The first dry day was perfect for the installation of the ground anchors which thankfully didn't require a calm day but did test our mathematical calculations (and patience) to the limit. Eventually we had 12 foundation tubes fixed in the ground and vertical thanks to the trusty spirit level. You can see the ground is sloping but apparently that is ok as long as we keep everything straight with the spirit level.
With future maintenance in mind we decided to lay weed matting under the sides of the polytunnel so hopefully we won't have to mow too close to the polythene. I'm not sure what Jess and Finn think is going on but there seems to be at least one dog in every photo.
The first couple of hoops seemed to be really difficult to put together and it wasn't until we stepped back to look that we realised it was completely wonky. We had watched the 'How to' video about 10 times but still managed to do this.
So with the hoops the correct way they fitted together beautifully and it wasn't long until we had something vaguely resembling a polytunnel structure. As we can get some pretty fierce storms we opted to buy our polytunnel from Northern Polytunnels and as an extra precaution elected to purchase the extra bracing poles horizontally across the centre and from the top pole down.
The matting was rolled flat again so we could fit the door frames in; yes the matting doesn't quite cover the whole floor but that's fine as we're aiming (eventually) to make the left hand side a full veg bed. We also had a few cutoffs to finish off the little gaps beside the doors.
We ran out of a bit of steam and only got one of the doors installed before it was time to call it a day. Looking good so far; it looks like it dips in the centre as we need to lift the the centre hoops once the polythene is on.
The next day we finished off the second door with Jess and Finn for company. Finally that was the framework all up and ready for the polythene.
With the weather improving it was time to think about moving Spot and Ginger from their winter home back down to their summer enclosure where the grass has been growing beautifully. However, this meant walking them past the green house down by the orchard and across to their gate, quite a long way to try to walk 2 huge pigs. It seemed prudent to attempt this move before the polytunnel polythene was on, just in case they decided to go walk about. So off they went from this barren mud bath (winter enclosure) to:
this fresh green grass paddock, although to be fair they will probably make short work of turning it into a muddy field again.
After an eventful walk (Ginger wanted to investigate the woods a little) we had 2 pigs back in their enclosure with both the orchard and polytunnel intact. It didn't take them long to settle back in.
Apparently M had put too much straw in the ark and so a little bit of housekeeping was in order until it was acceptable.
The windy weather returned for a few days so we took to the barn to get the doors ready for any break in the weather.
This is the part I was definitely dreading the most. Despite watching the video another couple of times it looked like the most challenging stage. With a slight breeze the polythene unfurled quite easily over the framework, then we just had to try to get it secured.
The worst bit was definitely trying to pleat the polythene around the door but after a frustrating few hours we (mainly M) finally got there.
After a little trim around the edges it was starting to look really good. You can probably tell from the cloudy skies that the weather wasn't great and it was oh so cold.
And once the doors were on it was time to pack up and finish for the day.
A very pleased M spent a day barrowing wood chippings into and around the polytunnel (very handy we had a huge supply of them after our Easter wood chipping week). He also laid some concrete slabs at the doorways so we won't be traipsing mud around too much.
The plan was to completely cover the floor inside the polytunnel. This year we are going to put some raised beds (made by M of course) on the left side before probably turning this side into one large planting bed. Our old PatioGro will be at the end on the right hand side with a dedicated tomato area (utilising growbags) next to it. As always our best laid plans may be subject to change but it's a good starting point.
So there we are, all set and ready to go. No doubt there will numerous updates during the summer and we'll see how we manage to increase our productivity by prolonging the growing season.
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