My £50 polytunnel from eBay

I haven't posted on this thread for ages, so here's a shot taken this morning of the tunnel full of tomatoes right up into the roof. The Sungolds are ripening up to eye level. Below is this morning's picking, but bear in mind that only 50% of the plants are cropping as the others are beefsteak toms, only some of which are starting to ripen.

 

Cover got torn in the last big storm, the mesh ventilation panels were completely blasted away and it was leaking through the upper seams, so this afternoon it got the new cover I've had tucked away for some time that should be good for another 3 years.



The old vents were well knackered

 

One of mine ripped on the end seem, from the top to about half way down. I "sewed" it back together using garden wire as the little squares of nylon are quite tough. Gaffer tape completed the repair and it withstood more storms very well, should be good for the rest of the season.

Steve...

 

In addition to some wire and gaffer tape, other useful items to keep in the tunnel for emergencies are large safety pins, Velcro tape, battens and nails.

 

The end of an era (and over 28,000 views) !

Erected March 2011 and re-covered after storm damage March 2014, used for growing for 6 years and just for storage last year following more storm damage, I started demolishing it this morning. (Had to evict a Rabbit who thought it would make an ideal nursery for her young buns).

But the good news is that it's being replaced over the next week or so by a third 6m x 3m polytunnel, at least 75% of the timber has been salvaged and the upper framework and remains of cover will be re-used as a hoop house for one of my giant marrows.

 

@Scrungee you've done a fair few years with it mate...just a shame really it's gone all the best though mate with re-erecting another ...pic's please when you've done your other

 

Looking really good @Scrungee . Ive just gone through this in the last couple of months but opted for raised beds instead. Like you I opted for a cheap tunnel with zipped door which Ive added a frame and double doors on advice from fellow polytunnel owners. Ive had to screw boards around the outside through to posts on the inside to prevent any lifting. Completely over engineered but its already withstood horrendous weather and 60 mph winds last weekend. Pics on other posts. Good luck and look forward to seeing your progress.
Cheers
Dai

 

Only lasted six years ? I'd ask for a refund - after all it wasn't cheap !

I'd imagine that the extra bracing has helped to prolong its life. We have a similar one inside our polytunnel and I wouldn't fancy its chances out in the wild in its standard form.

 

Scrungee: I googled "Strengthening Ebay Polytunnel" this thread comes 5th in the search rankings. I can't tell you how much confidence I got from seeing your £50 tunnel jam packed with produce. I'll be copying a lot from what you've done.

 

That tunnel had ferrule type frame connections. @Eden1 I'll try and find the pics I took of a 25mm tube tunnel with bolted connections, showing how I swopped the supplied bolts for longer ones (Wilko) enabling me to fix stuff to the frame like holding down fixings, bearers, door post heads, etc., and post them in your thread.

Even in my 3 x 6m tunnels, I've found it useful to have demountable staging and high level shelving, the former for getting seeds and container grown spuds out of reach from vermin, and high level shelving up where it gets hot is great for germinating seeds.

 

Scrungee: Did you ever get round to making a hinged door for this?