Grow Your Own Magazine

HI everyone
I am thinking of buying a polytunnel, can any one give me some advice on
1- what can be grown all year
2- best type to get
I have just had my first and a good growing season, apart from my brasicas turning into food for lill green things (now very big and content green things !!) Thanks.....

My Mother in law has one with wooden doors that don't seal particularly well and have been blown about a lot.

A neighbour has one in a sheltered spot but has aluminium doors that are very robust. The advantage he has is he can put a screen at one end (to keep out beasties, but it also blocks the pollinators) and leave the doors open if they go away for a few days in summer.

I couldn't get over the temperature that can be reached in a short space of time! Phenomenal. We're even thinking of putting one up for leisure activities, perhaps for one of the small blow up pools (3ft deep) and a seating area, and maybe if my wife doesn't read this - for some exotic veg.

Both my M-I-L and neighbour have peach trees. Ma in law has a lemon tree and an orange tree (more shrub sized really). The orange tree is grafted onto a lemon tree stem and sprouted from the lemon section and gave us a full sized lemon. Very nice in a Gin and Tonic after a long sunny day in the garden. Wasn't that sharp either when we tasted it. (Mouth now watering as I type this!).

The tunnel brings everything on a lot earlier (4 weeks but this was our first year) but as I only get shelf space at the start of the summer I can't tell you what the gain would be at the end of the year.

Hi, I live in Cumbria so the weather can be a bit wet at times! I use old net curtains draped just inside plastic to provide shade. I use black pond netting at the doors to keep out butterflies, birds and my dog.
I grew outdoor cucumbers-they were good, tomatoes, courgettes, pak choi (great), rocket, mixed dalad leaves, butternut squash. I'm not great at gardening so they must be easy to grow! I am mainly organic-except for slugs! Peppers and chillis were no good for me.

Hi Michael,

Get hold of Bernard Salts book 'Growing under plastic' I had this as a present and am thinking of a polytunnel for the lottie now He claim that spring is 4 weeks earlier and winter 6 weeks later plus you can go in to drink your tea when it rains if your shed is a full as mine

basically there are three uses of a tunnel, the first is the "tropical" summer crops, tomatoes, melons, pumpkin etc. the second is to extend the season at both ends for the normal outside veg, carrots, beans, beetroot, potatoes etc. the third is to grow winter veg like pak, ccoi, mitzuma etc.

one of our 2 tunnels is half covered with strawberry plants, we were picking from april till october last year, at the moment we are picking pak choi and mitzuma. usually we can pick dandelion leaves by the end of feb, we try to plant a few beetroot in late autumn to pick the leaves in march.the stumps from last autums greyhound cabbage will soon be sprouting into spring greens.
some broad beans will be going in this weekend, we will be able to pick beans a month earlier than the outside ones. carrots and beetroot will follow closely.
we got the kids a 12 foot pool for xmas and are intending to put that either under a tunnel or a "plastic covered shed" to get more use from it. who knows with some solar panels we may get a dip next christmas day

Hi ric,

re the solar heating, I know someone who used some old radiators painted black in a wooden frame with a perspex cover over to do just this with his smimmong pool. He claimed it lifted the temperature by 3 or 4 degrees (big pool small rad I guess) so who knows, cheap heating for the green house?

As to Dandelion leaves I can pick them all year round I must spray the vacant plot next door