Caterpillar Tunnels

Over the years of growing tomatoes, here in Upstate NY; I noticed that the ones I grew under plastic vs. out in the field- did considerably better.  I remain blight free- very healthy looking plants and fruit with high yields, but very limited space in my high tunnel for the amount of plants I like to grow.

Friends of mine from Wind Flower Farm in Easton NY had suggested I try constructing what they call Cat Tunnels/ short for Caterpillar tunnels.  I guess they are called this because they kind of resemble a caterpillar once the plastic and rope is on?

So this year I am going to give them a try.  They are very easy to construct and much more cost effective than buying large greenhouse and high tunnel structures.  These Cat tunnels are temporary, and the plastic is taken off before winter sets in and the bents can be take down or left up.

Tomato plants do best with lots of sun, preferably the early morning sun to burn off the morning dew.  Which brings me to my next point; tomatoes should not be watered from the top.  Wet leaves and fruit following hot dry sun can lead to all sorts of disease and sun scalding.  Having the tomatoes grown under structures such as Cat tunnels protects them from rain and wind.  The best form of watering your tomato plants would be a drip irrigation system/ or manually water each plant down by the roots, not from up top.

Building material for the Cat tunnels include 20 ft lengths of schedule 40 pvc pipe, ¼ inch nylon rope, ground stakes, and a greenhouse rated plastic.  I am using a 4 mil 24X100 ft roll, but you can get 6mil and longer rolls if you need to.  I spaced each bent out at 5 ft but will most likely space out my next to tunnels at 6 ft.  The rope holds the plastic down and is staked into the ground.  You have to manually pull up and down the sides to vent the tunnels.  If a storm is coming with high wind- obviously pull down your sides, so that the wind does not catch underneath the plastic.  If it’s sunny and hot out, pull those sides up so that you do not cook those plants.

Here are some pictures of my first tunnel going up.

This one is actually being set up for cucumbers and peppers, if you where wondering about the trellising.

Tomato Staking

I am often asked what method I use for staking my tomato plants.  Well, over the years I have used cages, wooden post, and all the fancy tomato stake’s sold at  garden centers.  What I have found to be the best method is actually using ½ inch rebar.  This may not seem like the cheapest method at first, but in the long run it really is, because they last forever.

What I like about the ½ inch rebar is that it will last a life time.  The rebar is very durable, and easy to clean/ disinfect if needed.  Wooden stakes eventually rot and require more maintenance.

Another great thing about the rebar is, that they pound into the ground much easier.  This is much appreciated particularly if you have a ton of stakes to pound.

I bought some ½ inch rebar at Home Depot in 10 foot lengths for about $5.00 a piece.  If you are requiring a lot of stakes, I recommend calling around to some steel companies. Also try contacting some local contractors, maybe a stone mason to find out where you can purchase a large amount, and have delivered to your place.  Typically they come in 20 foot long sections and most companies will cut them to your desired length.  The cost will be significantly less buying them this way, and usually the more you buy the lower the cost.  It would be worth getting others involved as a group order to lower the cost even more.

The 10 foot length I found is a good size for my indeterminate plants, but for the determinate ones shorter stakes would be more efficient.  I space out my rebar maybe every 5 ft or so the entire length of a row.  At both ends of the row- which would be the very first and very last piece of rebar- I make sure are anchored securely so that they do not sag in toward the middle of the row.  Each rebar stake is connected to the next with string, rope or wire.  As the plants grow I clip them to the line with tomato trellis clips.  I repeat this process until I get to my desired height I want to keep my plants pruned at.

I highly recommend these tomato clips.  They are very easy to use and reuse every season.  I would make sure to disinfect them each year to be safe, by soaking the clips in some hot water and bleach.

I bought these handy tomato trellis clips at Johnny's Select Seed

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/search.aspx?SearchTerm=tomato+clips

Yes there are several other tomato staking methods, some which may even actually work better for you; I just found that this method works great for me.  I have seen more efficient ways of staking- particularly in High Tunnel production where String is suspend from above and anchored to the ground, but I wouldn't think that this would work great for field production.

So if you are considering different ways to stake your tomato plants this year, perhaps you will consider using 1/2 rebar.  You may have to eventually buy more rebar as you decide to grow more, but should never have to replace the rebar.