Polytunnels - design and price

[Caithness Gardener]

What spacing would you recommend for Caithness weather? Secondly who would you recommend - basic 14' x 24'

[JennieAtkinson]

What spacing would you recommend for Caithness weather? Secondly who would you recommend - basic 14' x 24'

As a Shetland Gardener I went for a First Tunnels 14' wide with 5 ft spacings. The super included a greater specification for the galvanised steel hoops. I also went for as much bracing as I could get, crop bars, etc., small doors and the base plates were concreted in. My garden is extremely exposed, but the polytunnel has withstood hurricane force winds over the last two years with no damage, other than a small tear in the plastic from a flying slate. Before construction I had spent the winter plotting the least exposed part of the garden field each time we had strong winds and I think this was time well spent. The poly tunnel lies side on to the predominant wind direction SE/SW. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[Berr]

Polytunnel for Caithness

Hello,
I've spent A LOT of time researching polytunnels prior to buying one- I've been doing it for years- literally. This, in brief, is what I can tell you. These are opinions of mine, not gospel. I don't think there's much to choose between one company and another as far as quality is concerned- it's a pretty simple affair, a polytunnel. The company "First Polytunnels" have a smashing website; they are efficient, and their erection instructios are superb. (they've also got a handy 16' wide version with thicker hoops than the 14'- might be a better option for you up there. ). Nothing wrong with Citadel or Ferryman either and there are many others, often big outfits that don't tend to advertise in the gardening press. The company I bought mine from, however, was Northern Polytunnels. Why? Two reasons: everybody in central Scotland whom I spoke to- all of them professionals- had Northern tunnels and heartily recommended them. The other reason was that Northern have a representative based in Scotland. (while I remember: I think there's a company called "Highland Polytunnels" which is a branch of Northern, based somewhere between you and me. ). He turned out to be very helpful. As far as price is concerned, you MIGHT save a few pounds by buying from, say, Ferryman but it wouldn't ,for me, have offset the advantages of dealing with Northern that I've listed. As far as the Caithness climate is concerned: the Northern Representative would advise you. I think I'm right in saying that you can have any hoop spacing you wish, even if, say, 5 feet is not mentioned in the catalogue or on the site. The more hoops the more you'd pay, obviously. I think he'd advise you to use timber base rails to which the polythene is attached (as opposed to burying it in a trench). The ground tubes are concreted in and the hoops slip into them. As regards the hoops themselves: the wider your tunnel the thicker the hoops. I'm pretty sure you'd NOT be able to specify a thicker hoop than the standard thickness for your width of tunnel. There is also an option with Northern of sides which are vertical to about 5', which is preferable to the standard 3' or 1 meter (costs a little more, but not much). By the way, the biggest problem with polytunnels is ventilation- you need as wide doors as possible. Also, the experts will tell you that wide and short is much better than narrow and long, because of better ventilation. I'd strongly recommend the Bernard Salt book "Gardening Under Plastic"; the one called The Polytunnel Companion is a complete waste of money.

Hope this helps. Did I say "in brief"! Feel free to ask about anything else I haven't touched on. Remember, I'm not an expert, just a very industrious enthusiast! ( By the way, I'm not connected with Northern, or with their rep.! ).
Berr.