[Madame Cholet]

I visit the lotty 2-4 times a week would I be-able to use a poly tunnel or bottle green house with out watering every day? May be amovable one in spring and autumn?

[gypsy]

It depends what you are growing in there, but I doubt it.  In summer some stuff needs watering twice a day and you may also need to open and close the door/vents when the days are warm but the nights are cooler in spring and autumn. Good luck whatever you decide

[Sparkyrog]

October to march possibly ,not in the summer .

[cadalot]

How does rick van man on You Tube get away with not visiting all the time then?

[wbmkk]

How does rick van man on You Tube get away with not visiting all the time then?

Don't know the answer to that one, but for anybody interesting in an allotment or a newbie, his series is very good. Maybe, as he is using large containers now in his tunnel, made from kids' paddling pools. If the plants were in smaller pots, they wouldn't last so long without watering.

OK, he's not the best gardener, but his video technique is 'tip top' and he can make even the boring jobs seem exciting. I think his last one currently in number 81. To find, do a youtube search for Rick's Allotment 23, or whatever number you want. the first ones started out as Rickvanman Alllotment.

[cadalot]

Mr Sam the Allotment Man on You Tube has a drip watering system set up in his greenhouse see his first video

[Kristen]

Dunno about tunnels, but the crops in my greenhouse are planted in the ground, rather than containers, and are only watered 2 or 3 times a week.  If you can automate the irrigation that would solve that problem

opening/Closing Ventilation would be my bigger concern, but once the night temperatures are above 10C (min) then leaving the ventilation open would be OK, although I think the plants will grow faster if tucked up for the night in the late spring / early autumn, and I only leave my ventilation "ajar" at night during the summer.

[Steve_LF]

I've set up a self watering system, I have an old loft tank with a tap drilled in the bottom and a battery powered timer bought from Amazon that allows you to set the time interval for watering and the length of time.   This disperses water into a reservoir that feeds some plastic plumbing pipe with holes drilled in it for drip irrigation.   I checked the flow rate and it's about a litre per minute so I was able to do some calculations to work how how often and how long to water in order to make the water last all week.

I was able to grow cukes, toms and chillies in my polytunnel this summer using the system.

There might be a better or cheaper way to do the drip part of the system, but I'm, happy with it.

[Eblana]

I have set up a watering system from a water butt.  I used soak hose (the stuff with all the tiny holes in it) pinned down with bent wire and I got an automatic timer second hand off one of the websites. I set it for once a day for an hour and then just top up the butt when I am up there. Works very well.

[AlaninCarlisle]

most things in my polytunnel are planted into the ground which although well dosed with rotted manure is quite heavy and claggy. Most things survive on a twice-weekly watering. Stuff in containers however needs daily watering

[Madame Cholet]

Yes I was thinking of in the ground may be to bring on less tender stuff and leave the doors open.

[Steve_LF]

Mine uses the ground for planting, although if you dig down much more than a spade width, you find lots of building rubble/rubbish from some works that must have gone on before the allotment was opened.  I plan to dig in some farmyard manure soon in order to "refresh" it.

[3759allen]

I prob wouldn't advice it.

i've had one since last winter. i think to get the best from it in spring and autumn you need open and close the vents / doors in the morning and night to try and keep the temperatures up whilst still drying the condensation off. however you could still use it in summer and leave the doors fully open day and night, just cover the openings with netting to keep any pests out.

as far as watering goes the only way it would be possible would be through sinking 2lt bottles in the soil (top cut off and no lid or whole drilled in the lid) and covering the ground with old carpet to keep the weeds down and more importantly the moisture in the soil. i was very surprised that the ground under my marrows (couldn't water as couldn't see the holes in the carpet they were planted through) was still moist when i removed them.