[safetrade]

I have a 20ftx10ft polytunnel and I was only going to grow sweet peppers in the Borders but after looking at it today it seems like a lot of space is going to be wasted above the peppers as they only grow about 2ft so I was wondering wether or not to put some form of shelf up or am I being too greedy,I don't want my peppers to suffer through having too much in there what do you think.

[arugula]

I understand what you mean. We don't have staging but just grow shorter plants at the outer edges and taller plants in towards the centre of the tunnel. This works especially well if the taller plants are ones which need support, such as tomatoes or cucs, as string can be attached to the struts running the length of the structure. It is a homemade tunnel though...

[mumofstig]

In my g/house i have staging that I can take the tops off once the tomatoes (which I grow underneath/through) get too tall - but the tops when on definitely throw some shade on the stuff growing underneath. In a polytunnel I think you may get more light near the plastic, but wonder if there would be too much shade by the time you get further from the edges  not much help

ps my peppers often get up to 3ft

[shokkyy]

The How to Grow Food in Your Polytunnel book describes how to make a hanging shelf that looks very useful for staging. Sadly I can't do that because you need cropbars and I don't have any in my tunnel. Since I only have a door at one end, I've put a good double shelf staging bench at the other end instead. But the book reckons the suspended staging shelf doesn't rob too much light as long as it's not solid.

[sunshineband]

Even the bases of the pots, and the slats on suspended staging do reduce light levels I'm sorry to say.

I have staging at the far end of my minitunnel so that there is somehwere to put plants growing in modules earlier in  the season, but I dismantle it when it is time to plant inot the ground

[safetrade]

I have no crop bars either unfortunately   I think I will just leave it as it is and make sum thing up when the time comes to re cover it that way I can add some crop bars and take it from there.

[Headgardener22]

I hadn't ever thought of putting up shelves above plants in the polytunnel, I'd always assumed it would take too much light out. I might give it a try across one end.

What were you thinking of growing? Hanging strawberries perhaps.

[safetrade]

strawberries and mainly for bringing on young plants until it's time for them to go outside

[Headgardener22]

I'm going to try putting a narrow (1ft) shelf above the door at one end and put a growbag on it with some strawberries in it (I've got some plants I didn't plant out at the end of last year), just to see what happens.