Hi & welcome,

you could try ebay we paid a lot for ours 5 years ago but our neighbour got one last year second hand off ebay they just had to go & dismantle it themselves , it was a great bargain !
We have 3.5 acres - 8 hens 1 cockerel, 5 dogs & 2 cats, an orchard & a polytunnel,a veg patch & a fruit patch -have fun & enjoy yourself!! Good luck.

I have been planning to build a polytunnel here, but have concluded that the galeforce winds that are a feature of the climate for 10 months of the year are probably going to destroy it, so am compromising and constructing mini-tunnels over the relevant raised beds. Basically a bent piece of polytube at each end, and the middle, a plank screwed onto the top of the arch that creates, and sheets of weighted plastic that can be rolled down either side and fastened in place. The lower profile will, hopefully, reduce wind resistance and give me better environmental control as well as I can raise the plastic on hot sunny days, and drop it for frosty nights so as to capture the warmth in the compost medium the plants are growing in. Also designing the layout so as to encourage air movement even on a still night by incorporating slope and so forth. I have yet to see if it will work, of course, but it is a thought you might like to follow up.

Hello!! I have a first tunnel,very pleased with it. How exciting to start from scratch,I suppose the first thing would be to plan well and prepare well. It is a good idea to do things properly the first time round ie rabbit fencing where needed and getting water where you want it etc.It saves a lot of frustration later! Sorry I did not say hello earlier must have missed when you first posted. Hermit

Yes, planning before acting is essential. Even if, as has happened here, the plan has to be revisited every time a tradesperson sets foot on the place and does something unexpected

Be interesting to see how your mini tunnels work Ozzi. Might be useful for others in similar situations.

Will report back when they are up and running - will start a separate thread.

Ozzibain, I make mini tunnels for brassicas salad etc the same way but I use 'enviromesh' over them. It is a very strong plastic/nylon type mesh that protcts from buggies, makes a microclimate and it rains through it.It allows wind through as well so you dont have the resistance there. I just hold it down with tent pegs. Mine is from a company called Agralan, they are on the internet. Hermit

Um, Hermit, what are these buggies?

Did you mean bunnies or did you mean it keeps off the butterflies. Sorry, didn't think before posting as you could have meant either. Having a bad day today.

Hi Hermit - that sounds like an idea - I assume enviromesh is something like shadecloth? Will have to google to make sure. I think though, that a plastic layer would be desirable as it would provide some protection from the odd late frost that we get around here. I am trying to design the garden layout so that cold air 'drains' around the raised beds to the lower part of the garden where less vulnerable plants will go ... Lord the things you have to think about once you get started ...

Can the cold air drain out of the garden Ozzi, or do you have a hollow in one place?

I have a hollow at the bottom of the garden. Unfortunately the land rises slightly the other side of the fence. But have put the hedging plants down there, in the hope that, since they will be dormant in winter, they will cope OK.

With the new evacuated tubes hot water system, there is a good chance i will have so much hot water I can run some pipes under ground and have some early crops up by the house ...

But that remains a bit of a pipe dream at present (no pun intended).

Sounds really good, but leave enough for a nice long hot bath for yourself.

More like an interesting concept, that I may or may not explore I think. Depends on how much HW is used by the radiator in the bathroom that the plumber is making for me.

I meant butterflies etc, but you must keep the enviromesh off the veg as butterflies can lay through it. It is a plastic type mesh very close weave so acts like a mini polytunnel anyway. A picture of mine is on an old thread called Brassica mesh advice needed if you want to have a look back at that. It does keep bunnies off as well, the little blighters got into my veg patch but not at my cabbages.