Cheap polytunnels???

Not sure if this is the right section to ask but am on the look out for the cheapest polytunnel i can find! lol


Any good tips where to look - (already been on ebay but not sure if i trust it lol) :o


Thanks alot! Oh and its for the allotment btw :D

 

I bought this new brand new 4.5 x 2 x 2m one with a bid of £45 + £4.99 postage in January:

http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/poly-tunnel-gardening/31751-my-%A350-polytunnel-ebay.html

I think they may gone up to around £80 at the moment (the prices may differ according to season). A 3.5 x 2 x 2 will be slightly cheaper. I spent only around £10 getting it secured down (they stand a good chance of buckling/blowing away unless something extra is used to hold them down - I Googled them + wind damage, etc.) and fitted out with staging as I used mainly salvaged materials. Have a look at this thread for how some one else secured their's http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/poly-tunnel-gardening/33026-steves-polytunnel.html

I've just had a look on e-Bay and seem some small cheap ones that don't have vents. These will probably reach 100 deg F inside unless the door is left open. The temperature in mine can be rising over 80 deg F at 8:00 am even with the vents left open both sides overnight, then also needs the door left open during a hot day. Even with 3 vents either side I want to adapt mine to have doors with vents at each end before next summer.

 

Hi Lisa

I know from your other posts that you are a mad keen new allotment holder. Congratulations on finally getting a plot.

Couple of members here have bought these cheap polytunnels and had varying degrees of success with them. SteveR did a lot of work on his using recycled materials to strengthen and secure it. I think his effort was well worthwhile as what he now has will probably last for some time.

Before you buy any tunnel, have a think about the site, where are you going to put it, does it have any sort of wind defences? What do you want to grow in the tunnel?

The cheaper tunnels are made from very flimsy materials so you may well need to reinforce them. Have a think about how you are going to do that and if you are going to have to buy materials to do so, would you be better off buying a better quality tunnel?

Please bear in mind that inside a tunnel, everything that grows there is totally dependant on you for water and feeding. Last week the temperature in my tunnel got up to 32 degrees C, even with both doors and the vent that runs the full length, wide open.

Have a look at the thread about my tunnel. I have a hell of a lot to learn, but have had a few minor success's. I love my tunnel, its a whole different world.

Good luck with your project and don't be shy about asking the more experienced members for help and advice. There are some very clever people here, many of them have helped me. (Thanks folks).

Chopper.

 

As both Scrungee and Chopper have mentioned, I bought a cheap polytunnel earlier this year and have just recently erected it and am in the process of getting it ready for plants/growing.

Some factors to bear in mind:

Have a good look around your alottment at other tunnels, note which way they are facing....you probably will have wind that comes from one direction and there willl be a tendancy to point tunnels into that wind direction...this may have some bearing on the size of tunnel you can have.

Your neighbours plots may already have some structure of sorts that you could "hide" a tunnel behind (from the prevailing wind) such as another tunnel, shed, hedge or line of trees but also bear in mind you will want the sun on it from as early in the day as possible. If you intend to grow year round in it, remember that the winter sun has a much lower angle.

If you do buy a cheap one similar to mine and Scrungee's, make sure the frame is erected square, else the cover will not fit corretly and you may have trouble opening the doors as I did, thankfully..it was easily corrected.

Steve...

 

I avoided that by installing the supports on one side only (have a look at my thread, bottom of post #1), then erecting the tunnel frame with the cover on, temporarily securing it to those supports then positioning the frame until the diagonals from opposite corners were equal lengths (plus ensuring everything was level and/or vertical - put battens right across with a spirit level on) and only then install the supports to the other side.

Don't fix the frame down without checking it with the cover on - it will change shape slightly. And even worse, don't expect it to be precisely the size stated on the box!

 

Cheers guys - lots to think about there.

certainly the ones I've been looking at are around 80 quid on ebay which is doable for me.

Luckily, my mate has a plot and last year bought one similar to scrungee described in his post. She did basically what steve did...dug trenches either side, weighted down and cover buried over, if you know what I mean. It survived really well through the last winter :yess:

Anyway, the ground won't be ready for a few weeks, so I may come back with more questions :o


Cheers

 

This one may be larger than Lisa11 was after, and may not be the cheapest for it's size, but it seems like a rather a good buy to me, mainly because of the higher than normal specification for a cheapo poly tunnel.

6 x 3 x 2m high new polytunnel, with 25mm galvanised frame consisting of 7 horizontal bars, 7 vertical 'hoops' @ 1m centres, end bracings, bolted fixings, cover with 6 vents either side and wide zippered door opening, £149.99 + £10 P&P. 6 x 3m Polytunnel Greenhouse Poly Tunnel Pollytunnel

(most others are 1.9m high, with 19mm dia powder coated poles, only have 5 horizontal bars, 5 'hoops', no bracings, unbolted connections, and 4 vents per side)

 

Good find, I was actually reading about these the other day, they would be a lot more stable in wind too, instead of the usual one centre bar at the top there is now two set off centre for extra rigidity plus the two extra hoops....storm braces and ground frame...I'm very tempted.

Steve...

 

There's one being auctioned by the same seller that's currently at 99p (but £19.99 P&P in lieu £9.99 for buy it now) with less than 23 hours to go........ Will be interesting to see what it sells for.

There is a mis-match between the pics at the top (old style) and bottom of the page (new style) that is clarified further dow the page

But if you were thinking of putting on the end of your existing tunnel, the cross sectional profile appears different - higher ridge/'eaves'?

 

i found this site they look the same as urs x pretty cheap i think as people are still bidding as much for them on ebay xhttp://www.feelgooduk.net/60-8-2ft-polytunnel-garden-greenhouse.html

 

Yes, that's the same seller. Sometimes there are cheaper on that site, and other times the identical item is cheaper on eBay.

For example, the 2 x 4.5m tunnel I bought (for £49.99, but now with galvanised in lieu powder coated frames) is £74.99 + £9.99 on the sellers own site , but £89.99 incl P&P on eBay

However, their 3 x 6m tunnels are £149.99 + £17.49 P&P on their own site, but £149.99 + only £9.99 P&P on eBay.

And to complicate it further, the auction items usually have a higher P&P rate than identical 'buy it now' ones. So it's pays to check around and save a few pounds.

EDIT: Just seen what a 3 x 6 went for in auction http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....353&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&autorefresh=true £140 +£19.99 P&P, which is actually 1p more than getting it at the eBay 'buy it now' price (with the lower P&P) - Crazy!

 

It sold for £140, so bidding fever cost them more.

It was at £125 till 30secs to go...then my bids knocked it up to £140.

There is another 99p one up now....I'll late bid again tomorrow

Steve...

 

I kept an eye on the bidding (just out of interest honestly, Mrs Scrungee won't let me buy any more until the 2nd one's up, everything is sown, planted, weeded, watered, harvested, all the jobs around the house are done, etc., so quite some time).

It seemed to stay at £125 for ages, then we went out picking strawberries and came back to see it had gone for 1p more than the buy it now price. I guess somebody felt they just to beat the other bidders.

But having a record of what they go for, and at what time of year is all useful stuff if considering having a go for one in the future.

 

Which would you go for the DIY version with a proper cover or the ebay one and expect to change the cover more frequently.
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4 x 2m Polytunnel Greenhouse FULLY GALVANISED FRAME!! | eBay UK

 

I guess whoever bought it did not look too closely at delivery costs, as you said earlier postage is £20 on the auction, but only £10 on the buy it now one.

Steve...