Gardening.ie

My polytunnel is due to arrive in a few days but after last night's hurricane conditions have i just put €600 into the fire. What can i do to protect my new investment?

Noel

Hi Noel.

There is a very high casualty rate for tunnels in Inishowen (the ones at Loreto house blow down every year)

There are ways to protect them though.

Good windbreak. Hedges,trees etc and if necessary the webbing you can get. I used the green webbing but that gives very little protection. You can get black strips of plastic that protect better but it comes at a price. It's amazing how much you could spend once you start.



One thing I learnt as well that if your tunnel looks like it is going to take off, cut the plastic. It sounds a bit extreme but if you let the pressure build up the wind flattens the frame. Cutting the plastic is the least expensive option as it is cheaper to replace than the frame. Hopefully it wont come to that but it's worth knowing.

I was at a friends house today looking at their garden trampoline. The storm lifted it up over a fence and flew it into thier house. It was flattened!

Oh yes, the way the plastic is put on is important too. It needs to be tight. Therefore it is a good idea to put it on when the sun is shining on it. It will need lating out over the frame for a while to expand before you secure it otherwise it will go floppy in the summer sun. I'm sure the instruction manual will tell you that.

You might have to recruit a few people to put in on too

I'll have to pop over and have a look at the site, get the kettle on!

Cheers

Ian

Ian, Absoloutely, welcome anytime but be prepared for a virgin site, no paths made etc, I'm presently collecting seaweed from the shore(one advantage of the storm) to place on my beds and awaiting the polytunnel. I was thinking of planting a willow hedge to sort of buffer the wind as protection, handy fire kindling as well.

Rgds,
Noel