6 Best Netting Applicators For Market Gardens That Protect Your Harvest

You’ve spent weeks nurturing your brassicas, only to walk out one morning and find them skeletonized by cabbage moths. Or maybe it’s the flea beetles turning your perfect arugula into something that looks like it was hit with a shotgun. Protecting your crops with netting is non-negotiable, but wrestling with a 300-foot roll of fabric in even a slight breeze is a recipe for frustration, tangled messes, and wasted time.

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Why a Netting Applicator Saves Time and Crops

Laying row cover or insect netting by hand is one of those farm tasks that seems simple until you do it. You need two people, perfect weather, and a lot of patience. One gust of wind turns your carefully laid net into a sail, pulling it off the row and snagging on every stray weed.

A good netting applicator transforms this two-person struggle into a smooth, one-person job. It holds the roll securely, dispensing the fabric evenly and close to the ground. This minimizes wind interference and allows you to cover beds quickly and efficiently, often in a single pass. You’re not just saving your back; you’re saving hours.

The real value, though, is in the quality of the application. A properly laid net has the right amount of slack to allow for crop growth but is secure enough to keep pests out. An applicator makes achieving this consistency easy, row after row. This isn’t a luxury tool; it’s a core piece of equipment for anyone serious about protecting their harvest.

Terrateck Row Cover Layer for Walk-Behind Use

If your farm is powered by a walk-behind tractor like a BCS or Grillo, the Terrateck applicator is built for you. It mounts directly to your two-wheel tractor, turning it into a specialized, self-propelled row covering machine. This is the perfect middle ground for growers who have graduated from hand tools but aren’t running a four-wheel tractor.

The design allows for incredible precision. You can guide the applicator slowly along the bed, ensuring the netting lays perfectly flat without disturbing young seedlings. It often includes features like soil disks that simultaneously pull a small amount of soil over the edges of the fabric, securing it as you go.

This tool shines in high-density systems where accuracy matters. It’s ideal for covering three or four rows on a 30-inch bed without the risk of running over adjacent crops. For the intensive market gardener, it bridges the gap between manual labor and full-scale mechanization.

Sutton Ag U-APPLICATOR for Tractor Efficiency

When you measure your rows in the hundreds of feet and cover multiple acres, you need tractor-scale efficiency. The Sutton Ag U-APPLICATOR and similar three-point hitch models are designed for exactly this scenario. They turn a tedious, multi-person job into a fast, solo operation.

These applicators mount to a standard tractor’s three-point hitch, holding large, heavy rolls of netting with ease. The "U" shape allows the tractor to drive over the freshly laid net without damaging it, a critical feature for long rows. You simply drive down the path, and the netting unrolls perfectly centered over the bed behind you.

The biggest advantage is speed. You can cover an entire field in a fraction of the time it would take manually. Many models are adjustable, allowing them to handle various widths of netting for different bed configurations. This is an investment in labor savings that pays for itself quickly on a farm with significant acreage under cover.

Farmers Friend Row Cover Sled for Quick Layout

The Farmers Friend Row Cover Sled is a brilliant example of simple, effective design. It’s a manually operated tool that requires no tractor or external power. You simply place your roll of netting on the sled, pull it down the bed, and the fabric glides off smoothly behind you.

Its genius lies in its low-tech, durable construction. Made of metal, it’s heavy enough to stay put but light enough for one person to manage easily. The sled design keeps the roll off the ground, preventing it from picking up mud or debris, and allows it to slide effortlessly over prepared soil.

This tool is perfect for small to mid-sized operations, especially those using no-till methods or working inside high tunnels where a tractor won’t fit. It offers a massive efficiency boost over laying by hand without the cost or complexity of a powered implement. For single-person operations, its value is hard to overstate.

Dubois Agrinovation Unroller for Manual Control

Sometimes the simplest tool is the right one. The Dubois Unroller, and others like it, is essentially a sturdy frame with a handle on each end that holds the roll of netting. It’s a two-person tool that provides maximum control and is incredibly versatile.

While it doesn’t offer the single-operator efficiency of a sled or tractor implement, it excels in specific situations. If you’re covering very delicate, freshly transplanted crops, the unroller allows two people to gently lift and place the netting with zero drag. It’s also ideal for working over uneven terrain or around obstacles where a ground-based tool might snag.

Think of this as the professional version of "two people carrying a pipe." It’s lightweight, inexpensive, and easy to store. For farms that only cover a few beds at a time or prioritize careful placement over raw speed, this manual unroller is a reliable and practical choice.

The Rittenhouse Netting Reel for Small Plots

For the very small market garden or the serious home grower, managing even a 50-foot roll of netting can be a headache. The Rittenhouse Netting Reel is a smaller-scale solution designed to bring order to the chaos. It functions like a hose reel, allowing you to dispense and retract netting without it becoming a tangled bird’s nest.

These reels can be handheld, mounted on a small cart, or even fixed to a wall in your greenhouse. The primary benefit is organization and fabric longevity. By keeping the netting neatly spooled, you prevent the rips, tears, and snags that happen when it’s stuffed in a bin.

While not an "applicator" in the same way as a bed-sized sled, it solves a major pain point for smaller plots. It makes the process of covering and uncovering a few key rows much faster and less frustrating. It’s a small investment in sanity and protects your more expensive investment in the netting itself.

Building a DIY PVC Pipe Netting Applicator

Many farmers are innovators by necessity, and building your own tools is a time-honored tradition. A DIY netting applicator is a straightforward project that can be built for a fraction of the cost of a commercial model, using materials found at any hardware store.

The most common design involves a simple frame made from PVC pipe and fittings. A larger diameter pipe acts as the axle for the roll of netting, and a T-joint frame with handles allows one or two people to carry it. Some clever designs even incorporate a sled-like base made from wider PVC pipes cut in half lengthwise.

The tradeoff is durability and finesse. A PVC frame won’t be as rigid or long-lasting as a welded steel sled, and it might be more prone to tipping or snagging. However, for a grower on a tight budget, a well-built DIY applicator is infinitely better than no applicator at all. It’s a practical solution that gets the job done.

Matching an Applicator to Your Garden’s Scale

Choosing the right applicator comes down to honestly assessing your farm’s specific needs. There is no single "best" tool; there is only the best tool for your context. Don’t buy a tractor implement if you only have a quarter-acre of beds.

Start by asking these key questions:

• What equipment do you already own? If you have a walk-behind or four-wheel tractor, an implement that leverages that power makes sense. If not, stick to manual options.
• How many bed-feet do you cover? For a few hundred feet, a manual sled or unroller is perfect. For thousands of feet, mechanization is almost a necessity to save your sanity and your schedule.
• Who is doing the work? If you primarily work alone, prioritize single-operator tools like a sled or a tractor-mounted applicator. Two-person unrollers are great but require a reliable second set of hands.
• What is your budget? A DIY version can cost less than $50. A manual sled might be a few hundred. A tractor implement can run into the thousands. Match your investment to the scale of your problem.

Ultimately, the goal is to choose a tool that removes a bottleneck. If covering your crops is a task you dread, it’s time to invest in a solution. The right applicator will not only protect your harvest but will also give you back your most valuable resource: time.

Investing in the right tool to lay netting isn’t about spending money; it’s about buying back time and securing your income. By matching an applicator to the scale and style of your garden, you turn a frustrating chore into a simple, efficient process, ensuring your hard work ends up at the market, not in a pest’s stomach.