Rescuing an old Pollytunnel

[Fred]

Our polytunnel has been one of the best things we have ever purchased and now we have moved we decided to see if we could rescue it and put it in our new garden.

It has been there for around 10 years and the last couple of years unfortunately we had neglected it a little, so it's now time to give it a new lease of life and start getting some nice fresh veg again.

The cover still looked good but as it was buried in the ground it was going to be a big job to dig it out, it also had a large bush pushing against it from the back so we decided to buy a new cover. We got the new cover from the company we first purchased the polytunnel from "First Tunnels" they gave excelent service 10 years ago and I'm pleased to say they still give excelent service and quality.

I can highly recommend First Tunnels you can find them here: https://www.firsttunnels.co.uk/ *Not an affiliation link, just a company I have used a few times that gives good customer service.

This is how she looked.



We cut the old cover off and set about rescuing the frame. (We kept the old cover as it's handy for making small cloches)



This is the frame removed and taken to it's new home.

[Fred]

Ok lets get the space ready.

We have found it's best to remove the turf first, it's hard work but worth it in the long run to make sure you get all crap out of the ground.

There are plenty of tips about putting up your tunnel on the First Tunnels website so I won't bore you with the details apart from say it's hard work. You can get ones that use a base rail if you don't want to dig a trench, but I prefer to bury the cover as it stops weed penetration.

Marked out and ready to start.



Turf all off. (You'll need a beer after that)



Next we need to dig holes for the anchor plates that hold the hoops into the ground. Then it's just a matter of assembling all the metal work.



Once the frame is built it's time for some more hard work, see next post.

[Fred]

Now we need to add the door frames and dig a trench all the way around the tunnel. The trench is to hold the cover down, there is no way it's going to blow away with all the dirt back on top off it.



Next you need to drag the cover over and bury it. There is also a bit more to do with nailing battens around the door but check out First Tunnels for all the info.



There you have it, the trench is filled in and the doors are hung. (We used the old doors as they just needed a good wash)

And here she is fully rescued and ready to be used once again.



If you've never used a Poly Tunnel I can highly recommend you give it a try. Even a small one can give you a lot of fresh produce.  

[Fred]

All coming along nicely.





Planted some Strawberry's on the outside.



And this side is for the Asparagus.

[Fred]

All coming along nicely.

[Fred]

Doing well, we have been eating plenty of early potatoes, peas and broad beans.







Chilli's in pots.



Courgette.



Tomato plants coming along nicely. (the yellow flowers on the plant in front are from a Pak Choi we are keeping for seed)

[Fred]