We needed some temporary storage for keeping the elements off some small farm implements and thought a domestic polytunnel would fit the bill and, if it lasts long enough, could be reused for ‘kiln’ drying wood when the storage problems get resolved. I also had wondered if such a thing would be any good for creating a moveable cloche in the fields for sheltering the giant pumpkin plants. Only one way to find out; so onto ebay for a look at what is available.
A 6m x 3m x 2m would hopefully have enough height to allow the implements to be put through the door so searches were restricted to this size. I discounted anything with painted metalwork (as this has been next to useless on previously purchased gazebos and the like) and went for galvanised.
Our £118.90 purchase arrived very quickly via Yodel in two heavy boxes. In between the seemingly never ending downpours, I have got the polytunnel assembled in probably around 4 to 5 hours total without any assistance.
The steelwork is a league different in quality from that used in a commercial polytunnels but I was surprised how rigid it all became once bolted together. The steel tubes all fit perfectly (some long nose pliers were required to take out a few dints in the ends of a few tubes but nothing major). All the holes aligned and the exact number of nuts and bolts were included in the kit.
I made my own ground anchors from 8mm steel rods – eight in total were used, evenly spaced around the perimeter of the base.
All four of the ‘number 4’ tubes were rusty which was a shame but not really bad enough to warrant the delay in returning them to the seller. They can always be painted in situ.
Having noted the necessity of hot spot tape on our commercial polytunnels I thought it daft to not pay the extra and get some tape. I used six rolls of 25mm x 9m hot spot tape at £1.95 a roll +p&p bought from ‘dandbtapes’ again via ebay. Five rolls will cover the hoops but the sixth roll is needed to do the face side of the ends of the polytunnel (I don’t know if this is necessary but it is what the professional installers did on our commercial tunnels). The tape was excellent quality and did a really good job.
The sheet was unfolded and lifted on unaided and was surprisingly easy get in place. Having sheeted a real polytunnel this really was a joy to fit! It has zipped doors at both ends (something that wasn’t clear in the ebay description so that will be useful for airflow if it ever gets used for drying wood.
The velcro fasteners worked surprisingly well but problems noted where three of the fasteners were sewn in at the wrong position (very odd given how precise all the others were) and also a small gap where the stitching around a door had been missed and left a gap. It will fix with clear tape so again not a problem big enough to warrant a return in my eyes.
Even taking into account the few (avoidable) problems encountered, I think it is a really good buy and am pleased with how it all went together. How long it lasts remains to be seen but it is definitely a cost effective solution for the problem it was bought to fix. Will it work out in the fields – I don’t think so. I don’t think it is maneuverable enough. Once the cover goes on this one I might use the frame as a support for mounting a wind break around a giant pumpkin plant.