Steve's Polytunnels

Thanks Shney and John! Yup spotted correctly John...thats the tip of one of three WSC's...I only have those, some Pumpkins and Butternut squashes to go out into the plot and then my planting is finished. Mind you, I still have to dig that ground too..:D

Steve...

 

“My name is Steve and I’m a Tunnelaholic”

Addicted…there, I’ve admitted it in full Public view. The growth in our first tunnel has been phenomenal this season whilst plants in the ground outside it have stalled and struggled to get away with the poor weather we have had. Growing under cover is the answer to that so we have just ordered another 20 foot by 10 foot Polytunnel on ebay, and we got it at a good price winning an auction saving us 20 quid on other “buy it now” prices.

Often called “blow-aways” this one is a much stronger version.



This one has 7 hoops as opposed to the older versions 5, it also has 2 main ridge bars running the full length of the top, offset from the centre, the old one had just the one. 12 vents instead of 8, larger single door, storm bracing has been added to this new version too. Its made of galvanised steel instead of Powder coated and now has nut and bolt construction instead of the old pushpin type connectors. On the old version the bottom rail down the sides stopped 6 inches from the bottom of the hoops, now the bottom rail is bolted to the very end of the hoops and is also connected across the tunnel ends too, something the older version lacked.

The tunnel should arrive later this next week.

Steve...

 

You haven't got it that bad as I've just, er .... bought my 3rd one this afternoon! Exactly the same as your lastest 6 x 3m and although I'll be adding sloping internal posts as bracing to every over hoop, I'll be keeping this one as virtually all open beds with a central path similar to yours.

Have you started erecting it yet? I guess it's probably easier with a bottom rail all around the perimeter and not having to put a cover on to get the right distance between the verticals at ground level.

 

Nope, not erected yet. Thats a job for back end of the year, so ready for spring.

What goes around comes around I guess, as I'll be nicking your idea of stakes for the hoops, pinned together as your first one is.

From the suppliers website is this little guide to help people put up their tunnel Set up Guide the 6th photo shows the bottom rail area put together, I'll do this to get dimensions then dig the beds ready for spring, drive in stakes etc and any other little things I wish before then.

Congrats on your new purchase, you'll definately appreciate the extra width along with the obvious extra length...they really are vast until planted ...then not big enough..

Steve...

BTW..my tunnel has arrived now, and these arrive in two boxes, probably due to the extra poles/hoops.

 

Spring is when I intend putting mine up, because two 4.5 x 2m tunnels fitted out with staging will give me all the space I initially need for seed/cell trays, pots, etc. and the only structure going inside the 6 x 3m tunnel will be a 1.6 x 0.60m metal framed, timber topped potting table.

By "stakes for the hoops" did you mean both shorter 'stub' posts on the outside for both verticals & horizontals to be fixed to, plus (sloping?) verticals fixed to the hoops about 2/3rds up? because that's the way I intend doing it (it has really braced my smaller tunnel up well) and next time I intend getting that '2/3rds up' point at a suitable height so a horizontal crop bar can be fixed across the tops of those posts, giving even greater rigidity.

Thanks for that link (that'll save having to clear the lawn!) and tip off that it will come in two boxes.

 

Each hoop end will have its own stake inside the tunnel, then the frame will be fixed to these stakes from the outside, before the cover goes on. The stakes will be driven in as far as I can get them then sawn off to the height of the straight part of the hoops. When I put the base of the tunnel frame out to get dimensions I'm hoping I can use the fact its "nut and bolt" construction to my advantage to help strengthen it by using longer bolts and extra timber/metal, but at the moment that is an unknown. I'm certainly planning on using the two offset from centre ridge poles to afix crop bars which will strengthen it, we may find that is enough? (see middle photo above).

Your welcome!

Steve...

 

Its a bit of a jungle in the tunnel at the moment, the Sungella toms have hit the roof and are dripping in fruit.









The biggest toms in the photo above are slightly bigger than a Golf ball.

The Sweetcorn has also hit the roof and the Male tassles have finally shown...wont be long now till we are eating the cobs.



Just in front of the Corn is a cucumber, not yet producing as it was a late planting. Behind the cuc and to the right of the corn is some Bulbing Fennel and some white and Purple Sprouting Broccoli, to the right of the above shot are some more Toms of mixed variety. To the left of the Corn and very difficult to Photograph are our Celeriac, I had to hold the camera out at arms length and over the top of the corn to get a peep at it.



Poor photo, my apologies!

We also have some Radish (White Icicle).



And some American Land Cress.



We even have a Poly in our Caulitunnel.



Other crops growing but not Photographed are Strawberries (now finished), Peppers, Beetroot and Aubergines.

On the bench are our Onions drying.



I'll try and get some better photo's over the coming week.

Full Allotment plot update on my blog "The Nook" (See below)

Steve...

 

Looking good Steve ..
Dave

 

Fabulous Steve would you like to come help out in our coumminty garden project.

 

The zip failed on the polytunnel door last week, this brought forward my plan to build a proper door…rather than the previous roll up zipped door that comes with the tunnel.

I built a frame using 2″ x 2″ timber and made it 12″ longer than needed, this is buried in the ground. At the top the timber was shaped to match the polytunnel frame and notched to fit around it, then they where bolted together. The polytunnel cover was then stapled to the door frame on the outside then I fitted some boards over that on the outside, screwing inwards, through the cover into the door frame on the inside.







A door was made, braced and hinged then hung and the zip up door was stapled to that, again more trim boards where screwed from the outside through the cover into the door, then the cover was trimmed back as required and all the timber painted.



All that was left to do was make a way of closing it, I fitted a baton on the inside of the door to stop the door opening outwards and then on the outside a twirl baton to close it.





Thats it, job done and the end of the polytunnel is far more solid for the treatment, over winter another door will be fitted at the other end too. Oh…and it goes without saying that all timber was recycled.

Steve...

 

Good job there Steve. How long have you had the tunnel,(sorry too lazy to read back again lol), I got in touch with the supplier of mine who told me that's it's a very common problem with the zips, they then sent me a replacement cover & told me to keep the original one as well. Worth a try.

 

Hi Lee, I've had the tunnel since last December, but I only put it up this spring..so about 6 months ago now.

Steve...

 

Hiya Steve.

If you had to put it in a nutshell, what would you say are the main advantages of growing this way? I have a greenhouse that I grow the 'usual' in, but you are growing 'regular' crops.

Cheers...Freddy.

 

I'm not sure I can put it quite in a nutshell, I'm still new to this way of growing. I have an 8 x 6 greenhouse at home and have grown the "usual" there myself.

My tunnel is 20 x 10 and I think the size has most to do with the growing conditions. With 8 vents on the tunnel controling temperatures is ultimately easier and is therefore much more stable, with an 8 x 6 greenhouse as soon as the sun comes out the temps in there can race up before you can get out there and open your single vent/window.

Shiney came up to Cumbria back in spring this year and we did a mini plant swap between us, both Mr & Mrs Shiney commented on how lush and healthy the plants I had brought along looked, and I had done nothing different from when I would have grown them in the greenhouse, except sow and grow on in the polytunnel, I can only put the plants vigour down to the environment they where grown in, and then ultimately to the size of that space. Other growers here may have similar thoughts on the size of growing space = to healthy growth.

Another member here "kristen" has a huge greenhouse and also does well growing crops in it, you can see examples of that on his blog Greenhouses « K’s Garden

I hope that goes partway to an answer for you Freddy.

Steve...

 

I am finding it easier to control moisture in the poly tunnel i.e the stuff in the 8x6 greenhouse tends to dry out and need watering more frequently than the same "stuff" in the green house,I dont know if it an illusion on my part!