade cloth, or greenhouse plastic — to go over the hoops with enough on each side to flare out and anchor down with sandbags.
How Do You Bend EMT Hoops? (The Trick They Don't Tell You)
Here's something my dad wished he'd learned years ago.
If you buy EMT hoops, you'll need a bender to shape them. Johnny's Selected Seeds sells benders in different sizes — a 3-foot-wide version and a 6-foot-wide version being the most common.
What they don't advertise upfront is that the 3-foot bender can actually create 3, 4, 5, or 6-foot-wide hoops. The instructions explain how — they just don't mention it before you buy the larger bender.
The result of using the smaller bender for wider hoops? You get a slightly flatter top with straighter sidewalls. And for most applications, that's actually a better shape. Straighter sidewalls give your plants more clearance on the edges, which is where you usually lose space with a traditional rounded arch.
The only downside is if you're in an area with heavy snow loads. A flat top can accumulate snow or ice that a rounded arch would shed. But if snow isn't a major concern for you, my dad says he'd make all his hoops this way if he could go back and do it over.
Just buy the 3-foot bender from Johnny's unless you specifically want the full 6-foot radius arch.
Bracing Your Low Tunnels for Wind
If you're in an area with regular wind — and let's be honest, most of us are — you'll want to think about bracing, especially on the end hoops.
The longer your low tunnel run, the more the end hoops want to pull inward from the tension of the covering material. There are a couple of simple fixes:
Perpendicular brace: Push a second hoop into the ground at a right angle to the end hoop and zip-tie them together where they intersect. This keeps the end from collapsing inward.
Diagonal brace: Same concept, but at an angle. Push a hoop in diagonally and zip-tie it to the end hoop. This provides even more resistance to the inward pull.
Both methods are quick, cheap, and effective. A handful of zip ties and an extra hoop or two is all it takes.
Innovation Worth Knowing About
One thing we mentioned in the video is that there's some cool innovation happening in the low tunnel space. Never Sink Tools has developed a system that uses small hooks on the EMT hoops with bungee cords to hold down the covering material. This eliminates the need for sandbags and provides constant pressure on the cover, so it doesn't shift around when you're trying to harvest or do bed work.
If you've ever dealt with the frustration of pushing your row cover to one side and having it slide all the way off — you know why this matters. It's a smart improvement on the traditional method.
What Can You Cover Low Tunnels With?
This is where low tunnels really shine in their versatility. Depending on what you need, you can cover them with:
- Row cover — for frost protection and season extension. My dad has standardized on 1-ounce row cover at Bountiful Blessings Farm. For serious cold protection, you can layer row cover with a layer of greenhouse plastic on top. He's had marketable lettuce survive below-zero (Fahrenheit) temperatures outdoors under this two-layer system. That's not a theoretical number — he's gone out on single-digit mornings, lifted the plastic, peeled back the row cover, and found lettuce that was still harvestable and sellable at market.
- Insect netting — for keeping pests off your crops without chemicals. This is what was being demonstrated behind us in the video. A simple, effective physical barrier.
- Shade cloth — for protecting heat-sensitive crops in the summer. At Bountiful Blessings Farm, my dad uses low hoops with shade cloth over Salanova lettuce during the hottest months.
- Greenhouse plastic — for maximum heat retention in winter. Combined with row cover underneath, this creates a surprisingly effective mini greenhouse.
Low Tunnels Aren't Just for Beginners
I want to be clear about something: low tunnels aren't just a stepping stone you leave behind once you can afford high tunnels.
Even on established farms with plenty of high tunnel space, low tunnels have their place. Inside unheated high tunnels during winter, that inner layer of row cover over low hoops provides critical additional frost protection — what's sometimes called the "two-layer system." And for summer shade cloth applications, low hoops are often the quickest and easiest solution.
My dad still uses low tunnels every season after 27 years, and so do most experienced market farmers we talk to. They're a tool in your toolbox — not a badge of where you are on your farming journey.
The Takeaway
Low tunnels are one of the most accessible and versatile crop protection tools available to small-scale market farmers. They won't replace a high tunnel for comfort and convenience, but they'll get your crops protected now, at a price point that works for almost any budget.
Start with wire hoops for individual beds if you're on a tight budget. Graduate to EMT hoops when you're ready to cover more ground with less labor. And don't overlook the bending trick — buy the 3-foot bender and make whatever width you need.
Your crops are too valuable to leave unprotected. Low tunnels make sure they don't have to be.