Chopper's Poly Tunnel ..!!

RE: Poly Tunnel Growing..!!

Thankyou for doing this Marley, appreciate your effort. Thankyou.

Just got back from town with a banging headache so can't do much now. I will get some pictures done ASAP and post some details of my growing plans etc.

As the weather has improved slightly, things are really happening in the tunnel and we are still in January! There is a marked difference in the plants out side the tunnel compared to those inside.

Looking forward to others posting here.

Chopper.

 

RE: Poly Tunnel Growing..!!

I'm going to be a new polytunnel grower as from this year, as mine is still in the box (4.5 X 2m), and won't be erected untill around late April, as it's my late April birthday present in advance.

I've always used my heated greenhouse as a production line for plants to be moved into coldframes (I have a vast amount made from pallet timber glazed with ex-carport polycarbonate), but my early potatoes (in potato bags), tomatoes, etc., always seem to want to climb out of them before the conditions are right.

So I was thinking of bagged spuds (temporary), early/late toms, maincrop toms for dehydrating, chillies, a few early courgettes, and maybe some trays of lettuce, radish and other early salad stuff, and perhaps also some 'fillet' beans.

 

RE: Poly Tunnel Growing..!!

Haven't got a polytunnel but i've got a story about one.

When I worked at the mushroom farm the farmer asked me to help put up a new tunnel.

He kept saying, if we get the posts in square then the hoops would fit in just like that. Being young at the time I just followed his lead while he banged posts in, tried to fit the hoops & then cussed as they wouldn't slot in. After about an hour of pulling posts up again & banging them back in, he said, "bugger this, i'm off for a cup of tea."

Being left on my own, I had a cigarette and a think about it.

I realised we only had the 2 dimensions to work with so I broke the rectangle into 2 triangles & with a bit of maths I had the length of the diagonal as well. Armed with this, I banged all the posts in & all the hoops slotted straight in.

The farmer came back from his cuppa, looked at the completed tunnel in disbelief (He'd only been gone 10 Minutes) & then looked to me for an explaination.

I said " A bloke called Pythagorus told me how to do it."

He asked "Does he live in the village ?"

He was serious.[hr]
I'm really going to mess the thread up now.

Been building something today.

Not a pollytunnel.

Not a green house.

But,

A POLYCARBONATE LEAN TO.:D

Not huge, but big enough for bringing 30/40 trays of veg seedlings on.

A bit like this but only costing £40

http://www.twowests.co.uk/TwoWestsSite/product/SGH.htm

 

RE: Poly Tunnel Growing..!!

OK, just to get the ball rolling so to speak. A couple of pictures of my polytunnel that I built in September 2010. So obviously I have not yet had a full growing season working with the tunnel.

This is the site I had chosen for the tunnel. As you can see there was a large shed and a few trees in the way, plus a lot of other stuff that had to be moved. This is before I started work.



I chose this part of the garden because it offered the best of conditions for growing. The most sunlight and a strong fence down one side to offer some shelter from wind. It was also about the most level having had a 12 x 8 foot shed alrready there.

Once the ground was cleared I hired a tiller for the day to break up the compacted soil and rake it level. Used a chainsaw to take the trees down. This is the tunnel framework in place.



Chopper.


[hr]
This is how the tunnel looks after the cover was fitted and I had built some staging using recycled decking boards. This image also shows the decking I have built in front of the tunnel doorway. Again I used recycled boards and gave them a coat of wood preservative.



This is the inside when I had started potting on the first of over 400 plug plants that I bought from a wholesale nursery.



Chopper.
[hr]
As this is a new part of the forum, I thought it might be a good idea to post about a few things that I have learnt since I decided to buy a polytunnel. My comments are based on my personal experience. So please do not take my comments as gospel. If you want to ask me questions about the tunnel please consider that I have limited experience. I will do my best to help you, but you may well find that other members are far more qualified and experienced than I am.

Things to consider when considering buying a tunnel.

Intended site for the tunnel. Is level or can it be made level without having to pay someone to do the groundwork?

Is the site sheltered from the wind? Very important when considering what type of tunnel to buy.

Will the tunnel have the maximum amount of daylight or is the site in shadow. Very important point as the tunnel needs as much sun/daylight as possible.

Does the site have easy access for things like wheelbarrows and trolleys?

Is there a water supply nearby. Bear in mind that everything you plant/sow in the tunnel is totally dependant on you for everything they need to grow.

Size of tunnel? How big the tunnel you buy will depend on how big the site is. Bear in mind that you will need space all around the tunnel, that will have to be kept clear of weeds and plants that have woody branches.

Budget. Work out how much you want/can spend on buying the tunnel. Include in your calculations things like extra features such as crop bars, storm braces, door frames, ventilation, ground anchors.

Consider what it is you want to grow in the tunnel and think very seriously about the height of the vertical part of the sides. I am 6'1". To be constantly banging my head on the curving roof would drive me nuts.

I wrote down all of the things I had considered and my conclusions before I started looking for a supplier. Armed with this information I made numerous enquiries. I had several catalogues sent to me before I made my choice.

The one I chose is 30' x 14'. I have an extra width door at each end. I opted for the extra Storm Braces, Crop Bars, Staging Supports, Wind up Ventilation Kit, Anchor Brackets and Wooden Base Rail kit. Total cost was just over £1500. Cost me an additional £30 to hire the tiller for the day. Everything I needed to build the tunnel came in clearly labelled packages deliverd to my door by the supplier. Very easy to follow assembly instructions were included. The supplying company have a very good customer service department who are always willing to answer questions and offer guidance. A pleasure to deal with them.

I thought carefully about what I wanted, how I wanted the tunnel to look, what I wanted the tunnel to do. I bought exactly what I wanted and the end result is that I am a very happy chappie. I am already getting huge benefits from the tunnel.

Several people have said that I could have had a greenhouse for the money I spent. Yes I could have had a greenhouse, BUT it would have been MUCH smaller, would have needed a permanent base and I probably would not have been able to put it together with just my better half helping me.

Hope this helps anybody considering buying a tunnel.

Chopper.

 

Update on things happening in my polytunnel. First of all I should point out that none of what I have done would have been possible without the help of Mrs Chopper. Mrs Chopper is my driving force, labourer, advisor and chief tea maker extraordinaire! Wonderful woman that is not scared of graft and will happily dig trenches, lay bricks, plaster walls, all the time making sure I do not eat the neighbours children, sacrifice goats or join the local church.

Mrs Chopper is also a very highly accomplished artist having had numerous books and paintings published. I will try and get her to do some gardening art and post them on here.

Now that the frost is easing off, we have had a chance to get into the tunnel and have a good sort out. I was expecting to lose a lot of plants due to the bad weather. That is happily NOT the case. Most of the perennials have survived in an unheated tunnel. There were one or two that were clearly not viable. Anything that looked suspect has gone in the compost bin.

Had a good tidy up and removed all the dead foliage. I found a problem with some sort of mould on a lot of the polyanthus and a few delphiniums. A lot of the chrysanthemums and verbena bonarienisis were also affected but on the other side of the tunnel. We carefully removed all of the mould and any dead foliage. Went to the garden centre to get some advice. Hated having to do it but it appeared that the only solution was to use a general fungicide that you mix with water and spray on the affected plants. Seems to have done the trick. Shame as I want to keep the garden as free of chemicals as possible.

A couple of pictures of the plants after the clean up.




Chopper.


[hr]
This is the raised bed running down the middle of the tunnel.



Nearest the front is some peas that we had started late September last year. I htink they have been stinted by the cold but still look quite healthy, so they have been left in.

Next is lettuce that I started in November. They have done so well that I was able to lift some and give them to Ziggy, still leaving plenty for me.

The cabbage/cauliflower are doing very well. The cold does not seem to have bothered them too much. These are what survived and invasion of pigeons inthe garden. Brought them into the tunnel and they seem to be very healthy now.

Next is a line of young Cauliflower that I started from seed in Late October. Clearly slowed down by the cold but still looking very healthy and showing signs of growth.

Next is a load of strawberries that I was given by my neighbour. Gave them a good tidy up and they are all showing signs of healthy growth.

I have taken out all of the broad beans I had growing. The bottom of the stems had gone black and mushy, the leaves were all drooping. Don't want totake too many chances with plants that are obviously in trouble. My thinking is that if they are rotting away then they could be harbouring some sort of nasty bug. Soout they came.

Next in line is some shallots that have only just gone in. Last minute bargain buy at the garden centre.

I have two rows of onions and one of garlic. Not affected by the cold and all doing really well.

Chopper.

 

He did you know

 

[size=large][size=large]A well done to you and your wife, it all looks very varied and tidy, and I really envy the time when it will all be ready to eat. Myself I am again trying to sow lettuce, tomatoes and some other easy vegetable. I will only move the plants to the garden when they are big enough to be ignored by the snails.[/size][/size]

 

Hi Flower,

Try growing Lollo Rosso lettuce, the slugs rarely touch it.

 

I read a useful tip last night that deserves sharing here, put the legs of your greenhouse/tunnel bench in a little tray of organic slug pellets to help protect those new or emerging seedlings on top of it. The same tipster also recommended sinking a pieace of guttering at the polytunnel doorway, again with organic slug pellets in.

Either that, or install a couple of frogs..

Its all coming on rather nicely Chopper, you'll run out of space shortly...hope the second tunnel is on order.

Steve...

 

Those are good tips Steve. Every time I see slug damage it drives me mad. What the hell was mother nature thinking about when she created slugs??? Hate the slimey little things.

Something that I was advised to do by a very experienced gardener was to put a grit pathway all around the tunnel. Apparently slugs and other slimey critters do not like crossing rough gravel, sharp sand or grit. I haven't found a slug in the tunnel YET!!!

Thanks for your comment. Would love another tunnel and if I can persuade the local farmer to let me buy a part of the orchard that backs onto my land I will be ordering another one, probably bigger than the one I have.

Chopper.

 

Mrs Chopper and I, have been busy in the tunnel as well as the new plot. The violas and primulas have been moved to the garden on the shelving behind the tunnel, or they have been planted in pots and sold. Just doing that has left us with the space we needed to prick out lots of tiny Alpine plants that Mrs Chopper has a passion for and has grown from seed.

We have also planted a lot of seed in trays and cells, to germinate under the protection of the polytunnel.



This next picture is of two varieties of Aquilegias, Black Barlow and Christa Barlow. These we have grown from plug plants started in October last year. We lost a few to the frost. Those that survived are now looking much healthier.



Chopper


[hr]
The raised bed is now looking very productive.



The cauliflowers that I started from seed in October are doing really well. They are in a single row at the front of the picture.

The six brassicas that are much further advanced are what I saved from a serious pigeon invasion. Not sure exactly what each is as they got mixed up. Have to wait and see what they grow into, but they do look healthy.

The peas are putting on a bit of a spurt now, but we are not sure what to expect if anything by way of a crop from them. The onions, garlic and shallots are all doing really well.

We bought a job lot of glazed pots and have been transferring violas, primulas and Narcissi Minarette into them. Sold a few off already, these we potted on last week and they are just about ready to go as well. Been selling these at £2 a pot to a lady that sells them on outside her shop. She also bought six hanging baskets fullof Violas as well.



Chopper.
[hr]
These Delphiniums are a particular favourite with Mrs Chopper. We started these from plug plants in early October. We lost a couple in the frost but these have done really well since Mrs Chopper potted them on into 1ltr pots. Today is the first day they have been outside for hardening off, befor ethey get transferred to the new plot.



Next to the Delphiniums is a few trays of Dianthus Sooty. These are one of my favourites, really deep scarlet flowers. These are from plugs that I started in early October last year. Already sold a few of them on. These have also done really well since I potted them on into 1ltr pots, lots of new growth.

Chopper.

 

It looks fantastic Chopper, and isn't it amazing how a greenhouse brings on plants as it is certainly not Spring outside yet!

I'm afraid I'm sceptical that your Sprouting Broccoli are going to make it - hopefully I'm wrong. I think they need to be bigger going into the Winter to do a good job come the Spring. I bought some plug plants a year or two back, because I was late sowing my own, and they were so small they never came to anything by the following Spring. But here's hoping :thumb:

 

Hehe..plants everywhere! Whats on the other third of the tunnel Chopper?

Steve...

 

Everything looks amazing, Chopper....well done to you and Mrs......thats some set up you have there!!

Keep the pics coming too