blog style post of my making my homemade poly-tunnel!

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[size=medium]So it was Early January and at the time we where having a bit of a warm spell after being really in the depths of a deep freeze I was in the Garden which I have had now for two whole seasons this will be the third its had a lot of development by me its was to start with just an oblique rectangular shaped bit of land I had made into 4 equal shaped raised segments for the first season and mainly put in the obligitary potatoes to cleanse the soil which is a really heavy clay loam type I incorperated absolute masses of humus type improver including Peat of coarse I had a pretty succesful first growing season I managed to get some fantastic results from leeks beetroot even carrot faired okay As I say the ground was still and is still being developed and now instead of 4 equal shaped growing area I am now really only down to two ! [/size]
[size=medium]This is beacuse we want to try out having a pond and a nice area of decking for having BBQs with several friends attending so I have made a brick built barbie I incorperated one of the umbrella type clothes lines a good sized table a couple of benches and chairs into the l shaped Decking the pond then filled out the L shaped area into an oblong thus leaving us with a kind of double oblong garden one to grow stuff the other well as already explained [/size]
[size=medium]So what to do next I thought in my growing area I had already formed a pathway at the very bottom along the garden which I had made a compost heap also a wormery also a cold frame which doubles up to make a very thin tall green house (POLYTHENE) [/size]
[size=medium]I also must add I had got over wintering crops such as plenty of strawberries a lot of cuttings taken from a redcurrent and certain other things some of which in the making of my DIY Poly-tunnel I think I killed off but thats life I guess [/size]
[size=medium]So onto this homemade Poly tunnel Idea what materials do I have to hand ?[/size]
[size=medium]I had some white plastic tubing that had been used on job its a kind of water pipe but not the standard type so chances are I would never need it in the line of work again so as to speak so it was scrap and its in 3 metre lengths [/size]
[size=medium]I decided the size of the tunnel could not exceed 3 metres in length due to the geoghrapy of the garden and if I joint 2 lengths of the pipe making it 6 metres long it when bent into a hoop the width of the tunnel would be about correct fort the path to path with I had already got from privous development in the garden. [/size]
[size=medium]I also knew I would have to build up the depth of the slightly raised garden which I did by another 9 inches or so and now I thought it would be a good idea to prep the ground on which I would use to grow so I would say I have at least 21 or so inches of very well horse manured soil [/size]
[size=medium]onto the build I made a frame of 3inch by two inch softwood and screwed this down onto the breeze block raised bed walls I had made then I drilled through the hoop tubes and screwed in three places per side of each hoop to fix the basic shape of the tunnel then I drilled through at a reasonable height each hoop and screwed in a horizontal tube per side[/size]
[size=medium]I had now run out of the tubing so I used my large table saw I have to make some 1inch by 1 inch rails these would do for the majority of the internal bracing which you can see in the pictures supplied and then it was onto the end panels I knew this would be the real strength adding part to the tunnel and I made these when we had those really severe winds battering down everything around us so I can say I believe the tunnel to be pretty storm proof although we still have to put the cover on [/size]
[size=medium]which is one I bought online from one of the reputable companies its the 5 layer type stuff I hope it will last a long time [/size]
[size=medium]You will also note I have made the doors which are at both ends of the tunnel into Stable doors as this can give me a more exacting airflow through the tunnel [/size]
[size=medium]well thats about it for now Just got to put a tiny bit more bracing on from the top of each end hoop to the top of the door heads and then its cover time [/size]
[size=medium]I hope you found this blog type posting of interest and I welcome any questions or comments [/size]
[size=medium]P.S. I hope I have managed to upload the pictures correctly cameras and stuff arnt my forte[/size]

 

I love it when people use what is around them (junk) and then turn it into something productive and useful. Top marks.

Thanks for an interesting read.

 

What sort of material is that?

I didn't have the confidence to buy a cover and make a frame to fit it, so I got a 4.5 x 2 x 2m cheapo polytunnel from an ebay £50 bid (knowing that wind would blow it to bits if erected without modification) and it will be internally braced by the timber staging supports, door frames and additional clamped on steel tubes (all made from reclaimed materials).

 

Thats sounds like the sort of thing I would be tempted to do as well but as I say I was in the garden and thinking what I could do with these old plastic tubes that have been lying at the bottom of the fence for I don't know 8-9months or so I was starting to doubt I would ever use them then the idea sprang up :DOH:yes a poly-tunnel then came the worry about do I have enough material but that soon got superseded because I thought well I have some fairly long lengths of 3" x 2 " pine knocking about I can soon rip it down much the same thing as I did to make my glazing bars for my leanto Greenhouse a picture of which I will upload now I have just finished off putting bubblewrap all inside of as well its not all done in the picture but you will see some old stuff I had before my uv rated arrived a lot of the end panels material was from my brother he was about to throw it away so I diverted him to me and soon found a good use for it then I gave it all lick of wood primer I got from Wilkos
the Cover after I built the frame I calculated the amount I needed and then I used this online company There price was £71 inc delivery this as I say is 8 metres long by 7.3 metres wide and its the new 5 layers stuff
[size=small]roduct Name : Replacemant Cover
7.3 (metres) x 8 (metres)
Cover type - Thermal Anti Drip - 720 gauge Upgrade

Qty : 1
Price : £61.60

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[size=small]Order Summary

Shipping : 10.00
Sub?otal : 61.60
Total : 71.60

Regards

Premier Polytunnels Team[/size]

here is their link
http://www.premierpolytunnels.co.uk/index.asp

 

[size=medium]Good work Martyn [/size] [size=medium]Looking forward to seeing how it all develops.
It helps if we know where you are in the country.
If you go back into My Account and edit your signature you can enter a location there.
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Alice
Consider it done [hr]

yes its all pretty much made of of surplus materials shall we say I mean its all still workable stuff in the scheme of things of course the cover I have bought it for this purpose so its not all redeveloped work however you can also be picky and say the same about the pins screws hinges paint and so but thats just me being silly so thanks I am hoping the latest weather reports stand up as I think it will give me an opportunity to put the cover on I have still got to work out how best to tension it yet but I think it may well involve a few steel thingybobs (can't think what they are called lol) but I have a few somewhere
so lets hope the weather tellers are correct

 

Well done Martyn! you've done an excellent job with materials at hand. Keep us updated how you get on with it.

Steve...

 

Q How many people does it take to put a cover on a polytunnel if failure is not at option?

A Only one three attempts to get it over the frame though.


Well here is an update on the progress :-
After managing to complete the project on Friday whilst the wind was at a minimum ( the day before we had 45 mile an hour gusts) So a mere 9 -- 12 mph seemed the best time I tested the inside temperature yesterday at 1.15pm it was a nice 20C and tested it again at 1.15pm again today and it was 20C once more that gives me great hope for the future. it seems this 5 layer 750 gauge stuff is as good as it says in the reviews I will start getting it productive hopefully starting on Tuesday