Greenhouse v Polytunnel.

[Darwin.]

This is my 3rd year with the greenhouse and 2nd with the tunnel. Last year was so wet and cold that everything went wrong and it we hard to judge. What I want to know is, from a growing point of view is there much difference? Are there things that do better in one than the other?

All I've planted so far are some onions in the tunnel yesterday so hopefully now I'll find out where to put everything else.

[Alison]

I too have both but have them for different purposes. The greenhouse is only 6ft square but is at home and that means it's fab to bring on plants and I can easily control what is in there. I don't have beds in there as the soil was quite poor so grow mainly in pots. The tunnel is 10ft by 20ft and is at the lottie, I grow in beds there and it's big enough that I can rotate the crops. I use it all year round for various things and obviously there is much more space. Don't think I've ever grown onions in there (apart from early / winter sowings of spring onions) so not sure how well they'd perform - at the moment my tunnel has some spring cabbages, early spuds, peas, mange tout, broad beans and some salad stuffs where as the greenhouse is mainly small pots of things like sprouts, shallots and leeks which are being started off for sowing outside later.

[Darwin.]

My greenhouse is 14' x 8' with raised beds both sides and at the back. The tunnel is 26' x 10' with raised beds on one side and on 18' of the second side. I don't grow veg outside at all, just fruit and berries.

[roitelet]

The difference between the two is that the Greenhouse will be warmer as the glass holds in the heat better where as the poly tunnel doesn't hold heat but gives protection.

[Aberdeenplotter]

nah, I don't buy that un. Both just outside refridgerators in winter. Chances are glass house will be colder as it is impossible to seal totally between all the individual panes of glass whereas a polytunnel doesn't have that problem. Both are sheltered growing environments. Depending on the size of a tunnel, it can be difficult to keep cool in summer. The bigger they are, the more difficult they are to keep cool. Many tunnels slope inwards from ground level although with a larger investment one with vertical sides can be bought.

No difference in the type of crop that can be grown either.

Obvious downside with a tunnel is that its skin has a limited life. Mine split this winter and over £100 to replace .

[SarzWix]

If it were me, the tunnel would be utilised early on for things that can also grow outside but grabbing an earlier crop such as broad beans, peas, salads, onions (over-wintered) early potatoes etc, then fill it up with tender plants over summer like sweetcorn, French beans, butternut squashes, courgettes, cucumbers. Then replace those with autumn/winter crops like cabbages, broccoli, peas, salad leaves, onions etc. The greenhouse I'd use early in the season for seedlings and getting things started off, then later on fill it with tomatoes, peppers and chillis. Any overspill from the greenhouse can be slotted into gaps in the tunnel. The reason I'd do it that way is because things like sweetcorn and French beans will get too big for the g/house and tomato plants will be easier to keep an eye on for blight and moulds in the greenhouse.

[SarzWix]

Also, I'd set up a couple of beds outside the tunnel because some things that you'll probably want to grow will be really unhappy inside and hot through the summer, like lettuce and salad leaves, spinach, summer cabbages and broccoli, spinach, turnips and swedes, leeks... The lettuce and spinach would just go to seed if they got too hot for e.g.

[VirginVegGrower]

The difference between the two is that the Greenhouse will be warmer as the glass holds in the heat better where as the poly tunnel doesn't hold heat but gives protection.

My polytunnel has repeatedly shown warmer temperatures than my greenhouse. Yesterday it got up to 22°c in there, whereas the greenhouse showed just 15°c.

I use my greenhouse for tomatoes, peppers and all my seedlings. I have in the past used it for cucumbers and melons, but this year they are going into the polytunnel.

[Martin H]

then fill it up with tender plants over summer like sweetcorn,

I like the principle. But, does sweetcorn grow okay under cover? I've always assumed that because it's wind pollinated you would get a lot of gaps on the cobs?

[SarzWix]

A chap on our allotments has grown fabulous corn in his tunnel for a few years now, so I'm giving it a go this year. You can actually see the pollen collecting on the leaves of plants so it's not a problem to waft some about on a paintbrush just to make sure.

[Linzy]

We had a tunnel for awhile and i found that you can grow pretty much anything in there, i cramed mine full and got good crops. comes int its own in a summer where you cant go into the greenhouse due to fear of melting and the tunnel is hot but as i could open up both ends it hd a lovely through breeze

[Darwin.]

It's so exposed and windy here that I can't grow anything like corn outside, even the rhubarb would be better off inside because it snaps outdoors. I've grown corn in the greenhouse the last two years and it's done alright but not wonderfully for me. I'll plant it a little earlier this year and see if that makes any difference.