So excited! Polytunnel ordered! :D

[marchogaeth]

I have 90 tomato seedlings to find a home for

That will be the tunnel full before you start then! Did you get crop bars? They are invaluable for hanging things from (like baskets if tomatoes, gloves, tools, washing, fleece when you're not using it): putting cross canes on for tying to: holding on to as you swing from bed to bed (I'm down to the world's tiniest paths) or when cleaning the sides.

If you haven't I really would consider them, I think they added less than £40 to my costs and even though they were sold in pairs Five Star Ploytunnels(included for balance!) let me have three at the same unit cost.

Enjoy.

[SarzWix]

The 'super' has an extra hoop Chris, so the spacings are 5' between hoops, whereas the standard has 7' between hoops. And by 'path', I mean the path outside the tunnel, through my plot, rather than the internal path

I have ordered crop bars marcho; we didn't order them for the school one and it was a mistake - putting strings up for the tomatoes etc is quite hard without them!

Also getting timber base rails, and wide doors. Didn't go for the sliding doors because we've found them quite difficult to secure on the school one - there's not a lot of space to fit padlocks. Biggest challenge is going to be getting the ground clear and level I think, and then putting the foundation tubes in square with each other is the next hardest bit.

[chris]

Ooh right ok that makes sense now - outside path

[lottie dolly]

wow,now that is a very happy ending to a story,good luck with all who grow in her,see what happens to nice girls eh,you would have made a BIG mistake selling the car,

[Pa Snips]

Nice one, Sarz, I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun in it.

[marchogaeth]

Also getting timber base rails, and wide doors. Didn't go for the sliding doors because we've found them quite difficult to secure on the school one - there's not a lot of space to fit padlocks. Biggest challenge is going to be getting the ground clear and level I think, and then putting the foundation tubes in square with each other is the next hardest bit.

Mine is dug in to help with surviving the 60 mph winds we get every so often. No crop bars must be horrible. I wish I'd put some string over the central bar sometimes even with crop bars. Also, I recommend hot spot tape on the down diagonals if you are likely to get strong winds. Even with tight polythene, the wind pushes the side against them and rubs a line. I have squeezed some repair tape over the pole now but hotspot tape would ahve been better.

With laying it all out, the thing to remember is that a 3,4,5 tringle will make a right angle so you can use three bits of string to double check everything. We got through it without major headaches!

[VirginVegGrower]

We get hotspot tape with the Haygrove, but I'm not sure where we are supposed to put it

[marchogaeth]

We get hotspot tape with the Haygrove, but I'm not sure where we are supposed to put it

It should tell you in the instructions but... the name is a bit misleading, it is not just for where the frame might get hot and damage the polythene, it is for anywhere where you might get rubbing between the frame and the cover. The Five Star people are very generous in the amount the give you which was great, we put it everywhere we thought there might be rubbing, we just never realised how much the polythene could "give" in a strong wind. (The cover is still too tight to need the hoops raising.)

[SarzWix]

We got a lot with the school tunnel as well, so stuck it to every bit of metal that might possibly touch the cover

[Bren In Pots]

Congrats Sarah on ordering your tunnel and on keeping your car

[Aberdeenplotter]

Well done you. A polytunnel not only expands what you can grow but expands the season you cangrow in. Enjoy

[Tripmeup]

Congratulations Sarz.


Don't forget to leave room to park the car in !!