Got me a polytunnel

yop

So I went a bought a poly tunnel, 25ft by 16ft.

I am in the process of deciding on what raised beds I am going with. But I have this in mind and would appreciate advice.

I am going to put down weed protector on the floor.
Then I will have raised beds, 3ft wide on both sides. Running back to front.
One side will be 18" high. On the right I will have 1/2 of it 24" and the other half 28".

In the middle then I'm creating a bed 50" wide with 16ft planks. That will be 12" high.

Do u line the inside of the timber with plastic to help it not rot?

I got the depths from there. http://eartheasy.com/raised-beds-soil-depth-requirements.html
So that should allow me to plant anything I want.



I am getting soil from a mushroom grower, I THINK that should be good stuff?

Then I am thinking of running a water pipe over head and will drill holes so that I can turn it on and spray the beds. Lazy way.

What about hanging then from the roof, do ye do that?


Any critical advice etc appreciated

looksee

I just got some timber raised beds made and the guys lined it with some sort of black plastic stuff (the sides).

twenty8

Depending on what you are going to grow - I'd suggest that you don't put a hose up high. Some plants (in particular tomatoes) hate getting their leaves wet and if you combine that with the hot muggy air of a tunnel then you have a recipe for blight. I lost my crop the first year and then changed to a drip irrigation system. Haven't looked back.

best of luck with the tunnel! I love mine.

Begs

I've tried various watering systems but imo the cheapest, easiest, and best is the porous soaker hose. I just put one 4m length of it per bed and switch it on weekly-ish and give the place a good soak.

As twenty8 says, some plants like / others dislike water on their leaves, so I tend to target those with a fine spray of a hose every few days.

lazybones32

The plastic-lined timbers isn't essential if you are using them in a poly. If it was outdoors, yes, I'd recommend it. The soil and air inside the poly will be dry enough to prevent premature rotting.

Like other posters wrote, avoid an overhead hose. You need to water the soil more than the foliage, so there is little point watering areas that won't benefit the plant and will only create conditions that are suitable for diseases, mould etc. A perforated/drip-feed system isn't necessary if you come out and give the root area a good soaking as required.

yop

Thanks for all the advice.

Okay, so scrap the hanging hose idea then. So where does the drip irrigation system hang/sit with regards the beds?
And not going to line the beds with plastic.

I'm going to grown potatoes, carrots, lettuce, parsnips, herbs, tomoatoes and then after that I will experiment to see what I can grow.

Berberis

I've been growing in my Polytunnel for past 3 seasons and still learning. Tunnel is 18ft by 50ft and I put raised 3ft wide beds along the sides of the tunnel and a 6ft wide raised bed along the middle and 2ft wide paths either sides of the middle bed between that and the outside beds.

My raised beds are only 10 inches high and I did not put any weed block down as I needed/wanted more than 10 inches of soil and anyway most weeds in my beds are usually small ones which are pulled basically as the arrive.
I would agree also about not having overhead irrigation as the tunnel will be very humid and will lead to ideal conditions for pests and disease.

I did toy with the ideas of seep hoses but in the end I water with hose as you will find that most of your crops will need different levels of watering and also some like Tomato's will be requiring regular feeding and you will need watering can for this. Bear in mind also that you will also have crops of different levels of growing stages and a lot of crop rotation which in turn will need different levels of watering.

I have 2 double doors 6ft wide either end to allow plenty of ventilation and put 30 inch high wire guard across the doors to prevent rabbits getting in and some netting above this to prevent birds and butterflies but to allow the bumble bees access.
I have sown early potatoes end of January and eating them by middle May which is ideal as by the time I'm finished eating them the outside earlies are ready.

Have grown carrots spring onions, beetroot, Lettuce ( gotten 3 crops per year of these) Sweetcorn, Tomato's butternut squash, courgettes, Leeks, Cucumbers, Peas and trying Aubergine this year.

Things that did not go well for me in the tunnel are cabbage, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, (better suited to outdoor) as too warm in Summer, but am going to plant some cabbage seeding's this weekend in Tunnel for the winter and try again.

Also when the weather has got very warm and sunny or when I am going on holidays, I pull some netting over the tunnel to add a bit of shade.

Oh and if you can hang a few baskets from the centre rail you can be eating strawberries from as early as end of April

iainBB

Why not put it partially underground like this. So that you can how all winter long.

yop

Thanks guys, Ive started making my beds. Ill take a few pics when I get a chance

lazybones32

yop wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice.

Okay, so scrap the hanging hose idea then. So where does the drip irrigation system hang/sit with regards the beds?
And not going to line the beds with plastic.

I'm going to grown potatoes, carrots, lettuce, parsnips, herbs, tomoatoes and then after that I will experiment to see what I can grow.

The drip hose is one you run along the surface of the beds over the roots or close to the stems of the plants you want to water. If you have 2 beds in the poly, it might be better to buy a cheap length of hose and perforate it yourself (after laying it out first) so you don't waste water by watering the path - or even buy a hose specially for the tunnel and use that to water. I've never pinched holes in a hose before but I imagine it's monotonous.

A few other bits:
I know one man who grew spuds in a poly and they put on serious foliage growth but the spuds never developed. Others grow them inside and they're fine but it can happen.
Plant marigolds among your carrots to help disguise them from carrot fly.
Start with a little lettuce. Unless you eat loads.
The tomatoes will need vertical support of some sort.

Offgridcoe

May be a bit late as you have started beds but all above advice is spot on, only thing I would add is instead of weed protector put down cardboard. Stops the weeds long enough to kill them and let's the local worm population travel up into your bed. My local furniture store was happy for me to take as much card as I wanted and bit more organic.

iainBB

Offgridcoe wrote: »

May be a bit late as you have started beds but all above advice is spot on, only thing I would add is instead of weed protector put down cardboard. Stops the weeds long enough to kill them and let's the local worm population travel up into your bed. My local furniture store was happy for me to take as much card as I wanted and bit more organic.

Cardboard is king we use it every year to suppress weeds. Amazing free stuff

barry75

Yop just with the mushroom compost I would mix it with 50/50 topsoil and add in some grit,as mushroom compost tends to be very alkaline in nature( it will raise the Ph of your soil in the beds).Its very good to add to heavy clay soil to loosen it up.
With my raised beds I used left over rolls of DPC to line insides of the boards to stop the soil rotting the boards over time.
If you could get your hands on a load of well rotted manure from a farmer and add it in the bottom of the raised beds.