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I've previously had a couple of Polytunnels.
I started off with a 3x2x2 initially, then upgraded to a 5x2x2 and I loved it.
I would have gone with a 6x3x2 but I couldn't squeeze it into my old garden without cutting down at least 3 trees that were at the bottom of the garden and the ex missus was totally not having any of that considering the trees had been there 16 years longer than I had... That and I already spent a huge amount of my very sparse "free time" at home in the tunnel working on the Bonsai and flowers.
This year I find myself with the rare luxury of not only having far more space to play with (due to taking on my first allotment plot!) but without the constraints of having to deal with a woman in my life. (Having giving my missus the big elbow and moving out of the house and getting my own place, woohoooo!)
I've turned over around half my full size plot so far, chucked a bit of veg in to grow, planted a decent chunk of the remaining Bonsai collection in pots I managed to get out of my old house still alive (Though lost around 250/350 seedlings/saplings and other trees grown from seed that were placed in grow beds), and even though Summer has not exactly hit just yet; I am already thinking ahead about overwintering the stock I have and am currently growing from seed.
This includes Bonsai trees, seeds sown into trays that are still waiting to germinate and the eventual seedlings sown this year; and I am running a little late due to moving and trying to set up the allotment so I've had to sow at home and use my Balcony, spare room and grow tent with T5 lighting for propagation while trying to catch up to where I would normally be by now. Also in very much the same situation with growing flowers from seed sown this year.
So I've been mooching around for Polytunnels and as size is no object now realistically, I thought I might as well go for the size I actually wanted last year, 6x3x2.
It seems as the title of the thread suggest I think this year general use Polytunnel "technology" or features are finally catching up to where us as end users need it to be.
Dome shaping reduces height or grow room we can utilise.
Water collection from PT's is not impossible but it could be made easier.
Zips/Zippers are a constant weak point.
I nearly fell over out of my chair when I came across this...
6m x 3m Polytunnel Pollytunnel Polly Tunnel Greenhouse Green House + Metal Door | eBay
I also have to point out 32mm frame instead of 25mm or 19mm!
Straighter sides with a curved roof for increased working height. For me this means taller staging, more shelves of seed trays or trays with pots in, so much more "stock" down each side. Or in my terms, racked and stacked to the max!
The windows can be rolled up and allow water collection at source. For me this is now not such an issue as I have access to a water supply very close to my plot, but even still; being able to collect rainwater is vital for me as I own and like to grow Carnivorous plants and having access to rainwater saves me the faff of having to leave tap water outdoors in the sun all day.
No zips??? The 2 PT's I owned so far both had issues with the zips after prolonged use. The first tunnel had a zip fail, thus rendering the cover next to useless as even with Black Nasty tape securing it, it still meant getting in and out of the tunnel was a pain with only one side of the door being able to zip/unzip. The zips snagging or not zipping shut in perfect alignment 100% of the time causing the zipper tape to create a small hole is annoying enough in good weather, but it always seemed to wait till the rain had just started hammering down or the wind just went from mild breeze to "Why are there sheep flying overhead!" to malfunction.
So, is the Polytunnel above worth the price tag of just shy of £200?
Anyone have one of the "new generation of tunnels", and if so what do you think?
Is it living up to expectations, is it better or worse than the usual PT's? Or is it worth sucking up the potential extra costs and either building a custom tunnel or looking at getting a bespoke tunnel made from a commercial merchant?
My only niggles are:
The width of the doors, probably could get a barrow through, but one of the perks of having a 6x3 PT should surely be a nice big doorway! I guess double doors or a larger single door front and back causes problems somehow, but for me, would been nice if it was a big fat door.
Also, for this amount of cash, 32mm frame or no, I'd really have liked to have seen a 3rd roof bar in there in the middle of the roof and maybe another bar down the side at the midway point, just for that extra beefy sturdiness and peace of mind.
Also, a bit more generous with the extra material on the "skirt" of the cover to make sure that sucker can be buried good and hard as that is a large object for the wind to hit side on! I used to stake my old frames in with metal posts and use wire to ensure the frame was solid before adding the cover and actually turning the cover "skirt" inwards so the weight of my hand built Pallet staging made sure the tunnel was going nowhere. Not sure I can get away with that in a 6x3 as it'd require a lot of staging to be built and I can't currently lay my hands on enough Pallets to secure 12M length of Polytunnel, lol.
Thanks for reading, and more thanks if you reply, sorry for the long post but this is something I need some feedback on, as I need a PT fast and one that will serve my needs for the next few years.
I started off with a 3x2x2 initially, then upgraded to a 5x2x2 and I loved it.
I would have gone with a 6x3x2 but I couldn't squeeze it into my old garden without cutting down at least 3 trees that were at the bottom of the garden and the ex missus was totally not having any of that considering the trees had been there 16 years longer than I had... That and I already spent a huge amount of my very sparse "free time" at home in the tunnel working on the Bonsai and flowers.
This year I find myself with the rare luxury of not only having far more space to play with (due to taking on my first allotment plot!) but without the constraints of having to deal with a woman in my life. (Having giving my missus the big elbow and moving out of the house and getting my own place, woohoooo!)
I've turned over around half my full size plot so far, chucked a bit of veg in to grow, planted a decent chunk of the remaining Bonsai collection in pots I managed to get out of my old house still alive (Though lost around 250/350 seedlings/saplings and other trees grown from seed that were placed in grow beds), and even though Summer has not exactly hit just yet; I am already thinking ahead about overwintering the stock I have and am currently growing from seed.
This includes Bonsai trees, seeds sown into trays that are still waiting to germinate and the eventual seedlings sown this year; and I am running a little late due to moving and trying to set up the allotment so I've had to sow at home and use my Balcony, spare room and grow tent with T5 lighting for propagation while trying to catch up to where I would normally be by now. Also in very much the same situation with growing flowers from seed sown this year.
So I've been mooching around for Polytunnels and as size is no object now realistically, I thought I might as well go for the size I actually wanted last year, 6x3x2.
It seems as the title of the thread suggest I think this year general use Polytunnel "technology" or features are finally catching up to where us as end users need it to be.
Dome shaping reduces height or grow room we can utilise.
Water collection from PT's is not impossible but it could be made easier.
Zips/Zippers are a constant weak point.
I nearly fell over out of my chair when I came across this...
6m x 3m Polytunnel Pollytunnel Polly Tunnel Greenhouse Green House + Metal Door | eBay
I also have to point out 32mm frame instead of 25mm or 19mm!
Straighter sides with a curved roof for increased working height. For me this means taller staging, more shelves of seed trays or trays with pots in, so much more "stock" down each side. Or in my terms, racked and stacked to the max!
The windows can be rolled up and allow water collection at source. For me this is now not such an issue as I have access to a water supply very close to my plot, but even still; being able to collect rainwater is vital for me as I own and like to grow Carnivorous plants and having access to rainwater saves me the faff of having to leave tap water outdoors in the sun all day.
No zips??? The 2 PT's I owned so far both had issues with the zips after prolonged use. The first tunnel had a zip fail, thus rendering the cover next to useless as even with Black Nasty tape securing it, it still meant getting in and out of the tunnel was a pain with only one side of the door being able to zip/unzip. The zips snagging or not zipping shut in perfect alignment 100% of the time causing the zipper tape to create a small hole is annoying enough in good weather, but it always seemed to wait till the rain had just started hammering down or the wind just went from mild breeze to "Why are there sheep flying overhead!" to malfunction.
So, is the Polytunnel above worth the price tag of just shy of £200?
Anyone have one of the "new generation of tunnels", and if so what do you think?
Is it living up to expectations, is it better or worse than the usual PT's? Or is it worth sucking up the potential extra costs and either building a custom tunnel or looking at getting a bespoke tunnel made from a commercial merchant?
My only niggles are:
The width of the doors, probably could get a barrow through, but one of the perks of having a 6x3 PT should surely be a nice big doorway! I guess double doors or a larger single door front and back causes problems somehow, but for me, would been nice if it was a big fat door.
Also, for this amount of cash, 32mm frame or no, I'd really have liked to have seen a 3rd roof bar in there in the middle of the roof and maybe another bar down the side at the midway point, just for that extra beefy sturdiness and peace of mind.
Also, a bit more generous with the extra material on the "skirt" of the cover to make sure that sucker can be buried good and hard as that is a large object for the wind to hit side on! I used to stake my old frames in with metal posts and use wire to ensure the frame was solid before adding the cover and actually turning the cover "skirt" inwards so the weight of my hand built Pallet staging made sure the tunnel was going nowhere. Not sure I can get away with that in a 6x3 as it'd require a lot of staging to be built and I can't currently lay my hands on enough Pallets to secure 12M length of Polytunnel, lol.
Thanks for reading, and more thanks if you reply, sorry for the long post but this is something I need some feedback on, as I need a PT fast and one that will serve my needs for the next few years.
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