Polytunnell

We have the type where the plastic is buried in trenches to hold it down. That works well once it's done - but it takes a lot of digging and you need a good team of people to erect it. If you have very stony ground the work is even harder. Fortunately, we have several friends with similar tunnels and we all help each other. It gets a lot easier once you have done one as there are good and bad ways of doing it.

There is also a type which has bars along the base to tension the plastic - they are OK but need care when inserting the plastic into the channel - it's easy to tear your expensive new covering! They also need to have the legs set into concrete - a friend's tunnel blew away (it's amazing how far they can go!) because the legs were not secured.

Also - install the plastic on a warm day - it helps to get it tight. And keep cats off the tunnel! - ours has gathered little holes at both ends where our cats have climbed - they love getting on the top and batting flies trapped inside the tunnel. Any tips on how to prevent this would be welcome!

Thanks for that Peter. We will need a lot of Wwoofers so! Also we have a cat!

Hi Hannah I am a happy tunnel owner coming into my second year, Mine is the trench type and very secure even though we live on a very windy hill.Simon Cummins was the supplier, we found he went out of his way to help us with replacement covering and erection. Had several disasters with plants last year but learnt by our .mistakes, and looking forward to a very fruitful summer. Good luck and Enjoy Sylvia

Hi Peter,
getting rid of cats in specific areas is easy. Cats hate water!
One of my cats went climbing onto the Polytunnel and a quick heavy watering with the hosepipe removed her easily.
For stubborn cats you might have to repeat the treatment,but they'll connect climbing up the tunnel with a bad experiance,but won't know you did it,
because you didn't touch them.
I'm busy at the moment to water one of my cats out of the tunnel,which seems to be an attractive oversized cat-toilet.
We also keep a small sprayer on the kitchen table labelled " cat-remover ".
For all the ones out there that don't want cats at all,and they pop round from the neighbours,throw them into a pond or tub of cold water.Sounds extreme,but it works! Good luck

Hi Hannnah - you may well have purchased your tunnel by now - if not - we've just bought what we think is a real bargain..

There's a guy in Reenaree, Co. Cork that is making and selling them for under €400 for a 24'long, 14' wide tunnel... My father who has plenty of experience in erecting tunnels was expecting it to be poor quality and flimsy, but was impressed with the steel used for the frame and the overall tunnel itself. The guy even gave us some extra long legs, so we could gain 7ft height as we are both tall...

If you want any further info, let me know.

Jackie