As you know, tomato plants love the sun, but especially in midsummer it can be too much of a good thing. Additionally, the plants can be sensitive to rain and wind, so it would be a good idea to provide protection from all of that. In combination with the right care, nothing will stand in the way of a rich harvest. You can easily make a tomato shelter yourself and you don't even need to have any special craftsmanship skills. We show you how you can build a tomato house yourself from pipes.
Here's how you can protect tomato plants
It doesn't have to be a complicated greenhouse to give the plants in your garden adequate protection from the weather. You can also put together very simple constructions out of boards and, for example, build a tomato tent yourself. Even a simple scaffolding over which you stretch a net or foil can be completely sufficient in more extreme weather conditions. Below is a simple pipe idea that you can consider if you want to build a tomato house yourself. You can line the sides with foil to create aclosed greenhousefor the cooler months.
1. Sketch the tomato roof
Before you can buy materials, you should of course first know how big yours isprotective roof over the tomatoesmust be. This applies to every type of material. That's why you first have to measure and note the length and width of your tomato bed. We explain the construction of the tomato canopy using an example with a length of 240 cm.
2. Gather the materials and prepare the tools/equipment
The pipes used are made of galvanized iron and have a diameter of 21.3 mm. In addition, you will also need connecting pieces. You could also use wooden beams, which you can even have cut to your measurements at the hardware store if you have oneWooden tomato housewant to build yourself. In this case, instead of using connectors, you will need metal brackets to attach the beams to each other. Old windows are suitable for closing such a wooden structure.
For the frame:
- 9 T-pieces (female - female - female)
- 4 right angle connectors (male - female)
- 2 45 degree pieces (male – female)
- 2 screw-in sockets
- 2 pipe sockets
- 2 tubes, each 1 meter long
- 3 tubes, each 1.2 meters long
For the supports:
- 4 tubes, each 2 meters long
For the roof:
- 3 tubes, each 1.5 meters long
- Corrugated PVC sheets that are as transparent as possible
- M5 screws and nuts
Tools and equipment:
- Pipe thread cutter with 20.96 mm die stock
- Wrench
- hacksaw
- drill
3. Build your own tomato house – instructions
For the framework:
Cut the pipes to the desired length and connect them using the connectors provided. The rectangular ones are used to form the rectangular frame for the roof and are inserted onto a pipe on one side and into a T-piece on the other side. Turn the T-piece so that it points downwards so that you can insert the pipes for the supports (see picture above). Two horizontal, opposing supports are also connected with an additional diagonal support to prevent the tomato canopy from spreading apart (seen in the image below).
Build tomato rain protection yourself – For the roof:
Cut the PVC to size, making it 5 to 10 cm longer on all sides than the roof frame. If you need to combine multiple pieces, they should overlap a little. Drill holes through the PVC and pipes to fix them with nuts and bolts afterwards. To do this, choose places where the plastic touches the metal. Then cut the upper pipes and finally screw the roof into place.
A notice:In the example, pipes protrude downwards because a back wall was added there. However, if you don't want to build one, you don't need to add it. You can also build a rain gutter on the tomato shelter.
Build your own mini tomato house for individual plants
If you only have a few individual tomato plants that need wind protection, you don't need to build a large tomato house yourself. Then a tomato topping can also be sufficient. You can get this quickly and easily by simply sticking a wire frame into the ground around it (this can also be a simple tomato climbing aid) and then placing it therewith stable foilwrap around.
