Insect netting is one of the most powerful tools we have to defend our crops agains insect damage, but the work of covering and uncovering our beds with netting can be time consuming and annoying. That's why we started using walk-in netted tunnels like this years ago. When used properly, a tunnel like this can prevent damage from flea beetles, cabbage moths, cabbage loopers, and leaf miners, and more...while at the same time making it really easy to access the covered vegetables inside.

BONUS TIP: Removing the conduit posts from the ground is not easy if you just try to pull them out. The trick is to rotate them while lifting to reduce the friction between the pipe and the soil. I use a pipe wrench to slowly turn the conduit, and as soon as they start to turn, I can pull up on the pipe wrench and the conduit slides right out of the ground.

Here are the parts we use for one of our 20ft long tunnels that span two of our 30 inch wide beds.
10 x 10ft lengths of 1/2 inch EMT conduit bent into hoops with a 3ft radius
15 x 5ft lengths of 1/2 inch EMT conduit
2 x 2.5ft lengths of 1/2 inch EMT conduit
10 x 1 inch poly pipe coupling - https://www.homedepot.ca/product/pro-...
3 x 1 inch poly pipe cross - https://www.lowes.ca/product/plastic-...
2 x 1 inch poly pipe tee - https://www.homedepot.ca/product/pro-...
2 x 1 inch poly pipe elbow - https://www.homedepot.ca/product/pro-...
2 x aluminum carabiners - https://amzn.to/3PVBMqX
2 x hose clamps - https://amzn.to/48xqQHg
30ft of 1/4 inch bungee/shock cord - https://amzn.to/3t5uPKP
20 x bricks or repins - https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/p...
32 x 3/4 inch self-drilling hexagonal head #10 screws - https://amzn.to/45PBred
2 large pieces of insect netting.. we bought 3 of these packages (https://duboisag.com/ca_en/protective..., cut one in half, and sewed the halves on to each other piece to give us two large pieces (33ft x 12ft) that were the right size for our tunnel frame.

All of these materials hold up really well to wet weather and sunlight, except for the netting. Therefore, we'll often leave the tunnel frames in place for multiple years but take off the netting for the winter to minimize weather exposure and maximize its lifespan.

Insect protection efforts like this are effective but they don't really matter if you aren't yet growing anything worth protecting. If you'd like to accelerate your progress in your vegetable garden, head over to my Free Workshop: https://www.vegetableacademy.com/yt-f...

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