[bailey]

hi all,
I,m a newbie here so i,m hoping to pick your brains,
I dare say  i will be posting on a regular basis for advise ect, I might eventually be able to offer some of my own,

anyway here goes the first and to start its probably in the wrong forum?

I will hopefully be inheriting as it were an allotment, it was regulaly used up until a while back when the the old fella could,nt keep up with it,, a good decent sized plot and my plans are only to use so much of it at first, but not allowing the rest to go wild , anyway it has a polytunnel which does,nt look too bad the only problems being the doors need refixing which will be an easy fix the other i,m not to sure about, when you enter the tunnel and look up to the roof as it were the poly has come apart leaving a big gaping hole, does the poly usually join here? as it seems as though some sort of seem has split, and if so what do you use to join it?
the rest of the poly looks in good order and if I would prefer to save it rather then replace.

any hints tips ect would be great

many thanks

[Clampit]

Hello Bailey, I dare say your poly has split where it has been in contact with a hoop or the ridge of the metal frame. Poly sheets are not normally in more than one piece unless your tunnel is over 250 feet in length.
You need to check the anti hot spot tape (the white stuff inbetween the metal tubes and poly) to see if it needs replacing. The surface of the tape should be smooth, if it is rough and flakey then replace it. You can get repair tape for poly which is uv resistant, it is quite expensive but very good, as long as your sheet isn't going in other places then I would recommend it.

I formerly worked erecting and refurbing poly tunnels for commercial and private growers for about eight years, working for National poly-tunnels and Fordingbridge, if you need any further assistance then please pm me and i will do my best to help.

[bailey]

hiya,, thanks for the advise but can i pick your brains a little bit more please?  been back today to have another look around as we don,t get it till sept,, the tunnel looks a proper tunnel (not home made ) the metal tubes are fine but the poly has torn because someone had put a piece of wood running down the centre of the tunnel, maybe as a temp repair or similar, I,m now looking at replacing the poly complete, what would you suggest as the best poly for the home gardener? would hopefully be growing toms, chillies, peppers ect so i presume what i may be growing may have some bearing on the type of poly?

the other general question I have is that the soil will need a good digging/weeding (within tunnel) but however I have access to a more or less endless supply of gravel, what I was thinking was putting some visqueen down and buliding a slightly raised bed with the gravel and then growing what i want in pots,, and all seedlings ect will be in seed trays ect anyway,, again a large supply of pots has come my way.

anybodies thoughts on doing this?

many thanks  bailey

[Clampit]

I'm not sure which Poly may suit you best, as I don't use a tunnel, one of the other members will be able to advise you better. As for the membrane, I would use mypex which is a woven material, it acts as a weed supressant but lets water through it. As for the length of wood in the poly-tunnel, i've no idea why it's there without looking for myself.

[vegmandan]

I agree about the weed suppressant,I wouldn't use visqueen as this will just get waterlogged.

I've had a polytunnel for years and the type of polythene I use is thermal anti fog.

It's more of a white opaque colour but lets through exactly the same amount of light as clear but it cuts down on condensation as the water drips dont drip but run down the polythene and also It helps to keep the heat in at night as it's thermal.

I've had the same cover on for 8 years now and I't is still like brand new so I think it's stronger stuff too.

The most important thing is to get the polythene as tight as possible as any loose flappy bits wil just tear eventually.

I'd also make yourself a raised bed to grow directly into too as you'll be amazed what you can grow,where as you'll be limited to an extent with just pots.