My 1st Polytunnel

Hi Guys, just had a long lay off from work,(9 months), due to a shoulder injury that has now been operated on so back to the job now at last,(tree surgeon). Anyway I was more than a little bored during my recuperation period so bought myself a polytunnel back in June, nothing fancy 6m x 3m but already I'm loving it. The 1st problem I had was the fact that it had a zip up door which didn't last 5 minutes,(supplier sent me a new cover though so now have a spare in case I need it), so I built a frame with a conventional style door on which is so much better. I bought some ready to plant veg., dwarf beans, carrot, peppers, sweetcorn, swede, courgette, cauliflower, cabbage, pumpkin, onions, leeks & potatoes plus a load of seeds ready to sow. So what have I learnt so far? well I now know that butterflies love brassicas and after many days collecting caterpillars I've now made a frame covered with fine mesh to put up when I have the door open, I also know that carrots don't like cow manure as they grew very small & curly & had to be thrown away, I've discovered that courgettes & pumpkin plants grow very big & it was a mistake to plant them close to one another lol. I've also discovered that green beans taste fantastic when you grow them yourself,(they are the only things I've tried so far although I have some chilli peppers ready & I'm going to use them this week), & I can't wait to try other stuff.
I'm just uploading some photos & I hope they don't bore you, I also hope you don't get fed up of my constant questions 1st one being how will I know when my peppers are ready, I have a fairly largish bell pepper now with lots of other smaller ones but don't really know how large they will get before I need to pick them.
Thanks
Lee :thumb:

 

Ok here's some pics.

This is the space I've put the tunnel on, it was 2 old veg beds to begin with so plenty of manure in the ground to start with.


2 new beds made


And the cover put on, I fixed the frame down to some railway sleepers to give me some more height as I'm 6' 2" & to give me some security against the high winds we get, I also drove posts into each corner & fixed the frame to this also.

 

Staging built down the far end & plants ready to go in.


Plants in & shelves starting to fill up with necessities.


Zip door replaced & mesh covered frame to allow air circulation in place.

 

Veg getting bigger


And the 1st small but tasty harvest

 

Looking good like the idea you used for the door mine has the zip thing and its a pain

 

Hi Lee,

Firstly, keep posting the photo's you wont bore us...and keep the questions coming along with the trials successes and failures..its the best way to learn.

Secondly, well done on a very tidy job you have done in getting this up and organised as you have so far. It really looks good!

You have not mentioned if or how you have anchored your tunnel and that is something you need to have a think about, for ideas have a look at either of the these two topics.

http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/poly-tunnel-gardening/33026-steves-polytunnel.html

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

Adding the door as you have will also strengthen the end of the tunnel and I've just built one myself as the zip on mine failed too ( I must update my own polytunnel topic with pics of the door), I've wanted to do this since putting the tunnel up anyway as having the door rolled up lets out the warmth created inside anyway, and opening and closing the door is much easier and just using the side vents for ventilation.

Keep us updated Lee, and welcome to the world of undercover growing.

Steve...

[Edit} I've just noticed your anchor posts in the corners of the tunnel, sorry about that..I missed them first time round.

 

I've got one exactly like this, but it's staying in it's box until spring as I've also got two 4.5 x 2m polytunnels, and I'm only in the planning stages with this larger one at the moment.

P.S. But one of my plans is also replacing that wide zippered door with a timbere framed hinged one - I've been watching the First Tunnels' videos on how to do it.

 

Lee,

If you could fill the gaps between sleepers with sleeper offcuts so it's unbroken all round, you could use tile batons to fix the tunnel edging to the sleepers thereby stopping the draught, if it does not stop the draft you could bury the whole edge with soil afterwards.

Steve...

 

Is the skirt to the cover not buried anywhere and are the velcro tapes at the base the only things holding the cover down (apart from where it's fixed to the door frame)?

 

Hi Scrungee, the cover is fixed to the sides of the railway sleepers with 4" x 1" timbers, basically the bottom is boxed in. I also intend to fix it where it lies on the top of the sleepers in the same manner & cover with soil so that there is an earth slope up the sides.

 

Just had a little nibble on one of the chillis I grew, anyone got a cure for tongue blisters :DOH:

 

Just been in the tunnel & discovered that while I've been successful in preventing the caterpillars from getting my brassicas they're now covered in aphids, I'll get the soapy water out tomorrow, unless anyone has a better idea. Also decided to give up on my courgettes & pumpkins, the courgettes seem to grow about 3" long then fall off the plant & I've had 3 pumpkins that have been the size of a golfball for months now, just don't seem to be growing so I might as well get shut & space my cabbages & cauliflowers out as they are taking the tunnel over.