SYSTEM 05 · HIGH TUNNEL & SHADE
The high tunnel: low capital, fast payback, and the entry point for new growers.
4.2 and 6 m bows, roll-up sides, film or shade net. The structure that a grower builds first, and the one where a cheap frame is most tempting and most costly to repair.
High tunnels are the least engineered structure on a farm and the one that suffers most in a storm. The frame is simple: bows, a longitudinal brace, roll-up sides, and anchors. The failure modes are equally simple: anchors pull out, braces buckle, and the film balloons because the side was fixed with clips rather than a channel.
| Config | Width | Bow | Bow spacing | Height | Sides |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HT-420 | 4.2 m | Ø33.5×1.8 | 1.0–1.5 m | 2.4 m | roll-up |
| HT-600 | 6.0 m | Ø48.3×2.0 | 1.0–1.5 m | 3.0 m | roll-up / fixed |
Reference shapes; wind exposure decides bow spacing and anchor type.
Shade structures use the same parts
A shade house is the same frame without the film: bows or a flat grid, shade net at 30–70 %, and a different fixing detail. The steel is often lighter, but the wind uplift on net is not negligible — a shade structure needs anchors as much as a tunnel does.
Read next
Pages that answer the question this page raises.
- 05.02Single-span tunnelSingle-span tunnel (polytunnel) frames: 6.2 m and 8.5 m arches, 2.0–2.5 m arch spacing, ga→
- 04.07.02Shade net & thermal screensShade net & thermal screens for greenhouses — 30–70 % shade net, blackout and thermal scre→
- 04.06.03Anchors & base platesAnchors & base plates for greenhouse frames — ground screws, concrete-in anchors, base pla→
- 07.14United StatesGreenhouse and high tunnel frames for the United States: imperial dimensions, NRCS high tu→
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Quote high tunnel bows and roll-up sides
Send the width, run length, number of runs and the wind figure. Bows, braces, anchors and roll-up hardware are quoted separately.