A tomato crop wants two things from a structure: floor it can be planted wall to wall, and water it can rely on. A multi-span film house gives both, because the bays are joined at the gutter instead of standing apart, so the covered area is almost all canopy and picking carts run down clean aisles. The irrigation system is designed with the house rather than added afterwards, with drip and sprinkler lines fed from a single manifold so every row receives the same volume. Film keeps the structure economical while spreading daylight evenly across the rows, and the galvanized frame is braced for the snow and wind loads on your site, with the rated loads stated at quotation.
A tomato house is judged on the floor it gives the crop. Every square metre taken by a wall, a post or an aisle is a square metre not carrying fruit, and on a long-season crop that difference decides the season. Joining bays at the gutter is what makes a multi-span film house efficient: the structure stops interrupting the planting, and the picking crew works down an aisle instead of around a house.
Separate tunnels each have their own end walls and their own strip of ground between houses, and on a large block that adds up to a real loss of canopy. A gutter-connected multi-span house removes those gaps, so the covered area is almost all growing floor. It also keeps interior posts to a minimum, which leaves room for sprayers, trolleys and harvesting carts to move down the house - the difference between a crop that is picked on schedule and one that is picked late.
Drip and sprinkler lines run from a single manifold, so every row receives the same volume without hand watering, and where nutrients are injected the dosing point sits after the filter so the solution reaches each plant evenly. The system is sized with the structure, which matters for tomatoes because water demand rises sharply as the canopy closes. Rows longer than about 60 metres usually call for pressure-compensating emitters so the first plant and the last plant are fed alike. Growers running soilless culture can compare the hydroponic drip irrigation system.
Agricultural film keeps the structure economical while spreading daylight across the rows, so tomato lines grow evenly from one bay to the next rather than running tall under the ridge and short at the gutter. Ventilation, shading and cooling are designed in at order stage so the ducts, curtain rails and pipe runs are positioned before the frame is fabricated. For growers comparing structures at this scale, the multi-span greenhouse category sets out where the tomato house sits in the range.
Span width, bay count and irrigation capacity are set from your crop plan, and the package is supplied with the film, bracing and foundation brackets so the cover fits the frame and the parts arrive from one set of drawings. A tomato house can be specified for cherry or beef lines, for seedling and transplant raising, for off-season vegetables, or for packing operations that need a covered floor for grading and staging. Buyers who want a lower-cost first structure often start with the multi-span vegetable greenhouse and step up to the tomato specification later.
Frame members, film and brackets are bundled and crated to keep container volume low, and the packing list and loading date are confirmed in writing before dispatch. Greenhouse steel has to be on site before the planting window opens, so production is scheduled around your deadline rather than ours. Our team has supervised multi-span installations across Asia, Africa and South America, and snow and wind loads are flagged before fabrication rather than after a storm. Standards for greenhouse structures are published by NGMA, and commercial tomato growing is covered by HortWeek.
The main reason is growing floor. Separate tunnels each have end walls and a strip of ground between houses, which on a large block accounts for a real share of the site. A gutter-connected house removes those gaps and keeps interior posts to a minimum, so more of the covered area carries crop and carts can move down the aisles.
The irrigation is designed with the structure rather than retrofitted, with drip and sprinkler lines fed from a single manifold so every row receives the same volume. Capacity is sized from the house area, the crop and your water source, because tomato demand rises sharply as the canopy closes.
The hot-dip galvanized steel frame is designed for a 15-20 year service life in normal agricultural environments, with a double-sided zinc coating of 200-275 g/m². Film covers are replaced every 3-5 years, while glass and PC panels carry their own manufacturer warranties.
The hot-dip galvanized steel frame carries a 10-year structural warranty covering structural safety, plus a 5-year warranty against corrosion perforation. It is designed for a 15-20 year service life, and film covers carry a 3-5 year UV warranty depending on grade.
Send your growing area, the tomato type you plan to grow, your water source and your local wind and snow conditions. With that we can set the span, bay count and irrigation capacity, and return a quotation with a structure drawing and a bill of materials.
