Inside the new polytunnel complete with poly cover and ready to go.
We have now covered the polytunnel and it is usable providing we use pots to grow in as the floor material needs to be cleared and the new layer of compost put in its place. We have left one-third of the tunnel open to start clearing the sand down the rear end but will only do small amounts as it is very warm in the tunnel to do too much heavy work.
Our neighbour did comment that it is a BIG tunnel but as I explained to him it needs to be a fair size for the number of plants we shall be growing inside it. For this year as we are growing in pots, we have 20 Italian Plum tomatoes and 4 Moneymaker tomatoes. There are 6 pepper plants and 5 Aubergines along the front Southside of the tunnel.
Looking from the rear of the tunnel towards the double aluminium doors.
In addition to those there are 3 citrus plants, 1 Tangerine, 1 Lime, and 1 Orange and even though they have only been in for a short time the new growth is remarkable. We did get two small tangerines last year so we shall see what happens now they are in the heat!
There will be 2 cucumber plants, one at each end and they will be trained up to the crop bars above head height and along, so the fruits should hand down and grow straight. Loraine has also planted a Courgette in a black bag full of well-rotted horse manure which is responding well so far. They say if you plant 2 courgettes in a polytunnel, pray that one of them dies as you will get so many courgettes you can never use them all.
We have placed our small new fig tree in the tunnel.
Having purchased a new Fig tree last year that too has been given space in the tunnel to see how it fares. Since putting it in there the new leaf growth has been extraordinary and although we will not get much this year, subsequent years should provide good crops of Figs. Yummy…..
Last, but not least, is a Kiwi plant. This will be trained along the North side of the tunnel along the crop bars and we are hopeful that there will be a bountiful crop of fresh, tasty Kiwis in due course.
Besides the digging out of the sandy materials in the tunnel, the only other big job to do on it is to finish the Ventilation system. This sits on the Southside and consists of a wind up/down mechanism which drops the poly cover when you do not need ventilation, but winds up to reveal a section of fine netting that goes along the entire length of the tunnel to provide relief from over hot conditions. Having concreted the holding pole at the West end of the tunnel, we just need to cut the poly cover to length, clip it onto the 6-metre pole and connect the winding mechanism.
The ventilation section waiting to be fitted up and connected.
As you can see from the above photo, the excess poly cover is being held down with 5 bags of cement to stop it from flapping around. In the foreground, the pole is in situ, set in concrete, and lined up with the edge of the tunnel.
it shouldn’t take more than a few hours to finish this off and have it in operational use.
As we dig out the sand and rubber from inside the tunnel we can get to the lower layer of white crushed stone which will level off the trench around the tunnel, inside and out. This will make it easier to pull out weeds.
All in all, the tunnel was fairly easy to put up, just like a BIG mechanno set, for the older guys out there, and as the cover was in three sections that too was a job for two people. Although more never goes amiss.
The edges of the tunnel are held down in metal struts that run along the edges and you use ‘zig-zag’ wires to hold the cover in the struts. The beauty of this method is that the cover can be swapped over much easier than a one-sheet tunnel. Maybe….
Hope you enjoyed the piece and if you would like to know anything about the tunnel and where I got it from just contact us and we shall reply.