Anyone with an allotment?

Pulled a few leeks, carrots and spuds today - and the chooks are still on full chat with the eggs.

Bloody rats are back though. A few sessions with the air rifle called for. Little buggers laugh at spring traps and I refuse to use poison.

I’ve got some seeds to plant in January. Im hoping for a big year this year. 🤞🏼

Thinking of getting a polytunnel this year - where to buy/what to look for?

First Tunnels - I've had a lot of stuff from them - all good.
https://www.firsttunnels.co.uk/

Wow, not cheap then. Might have to wait for that one.

eBay or if you can get a second one that’s in good condition is always good.

Mine came from (I think) ‘Outsunny’ from Amazon. £200ish delivered and huuuuge.

Top tip - brace tunnels with metposts and vertical 3x3s. My first one was destroyed in a storm. Second one (braced) has been absolutely fine despite others on the allotments getting shredded.

Wow, not cheap then

No but worth it if you want the thing to last - the quality of the steel and polythene is way better than the cheaper toy stuff - think £99.99 bike :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmPpKyOq6S0

Can you do this in winter?

Yep, I mean it’s about 15 degrees at the moment. If the ground isn’t frozen and too waterlogged you’re good.

Good analogy. I'm sure they're good value, maybe a touch excessive for our fairly sheltered plot. Either way, out of budget for this season, something to consider for next year maybe.

I remembered my parent's neighbor owns a scaffolding company. I've put in a cheeky request for any castoffs he has, though not sure if that's really a thing.

Old scaffold boards make great edgers / planters / walking boards, grab those!
The short poles are good for hammering into the ground to secure palettes to make into waste bins / storage frames for canes. Longer ones (if you can get them hammered in!) with green wire strung between for all kinds of fruit / veg training up to save space :)

Well, if he's willing to give/flog enough long poles there's a sloped patch of my plot that's currently not working well that I want to construct some kind of platform over for compost/water/storage. That's probably the priority. After that DIY poly tunnel. I've been on the lookout for materials but coming up short.

a cheeky request for any castoffs he has, though not sure if that's really a thing.

I'm sure I've read that scaffold boards have to meet certain health and safety specifications so some old used ones may become 'available' .
The scaffolders that were here at my mansion block during a renovation left a stack of them behind.
Not for long though - I had them 😇

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If and when I get another poly tunnel I will put raised beds inside primarily to hold it down

That's smart, with the uprights is it for fruit canes an a cage?

with the uprights is it for fruit canes an a cage?

At the time I thought I'd leave the fence post uprights at their 6 foot as I hadn't decided what to do with them - 2 years later I still haven't decided.

How does that help hold it down?

Asking on behalf of our neighbouring plot…

Most polytunnels have a foot or so of extra material. Normally this is folded into a trench outside the footprint and buried to hold it down.

Internally I also drove metposts into the ground next to each upright and wired the uprights to lengths of 3x3 to stop the frame flexing in the wind (and work hardening = snapping).

I also did a bit of triangulation around the frame internally with more lengths of tube and duct tape.

I can see wooden framed raised beds replacing my posts if they are along the sides and wired to the uprights?

Anyway, my cheap as chips Amazon tunnel is huge and has weathered quite a few storms on our wind tunnel of an allotment (north south orientation, both allotments and tunnel).

Worth going the extra mile to avoid the heartbreak of turning up and finding it smashed - or worse. The tunnel on a neighbouring plot just disappeared a few weeks ago!

I can say with some confidence that our neighbours have done none of the things you listed there 😂

cheap as chips Amazon tunnel

How has the cover held up and for how long? I'm assuming it's the stuff that's reinforced with mesh? That seems to be the case for the cheaper ones, probably because taughtness, or the lack of it, is less of a problem. I've read stories of all the plastic degrading and blowing out leaving just the mesh.

Been up for two years and the only damage to the cover is where I hit it with my petrol strimmer.
Yes, mesh reinforced.
I did pad the apexes with tape to avoid rub wear.

Background of this shot for scale.

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Got to -4 last night. But switched on the heating in my HHSShed and all is cosy for a cup and a podcast listen before riding home.

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Comfrey aficionados, Should all leaves have died back now? Mine has, is this normal?

Yup, normal.

Thanks!