← The polytunnel
H11-01 · Module 1 of 7 · Pages: 20 · Worksheets: 7
Planning a polytunnel: size, site, type
How big a polytunnel your family needs, where to put it, which type and cover to choose and what it all costs, before you buy the first hoop
Secure checkout with Stripe · VAT included · The PDFs are in the language of this page.
Whole series: The polytunnel, €39
In short
- For all warm-season crops, allow roughly 13 m² of polytunnel per adult. A family of four: about 50 m² (540 sq ft).
- December sun decides the site: at UK latitudes the midday shadow is then about 3.8 times the height of a tree or house.
- Never in a frost pocket, on wet ground or in a strong wind corridor.
- Narrower and lower is not cheaper in the long run: a small air volume overheats in summer and cools fast in winter.
- Choose the frame for the snow and wind where you live, not for the lowest price.
What's inside
Chapters
- What a polytunnel gives you, and what it doesn't
- Types: from fleece to glasshouse
- How big: the sums for your family
- Site: sun before everything
- Snow and wind: what it has to withstand
- Cover: polythene, polycarbonate or glass
- Buy a kit, have it built or build it yourself
- Planning, neighbours and grants
- The first year with a polytunnel
- Most common mistakes
- Printable checklist
Worksheets
- Site score
- Size calculator
- Site sketch
- Questions for the seller
- Comparing quotes
- Budget
- Planning year
Fields and checkboxes can be filled in with Adobe Acrobat Reader (desktop and mobile), and the calculator adds up by itself. Filling in may not work in some browsers. A print version comes with the screen PDF.
This guide in other languages: