Beginners Tunnel

Yeah I get where you are coming from for sure. We have a good spell of weather coming in at the weekend but I'll not be ready by then. I'm going to secure the frame properly, do the door frames and then make a door which I think will be hard. I'll leave the decision on the cover until after these bits of work are done.

 

I'm going to get a price for the cover as well so I can make an informed decision. The distance over the loop is 5.14m. Would a 6m wide sheet be ok?

Also the tunnel is 4m long, would 6m be enough sheeting to cover the length and front & back?

 

This depends on a few things, firstly the 4m length needs to take into account the size of the doorways at either end. The plastic must be long enough to wrap over the length at the top and attach to the top of the doorway. This also applies to the sides of the tunnel over the length too and is more important as it will need to be longer to reach the door frame. You also need plastic to "pull" on, so you can get it tight. This is the stretching part I mentioned in another post here.

Over the top of the hoops you mention 5.14 as the hoop length but are thinking of buying 6m, this would leave you 40cm on each side to go in the trench. This is in my opinion not enough, especially when you consider you also have to wrap 2 doors in plastic from somewhere, had you thought about that?

Trenching in is not just about burying the plastic to keep it tidy, it is about burying the plastic to keep tension in the cover "drum tight" is the phrase here. The trench needs to be dug out a spade deep and wide with straight sides, the plastic goes straight down from the hoops to the bottom of the trench, along the trench and up the other side. You need extra plastic at each end to aid in the pulling and stretching and you need good weather to do it in. Dont forget the doors!

And finally for the last time I will say this. You have a cover, use it now! plan to put real cover on next spring/summer. See how the tunnel fares through winter winds and weather, you may find that after using it for a while that you need a bigger size, or want to change the doors or the site is just to exposed for winter or any number of things..

Steve...

 

@Eden1 I understand your concern with the appearance. I too would not be thrilled with a green cover and I had the same issue with the two small greenhouses that I had bought years ago because they had the "twinwall" panes which aren't crystal clear. I put up with them until the following spring before I switched out to clear. Cosmetics and personal preferences like mine do count, but in end, it all comes down to taking your time and getting it right as @Steve R says.

 

I'm going to take the sound advice I've been give and go with the cover supplied and see how I get on. Decision made.

 

Ok so I have got it up and trenched in. I still need to sort the door so a bit of advice on this would be much appreciated.







The cover is fairly tight and the frame is really solid. The Velcro strips on one side are miles away from the vertical supports though.

Thanks for helping me get this far.

 

Try this eden Steve's Polytunnels

Steve...

 

Thats a solid looking well constructed door.

My zips are very wide and leave a very big opening, I was thinking of leaving the zips and making a slightly smaller door. I might possibly get a small sheet of polythene and cover the door with clear plastic. The zips would be still visible but the ends would be buried never to be used.

 

@Eden1 looks great! I'm sure you're making regular walks out to admire your work as I would do too.

What is that yellow 4 wheeled device please?

 

It's my 5 year old sons toy digger. Lol.

 

And there I was thinking it looked good for small jobs. Yup, now I just need a 5 year old to run it

All my grandchildren are too old!

 

Got the door on this evening. Needs a bit of a tidy up but its getting there.

 

Ok so I got the raised beds in today and hopefully should have them filled with good soil & compost tomorrow.

I'm hoping to grow carrots and turnip over the winter, will this work? Any tips on what sort of compost to mix with my soil? What else could I grow over the winter?

I want to try to take cuttings of Margureties and other plants and get them to grow over the winter. Do I need special compost for this?

 

Today I got the beds all filled with good quality top soil.



I went to the garden centre and was advised to get this compost for growing veg.


Is it ok to dump a layer of this on top of my soil? Its sterilised does that mean it won't have live weed seeds in it?

Should I get potting compost for taking cuttings?

Can I sow carrots & turnips now?
I've read I can sow strawberry's now as well?
Any tips on varieties appreciated.

 

I use this stuff for cuttings and small seeds.

Gro-Sure Seed & Cutting Compost | Soil & Compost | Westland Garden Health


Don't forget when overnight temps drop, it'll be freezing inside that tunnel, a heated greenhouse is required for tender stuff over winter.