I’m building a Polytunnel.

[easyrider]

Beds seem really shallow, even for lettuce? I'm no gardener tbh, just keep a few tubs/terracotta pots

The grass will die off, decompose turn to soil...so the roots can go as deep as they need to.

 

[easyrider]

Looking fantastic mate, good job.

Now to start planting?

yeah...a few little things to finish up. Sliding door fixings etc....I had had a few seedlings on the go and some tomato plants I planted from seed and had in my conservatory....so I’ll transfer them. I have some strawberry plants to go in...I’ll transfer a few herbs from pots outside into it...

 

[easyrider]

 

[easyrider]

Nice work well done

Thanks mate....just got to sort my Pump and irrigation out....do you or anyone know about pumps....? I need to access the water from the IBC and ideally would like to use my hose and spray gun for now..

looking at one of these ...

https://www.waterpump.co.uk/dab-jetinox-132-m-garden-pump

and getting one of these that switches the pump off when I close the spray gun...so the IBC behaves just like a mains supply...


https://www.waterpump.co.uk/dab-control-d

 

[easyrider]

This was the run off today of the garage after I redirected both down pipes to the IBC....heavy shower lasting about 5 mins. Had to add water butts as the IBC began to overflow.

 

[easyrider]

That is stunning mate really well done, I do wish I had a larger garden

Thanks Amigo,


I ordered this today https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B08J452B57/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 to use my spray gun directly from the IBC

 

[easyrider]

What a wonderful build @easyrider , insanely jealous - my current yard is smaller than your tunnel (joys of a mid terraced house).

Thanks mate. I’m pretty pleased with the end result. Lots to learn

How big is your garage roof, don't think my house roof even catches that much water!

It’s a double garage with three stables attached to it....23m long x 6m wide...I redirected the water all to that IBC was amazed how quickly the IBC filled up. So I want to use this water as much as possible.

Wow that's a powerful pump, probably an overkill for a spray gun. I have something very similar, use it with a 19mm hose to move water from lower tanks up to higher tanks but the flow rate is too much to use anywhere near actual plants without blasting them out of the ground.

I watched this video and thought that looks beefier than the one I’m ordering and he’s was doing exactly what I wanted. The run from the IBC is about 25m so I’m thinking the pressure will drop enough for my sprinkler . I bought the regulator switch as well so when the spray gun is closed the pump switches off...open the gun the pump turns back on.

When using 19mm hoses which are far better than 13mm, you only need ~1m of head from an IBC to achieve perfectly decent flow rate for watering. In a polytunnel it's a good idea not to spray everything, try and keep leaves dry, the damp and high humidity can be bad.

I do most of my polytunnel watering with gravity fed drip lines, and the bits that aren't plumbed in I tend to use watering cans. It's great to water half the tunnel with a single turn of a tap.

Yeah with my spray gun I can get accurate watering under tomato leaves etc....I’m not sure how I could rig up a gravity fed system....do you have pictures of yours?

I just don’t want to have to fill watering cans up all the time...

 

[easyrider]

Our whole site is on a gentle slope, I store 8000 L off the house & veranda which is around 3-4m higher than the big poly some 30m from the house on a lower terrace.

But I also have a smaller poly, where I just have an IBC on a bank only a foot or so higher and that's enough head for the drip line/watering with the 19mm hose.

I think I need a few more IBC’s

 

[easyrider]

We have a couple of these round the back of the house, they are over 2m tall which helps with head and reduces their footprint:
https://www.tanks-direct.co.uk/enduratank-3000-litre-water-tank-non-potable/p534

I think I need a bigger tank

 

[easyrider]

It's a very nicely put together polytunnel you got the sheet nicely tight and even, good job.

Thanks mate. The aluminium base rail was so worth the extra in the end .

Honestly, the impression I got of you from your postings was of some all-thumbed useless git. I can hold my hands up though and say I was wrong - that's a really impressive job and some decent graft. My back was aching just from looking at the trench you dug to mount the posts.

Thanks This was hard work but the Pond build was Epic.

Loving the build @easyrider

Have you done a rough calculation of how much water you need per day ?

I watered it yesterday purely form the Waterbuts in the Car Port . I have rigged up a pump station in there to shift the water to the IBC or other places ( still to decide) I used about 1/3rd of a 210l butt .So around 70 litres

 

[easyrider]

I pumped some water from the car port Butts through a hedge to a container located as close to the entrance of the Tunnel to dunk my watering can. Multiple dunking was not fun . After watering the tunnel I went inside and ordered that pump so I could use my spray gun instead from the IBC I can easily pump this 630 litres from the carport to the IBC to top it up . There is power there and I’ll use the IBC as the main pump station area. @clv101 is right I need a bigger water storage solution certainly add to the capacity I already have which is around 3700 litres . I still need to gutter the polytunnel aswell going to use 16mm electric trunking.






I would love an underground tank next door to the polytunnel so I could direct water off the tunnel to it.

 

[easyrider]

You have a nice butt.

It's very impressive, but hard to compete with the real thing: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attra...nnel-Bude_Bude_Stratton_Cornwall_England.html

 

[easyrider]

Pump arrived from Germany works brilliantly....Ill post a quick video of it in action later...


EDIT: Open my spray gun pump comes on. Close the sprayer pump turns off.....

.

 

[easyrider]

 

[easyrider]

Impressive loving the thread, have you got a composte bin ?

Yeah got one at the bottom of the garden for grass cuttings and one by the tunnel for plants and weeds.

 

[easyrider]

Will you be selling the produce on the MM?

 

[easyrider]

Apart from the beetroot and radishes phenomenal stuff, are you recreating the good life?

I am aware I've just aged myself

Not a huge fan myself but I tired a Radish last night and it blew my kind

My dad loves beetroot and he pickles it…I don’t mind it with a salad…I’m slowly changing my diet….I’ll be baking bread next

 

[easyrider]

Wash top and tail beetroot and roast it, it becomes very caramel flavoured really tasty. The leaves can be used for salad.

I 2nd that roast beetroot fantastic stuff, worlds away from the pickled stuff you probably have always know.

I’ll try it !

 

[easyrider]

I think its overengineered with the paving and blocks most people will just plonk it on top of soil and leave it at that which also brings me on to the shallowness of the compost most people would simply rotovate and plant directly into the soil root veg will need a deeper soil and it'll likely dry out quickly but good on you for making the effort.

Hmmmm.....

I have planted directly into the soil...The bed floors are open and the roots can go as deep as they want.

You do know the grass that I covered with recycled brown paper will die leaving the rich soil underneath?

Also as the grass dies it will also release nutrients into the soil.

Exactly the same concept as my raised beds with bricks outside. Although only three bricks high the roots of any plant can go as deep as they need to.

My potatoes are loving the raised beds outside.

In fact everything is doing just fine at the moment.

 

[easyrider]

Will it need heating once we’re in the worst of winter?

I don't know but I dug in an electric armoured cable for power...I'll want some lighting in there at some point.