Kitchen Garden Forum

I've been procrastinating for ages re: greenhouse or polytunnel on the plot now I know we can stay. I have researched so much and asked so many questions I have confused myself. What I hadn't factored in was the changes in the plot rules & regs.

You can have a greenhouse or a shed, actually polytunnel not mentioned, but discussion with committee says you can but with same limitations on one or the other & same size as greenhouse - 6' x 6' & although there are bigger ones on the site, there is a wee paragraph that excludes them from the new contracts. Now I have a shed & wouldn't give it up, so with some help from one committee member he advised anything netted is counted as a fruit cage & you can net your whole plot if you like!

Guess who's getting a Walk in Wonderwall thingie for Xmas? Measuring up tomorrow! Now is your last chance to advise me on your personal experiences if you have one or know someone that does!

Dear Westi, looks as if it will be down to you to let us know how you get on with....when you have got it, of course...

Surprised you are not allowed a small shed and a small greenhouse....the two go hand in hand really!

Well I suppose now you know you can stay, an enormous tightly netted fruit cage where you can stand up and also grow greenss where the cabbage butterflies can’t get in might be a useful facility. Could you then not cover part your netted fruit cage with some huge sheets of transparent polythene sheeting for a little bit of extra weather protection although I,d be very tempted to go for a small greenhouse as well on the grounds that it was ordered before the new rules came into being so was permissible under the old contract! My other half always says it it’s it better to ask for forgiveness than for permission ! You will have a big Christmas wish list this year!

Westi, I am not sure how often you get snow in Christchurch (and, obviously, if we are EVER going to get snow again!), but just a warning: a flat-roofed fruit cage covered in thick, damp snow is likely to collapse or the netting will break. A small greenhouse with a sloping roof is a safer proposition. Have fun, whatever you choose!

Westi/Monika
I see you mention snow on a fruit cage. Can be disastrous, but I found a leaf blower a great way to clear it!

Have you thought about one of those sheds with a sloping glass side that could be forstarting things off, winter protection storage and a cuppa. Might be easier to break into though.

Don't have to worry about snow too much down here John, but they are like a poly tunnel frame but covered in netting so sloping. They apparently stand well with snow anyway. Primrose, great minds etc - I've already thought of putting up some polythene over one end of it under the netting, mainly for blight protection for the toms.

Looking at their prices I can have something quite a bit bigger than I planned in the budget. And as they are easily movable; I will put that to the test in a years time, but handy as it doesn't interfere with the crop rotation either. Been on uTube and they do need some minor adjustments as the entrance isn't that user friendly & a bit of re-enforcement may be needed on the polythene end due to the extra weight.

Westi, tread carefully if they are easy movable they will also fly away in a strong wind ,if you look at pollytunnels they are securely fixed down except for the cheap fly away ones

It's a pity nobody has got one of these and has come back to say they are fantastic. I've never seen one in the flesh but all the adverts give me the impression they are a bit flimsy. Need to read the installation instructions before purchase I think to check out how they are anchored, might be good to see if they give the specification of the plastic tubing so you can look at some to see what it feels like. At say 10m/30' long one of these is £384 whereas a steel tunnel with a mesh cover is almost twice at £740, that might say it all.

I've never seen one erected but plastic tubing is not very strong

robo wrote:I've never seen one erected but plastic tubing is not very strong

Could always fill the plastic tubing with sand.

It's not so much the plastic tubing as the plastic joiners that are smashed by the first stiff breeze(mine didn't last one season).

I believe you put slightly wider tubes into the ground then slot the frame poles into them. I think you'd also have to peg the netting around the base somehow - best go back on site and see if there is any instructions then. The one thing that annoys a bit is the bloke on uTube used cable ties to join his netting & the ends weren't cut off which annoyed the obsessive compulsive in me. He wasn't 100% happy & made adjustments but happy enough to think of getting another one - mixed message there!

More research then- who does the steel framed ones Geoff?

There is a mesh cover option for polytunnels, the one I quickly checked was First Tunnels.

Oh - thanks Geoff! Never realised you had a choice. Can feel my size option shrinking by the minute!