Extend the season in a Polytunnel

Having a First Tunnels Polytunnel brings a new dimension to your gardening. For a relatively modest cost, you can transform the climate of a sizable chunk of land and effectively shift your garden south several hundred miles.  Suddenly winters are shorter and milder and summers are long enough to grow all those flowers and crops that eluded you for so long. Tomatoes ripen earlier, in time for summer salads, you will get a decent crop of peppers and aubergines and you can have a year-round supply of salads.

Imagine digging new potatoes in June, when they are their most expensive, picking salad leaves in March and sun-ripened tomatoes in October! All this and more, is possible in your Polytunnel.

Garden in a Polytunnel all year round

If you’re only used to the timescale of summer fruit and veg that has been grown outside, the a First Tunnels Polytunnel will change your growing. Conventional wisdom goes out of the window as broad beans sown in Autumn can be ready in early May, tomatoes are tucked into in July, soft sweet strawberries can be gorged on from May to October and salad is to hand whatever month is it! And you can race your allotment neighbours to the first  new potatoes of the year. Dig over a patch of Polytunnel soil in winter and manure it well and try planting your first early potatoes at the end of February. Stick a fork into the soil and have an experiment look beneath the surface in late May. You may well unearth treasure! Sow your main batch of peas and beans in January, harvest your first courgettes in June and your carrots soon after!

As the weather gets warmer, the temperature inside your Polytunnel will soar, making thirsty work for your crops.

Polytunnel Irrigation Fun

If you are looking for a new or replacement Polytunnel, it’s well worth considering an irrigation system, as this will save you a lot of time in the long run. Not only will it make your life a whole lot easier, you’ll be amazed how quickly it will pay for itself in terms of time saved, saved money (especially if your water is metered) and improved productivity.

Polytunnel Irrigation

If your current Polytunnel doesn’t have an irrigation system, fear not, First Tunnels have other ways to keep your crops thirst at bay.

Polytunnel Soaker Hose

SOAKER HOSE

For use in any Polytunnel, whatever size. Simple to install, easy on water usage…Soaker hose releases water directly to the roots for no evaporation and fewer watering’s. It can be cut to size, works on sloping areas and gives water permeation of 12-18 inches either side of the pipe, depending on soil. By adding barbed fittings, endless combinations can be achieved.

Watch the video

Big Drippa Kit - Great for Polytunnels

BIG DRIPPA KIT

The Big Drippa kit is a practical solution for regularly watering your plants. The kit includes a large 10.5 litre reservoir bag and hanging hook, 5 metres of drip hose and connection, 6 adjustable dripper’s. Very quick and easy to install.

Watch the video

IRRIGATION CONTROLLER

Automatic Irrigation Controller

Its’ the ultimate time-saving device…a water timer that switches the irrigation on and off for you. With a watering duration from one minute to three hours and up to three start times a day, this easy to install, weather resistant controller is easy to use and features a manual override too.

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First Tunnels have a number of polytunnel polythene films available, helping you to achieve the most suitable environment for your needs. Nearly all First Tunnels polytunnel films are 720 gauge (180 micron) have a five year guarantee against defects in the film and cut to fit your Polytunnel with no waste and no cutting charge.  Why not watch the video.

Super Clear Polythene Cover for Polytunnels

Super Clear Polythene 720 gauge (180micron) Designed specifically for the UK where low light levels are common. This film allows 95% light transmission allowing through more of the light spectrum used by plants. It also scatters light entering the tunnel. FOR USE WITH All crops which are frost hardy, where you don’t need to introduce heat, such as over wintered nursery stock, hardy herbaceous perennials, or where the tunnel is only to be used for summer production of vegetables or flower crops.

Thermal Anti Fog Polythene Cover for Polytunnels

Thermal Anti Fog Polythene 720 gauge (180 micron) This film has added UV A & UV B filters which dramatically reduce many fungal diseases & condensation. It also contains an Infra-Red additive designed to reduce the speed at which heat dissipates out through the cover – in heated greenhouses 15-20% fuel savings are achieved. FOR USE WITH All crops where heat is important such as bedding/annual plants, propagation houses & over wintered vegetable production. “This is our most popular film”

Super White Polythene Cover for Polytunnels

Super White Polythene 720 gauge (180 micron) This film reduces light transmission to 70%  and ultimately the temperature inside the structure. This film is most useful where sun scorch is a problem for growers. It is also suitable for animal husbandry applications and other stock and storage houses where a great build up of heat is not ideal. FOR USE WITH those plants that would normally grow under a shade canopy, species as diverse as camellias and impatiens.

If you are looking to replace the cover of an existing polytunnel, working out how much polythene you will need is simple. First Tunnels has an easy to use polythene calculator. Just tap in the length and height of your polytunnel, plus the distance over the hoop and the online calculator will work out the rest – in feet or in metres! See Paul Peacock take measurments for replacement Polythene.

Lets see – Oh yes, April showers. Well, that’s not going to bother you in the Polytunnel. It’s a wonderful gardening space at any time of year, but particularly when it’s chucking it down outside.

Collecting Rain from a Polytunnel

April is the month when the Polytunnel Gardener has to start taking care of two vitally important things on a daily basis – ventilation and watering. The sun in April is as strong as the sun in August, even though it might not feel as warm.  In the sheltered space the the tunnel the interior can heat up extremely quick. Unless your careful, the combination of heat and a lack of water will quickly lead to crop loss.

Spend time ridding your polytunnel of slugs

Keep your eyes peeled for those pesky little slugs that will start appearing round about now. Unfortunately, little slugs have the habit of growing into big, fat slugs once they’ve feasted on the healthy plants you’re growing…which then have a habit of being not quite so healthy.
So…a little time spent ridding your polytunnel of slugs now will pay big dividends later.

For more really useful advice and tips, check out our monthly Growing Guides and Top of the Crops

With a bonus Bank Holiday thanks to the wedding of ‘you know who’, April is a fantastic month to find the time you need to catch up with all those essential jobs. 

So…if you need to re-cover your Polytunnel, clean your Polythene, replace tubes, or simply do a bit of potting on…now’s the time…First Tunnels have 10% off EVERYTHING!!!

Spring BBQ on the allotment

And if the weather’s as kind to us as it was in March, how about sneaking in an early BBQ too?

What to sow in your Polytunnel in April   – Cucumber, Sweetcorn, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Basil, Broccoli, Sprouts, kale – (to name just a few)

What you can Harvest in a Polytunnel in April  - Broad Beans, Cabbage, Turnip, Peas, Rocket, Spring Onion, celery, radish – (to name just a few)

Is it an April Fool? Have we lost the plot?……..

Not one. Not two. But three April offers! We must be mad.

10% off everything! VAT frozen at 2010 rates. Plus when you purchase a First Tunnels Polytunnel, we’ll send “FREE” ‘How to grow food in your Polytunnel’ and ‘The Polytunnel Handbook’ by best-selling authors and owners of First Tunnels polytunnels Andy McKee and Mark Gatter. Polytunnel gardening just got better value than ever!

10% off EVERYTHING!!