So how is this beast constructed? Good question. The frame comes in four huge hoops with one swinging door at the front of the tunnel. The frame is made from a rust-resistant tubular steel, powder coated to enhance the frame’s overall strength and extend its lifespan. Unlike the other polytunnels we have looked at so far in this review, the VonHaus polytunnel frame is connected by screws and bolts and not plastic attachments. This feature works hard to reassure me of the sturdiness of the polytunnel, however it does of course make constructing the product that little bit harder. Despite saying this, with all of the assembly parts included, in addition to clear instructions to help the user, the assembly of this product is surprisingly easier than you would expect – plus once you’re done assembling the tent you will have a structure the size of a shed, so the assembly process is bound to be a little longer than that of VonHaus’ smaller counterpart polytunnel. After framework, the next most important consideration is the quality of the plastic cover – this is the very first thing that goes or gets ripped, always. In fact, one I had deliverd had a rip by the zip – if I am honest, overall I was happy so I didn’t return it: A polytunnel I bought and tested just recently had a rip in the seam from new! Placed over a polytunnel plastic, the net provides shade and significantly reduces the temperature inside. Given this is 90cm odd high you’ve got loads of options – firstly you can get in and work no problem, secondly and also very favourable is the possibility of raised planters. You can grow your veg inside these without the worry of invasion – or at least far less! The big plus is it’ll trap the moisture so you’ll end up watering less too. Perfect to keep young plants protected during harsher conditions, this polytunnel is supplied with high-quality, durable, metal pegs to ensure it’s always secure to the ground. If you decide that your crops are ready to face the weather alone, simply move the lightweight tunnel to your next crop or deconstruct with ease for use again next season.

What I’d use at home: Outsunny Steel Frame Poly Tunnel or the CHRISTOW Grow Tunnel Greenhouse, Garden Polytunnel for non full height and the FeelGoodUK PRO if I need taller These handy tips are more than enough to see you through a simply install but a further bonus is to have a cordless drill and impact driver with the correct size hexagonal bit for the nut – normally 8-12mm that I’ve seen in my experience assembling these kits.

Grow a variety of flowers, plants and vegetables in this 3x2 metre polytunnel by Garden Grow. Constructed using powder coated steel frames covered with a waterproof PE protector, this polytunnel is durable and easy to construct. You'll probably have a good idea when the time's coming up to replace your polytunnel cover and ideally, you'll want to wait for a warmish day to do it, as it makes the polytunnel plasticmore flexible. It's not essential though, especially if you have the option to re-tension the cover after fitting. However, to make the taskas straightforward as possible, wait for a calm, non-windy day. Why not read our blog on covering a polytunnel for more tips. If you want you can re-stitch that, I just don’t think the aesthetics is anything to worry about at all and so duct tape is the solution. The real solution after that though is hot spot tape. What is hot spot tape? Basically it’s a foam tape that reduces the stress between the metal pole and canvas. The softer edge means when the window blows it’s much less likely to become a problem with damaged corners – and that’s where it always starts. This green 47% shade net is ideal to be used on a polytunnel with or without a polythene cover in place. Used on its own a net cover provides shade, full ventilation, significant reduction in wind speeds, and still allows rainwater to filter through to the plants. It also provides excellent crop protection from birds and insects. The competition is tight, but price tends to be the decider so, in my humble opinion, the VOUNOT polytunnel is the best polytunnel on the UK market in 2021.

Temperature control for during those summer months is also important. Obviously part of the reason you will be purchasing your polytunnel is for it to absorb some of the heat from the sun to keep your plants warm, but during particularly warm summers this can actually make it too warm in your polytunnel – making it unpleasant both for you and your plants! Some of the best polytunnels actually have temperature control technology for over those summer months to reduce the extreme temperatures that can develop! Assembly Aside from this feature, essentially everything else is the same between the VonHaus and VOUNOT polytunnel, apart from one essential detail – the price. Given the fact that both polytunnels measure 2 metres in height, 3 metres in length and 2 metres in width, both have the same strong and sturdy frame, and both have ventilation windows, you would think that they would cost the same. However, VOUNOT is considerably cheaper than its competitor VonHaus, which is the very reason it wins the top spot on this list. The only thing it’s realistically missing but I can accept at this price point is a pivot door like the FeelGoodUK PRO– that would have elevated this unit a long long way and secured top spot – with the new range next year I’ll be paying close attention but for now, this is my top spot. Pros:A polytunnel is essentially a long grow tent, typically made from a steel frame with a polythene cover suspended over the top of the frame. They basically take the place of the common greenhouse, but due to the materials the structure is made from, polytunnels tend to be cheaper and easier to maintain and transport. Like a greenhouse, the whole point of a polytunnel is to aid crop growth, which is essentially achieved by extending your crops’ growing season by providing a warm and toasty environment for your crops to prosper in. What I’d use down the allotment: Garden Point Green Polytunnel or the BIRCHTREE depending on what size I need. Soil and loads of it, bury the entire edge of your cover- they are in fact in most cases designed with extra skirt so you can do so. In the event you have a quality pivot door like the FeelGoodUK PROmake sure you still allow enough space for it to keep swinging Suttons strives to ensure that all its plants are delivered to you in the perfect condition for planting. While the majority of our nursery plants cope well with slight delays in intransit, sadly, the time it takes to deliver to certain locations in the UK means that we can't guarantee this for some of our smaller plug products and tender bedding and vegetable lines, which do not respond well to the extra journey time. So regretfully while we offer the majority of our live plant offering nationwide, we are unable to ship plugs, begging plants and tender vegetable plants to the following areas: HS, IV41-IV49, IV51, IV55-56, KW15-KW17, PA34, PA41-48, PA60-PA78, PA80, PH40-PH44, TR21-TR24, ZE1-ZE3. This article will be focussing on using your polytunnel for crop growth, so if that sounds like your kind of thing, then stay tuned. Before jumping straight into the range of polytunnels available to the buyer on the UK market, it is first important to know exactly what you should be looking for in your search for a brand new polytunnel. What you need to known when buying a polytunnel

From years of experience though I prefer to use 22mm pipe cover. This can be installed after you have the cover on – a massive advantage over hot spot tape if you are doing this retrospectively: Using pipe cover is far more effective than hot spot tape as it can be done retrospectively and is cheap too Assembly and Ease of Use Weigh the thing down big – you’ve seen above what happens when you don’t – ensure you have a good amount of soil ready to load up the sides – or sandbagsGarden Point Green Polytunnel – bit of a tear on the corner – is there anything duct tape won’t fix? 😀 The framework is a pretty sensible 1 inch bit of steel tubing. Yeah it’s enough, no it’s not the most solid but here we are discussing budget – not the absolute best. And no, if you bang a load of earth, or bags of dirt or sand filled over the edges this won’t go anywhere. My preference would be level ground but you can build up the sides to keep it level if necessary but not essential because this is a roll up door and you won’t catch it like some of the models that do have a pivot door – however much easier that are to use like the In general, you will find that polytunnels are arched in design (like a tunnel) – the purpose of this design is to allow them to be more windproof and aerodynamic so that they are not as battered by the Great British weather! However, there are downsides to this design, as you are going to have the “wasted” space towards the base of the arch to consider. Your other option is a more rectangular design with straight sides which is obviously going to eliminate this issue of headroom and wasted space. But, you are going to need to make sure that your polytunnel is well protected from the wind and has a strong enough build design to combat this!

And what with the laws about glazing down the allotment now, these are in hot demand seeing as they cost much less money than a greenhouse with polycarbonate glazing. Polytunnel – an allotment necessity To add extra support the corners have got a lower cross brace, this is definitely needed on such a large area – the metal rungs or hoops if you prefer are broken into one metre centres and you’ve got the standard screw type bolts that will keep it all taunt no problem – this is pretty much ideal as allows 6 window slots all the way along. The 2.5m is pop riveted together which makes life all the simpler and is a no tool assembly. Our final product is the VOUNOT polytunnel greenhouse, another absolute beast of a polytunnel which is incredibly similar to the huge VonHaus polytunnel described above. Hot spot tape is going to really reduce tears like this on the corners of the frames in particular that you can see on the Garden Point– don’t panic though it’s far from over. This one is old and has lasted very very well indeed. I couldn’t recommend it to people enough at the price… Garden Point Green Polytunnel needs hot spot tapeNaturally, it is this part of the polytunnel which is the most exposed to the elements, so it is essential that the plastic used is waterproof and tear proof (hard to find) – in case the weather gets a little too wild. Likewise, any windows or doors which are built into the polytunnel must be fully sealable, otherwise you might have leakage issues. Price Old sash weights –If you can find a sash window company that does replacements then you can duct tape or tie them to the corner and centre uprights of your frame. This is a remarkably good and cheap way of reducing costs: Sash weights work as superb ballast for a polytunnel Bolts are normally 8 to 12mm and an impact driver makes this a breeze as well as can really secure the bolts