Chopper's Poly Tunnel ..!!

Hi Chopper
Well I must say looking at all the Pictures and comments you've posted you and your wife have totally
Inspired me to get my little homemade polytunnel finished off !

its amazing seeing all the things happily getting on with growing I know you said you have had the odd causality but what is on display is pretty awe inspiring to gaze upon

I know that even in my really quite small patch I can grow some impressive stuff so I will finish my coffee pretty darn quick and get the last little bit of bracing done and then wait for a nice warm day and put the cover on :D
(by the way my diy tunnel frame is my avatar):WINK1:

 

Martyn, why dont you start a topic somewhere here and let us see some photo's with a description of your tunnel, let us know what you have done...and whats left to do?

Steve...

 

Okay Steve
I am game for that! I will do a write up, and start a thread very soon yes could very helpful for others thinking of having a bash at tunneling!

 

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Thanks for your comments. I had a look at your avatar and it looks interesting to me. I agree with Steve, be good to see a thread about a DIY tunnel. As we now have our own Polytunnel forum, that would be a good place to start it.



My tunnel came in kit form from one of the major suppliers. Good quality, easy to follow instructions and very helpful staff. I am very happy with it, but I have yet to get the best from it. I am sure things will get better asI learn.



Not everyone wants a ready made tunnel, not everyone has the space for a ready made kit form tunnel. Mine is 30 X 14 feet. Building your own is quite a project, so well done you. Hope it works out for you, good luck with it. Look forward to reading your thread.



Chopper.

 

Don't want to hijack the thread, but here's a link to DIY tunnel instructions if anyone is interested.

http://www.overthegardengate.net/UserPages/pp_view.asp?FName=polytunnel&Page=1

 

Update.

We have been very busy in the tunnel this last few weeks. Amazing how fast things grow in the tunnel. Moving things around to make space takes up quite a bit of time.

At the moment, both sets of staging are covered in seed trays with masses of different flowers and vegatable seedlings. Virtually ever day there is something that needs potting on. Alot of the bigger plants are now outside during the day to harden off. Some of them are outside full time just growing on before planting either in the garden or in the plot.





Chopper.

 

Couple more pictures





Chopper

 

Hardening off, outside on the decking.



Alot of what is in this picture has already been potted on or has been planted. Having to do a lot of shuffling around to make room for everything.

We need another polytunnel !

Chopper.

 

Nah, you'd need a field to put that in....Hold on a minute...

Looking good Chopper. Filled a sandwich with 2 leaves of your lettuce yesterday,they were 10" x 6"

 

Well done, Chopper....everything looks fantastic!

 

All looking good there Chopper..
Well done .
Dave

 

That looks great. Can I ask you a question though?

How long has the polytunnel been up, and how did it handle snow, if it's had any?

 

Hi NewGardener

Thankyou for your comment.

I put the tunnel up in early September 2010. So not yet a year old. The snow we had was pretty heavy down here in Somerset. It was no problem at all for the tunnel. Most of it just slid off during the day. Even when temperatures plummeted to minus 16c, soon as the sun came up and raised temperatres slightly, it was enough to get the snow moving.

If you are thinking of getting a tunnel, please bear in mind that I did a lot of research before I chose the one that I bought. There were other cheaper tunnels and one or two that were dearer. I chose the one most suited to what I wanted to do. I also bought a few extra parts that did not come with the basic kit, such as crop bars, storm braces, vent kit and staging supports. I am delighted with my tunnel. I think it is very good value for money.

Your wants/needs for a tunnel may be completely different to mine. You need to consider what you want to use the tunnel for. The site for the tunnel and its proposed postion. The size of the tunnel. How much work you want or are able to do yourself. Not forgetting of course how much you want to spend.

Mine works very well for me and I am very happy with it. If you want to know any more about it, please feel free to ask. Be happy to help you. There are also lots of very experienced gardeners here, far more knowledgable than me, whowill also help you.

Regards

Chopper.

 

Thanks for your reply. How do the storm braces fit, and do you think that was one of the reasons it stood up well to the snow?

I'm looking for a poly to replace one of the plastic greenhouses, the strong winds killed it, due to the door being an ill fit, blew it apart from the inside :( Despite that, it is only about 18" away from a 6' fence, so it would be quite a sheltered spot (usually!)