Help with outdoor tomatoes - Project Completed!!!!

[pmac]

At the end of the path? If that's where you mean there's actually room for a good sized greenhouse and I thought she'd like the idea. A lean too would make sense too but she's adamant that all she wants is the thing that came today. I'm hoping they'll just send a new cover rather than swap the whole thing as a new cover is all it needs. If she likes it when/if we get it up and running I could add a second or we could maybe go for something grander if she gets more into this.

Silicon the pipes together and make sure it’s pegged or buried into the ground these have a tendency to fly away easily.
There’s a uk growing group on fb I’m in and at least 4/5 if not more didn’t last the wind a few weeks ago.

Been doing a light bit more gardening over the past few years with the kids but lockdown gave us the chance to kick it up a gear.

Probably spent far more than I will recoup from what we eat in the next few years but the kid and I have enjoyed it and they actually want to eat or at least try stuff they haven’t had before.

Pretty much had salad and pak Choi 2/3 times a week each since we started and about 20 radish.

Toms are the one I’m Most dubious about they nearly died in the frost and look good then look like there about to die every other week.

We spent about £300 prob in total with the wood/ cheap poly tunnel and all the compost(think I’m at about 20bags now)

Got toms,cucumber,courgette,lettuce,pak Choi, gai lan/gai choi(two more Chinese cabbages), cabbage,broccoli, kale, radish,beetroot, pots, peas, sugar snap peas, broad beans,cuca melon, shark fin melon ,chilli and peppers plus herbs.

 

[Bobsyeruncle]

Silicon the pipes together and make sure it’s pegged or buried into the ground these have a tendency to fly away easily.
There’s a uk growing group on fb I’m in and at least 4/5 if not more didn’t last the wind a few weeks ago.

Been doing a light bit more gardening over the past few years with the kids but lockdown gave us the chance to kick it up a gear.

Probably spent far more than I will recoup from what we eat in the next few years but the kid and I have enjoyed it and they actually want to eat or at least try stuff they haven’t had before.

Pretty much had salad and pak Choi 2/3 times a week each since we started and about 20 radish.

Toms are the one I’m Most dubious about they nearly died in the frost and look good then look like there about to die every other week.

We spent about £300 prob in total with the wood/ cheap poly tunnel and all the compost(think I’m at about 20bags now)

Got toms,cucumber,courgette,lettuce,pak Choi, gai lan/gai choi(two more Chinese cabbages), cabbage,broccoli, kale, radish,beetroot, pots, peas, sugar snap peas, broad beans,cuca melon, shark fin melon ,chilli and peppers plus herbs.

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Looks great.

 

[Cobra]

At the end of the path? If that's where you mean there's actually room for a good sized greenhouse and I thought she'd like the idea.

All I meant was you could build / buy a compromise between the poly thing and a full size greenhouse?

 

[woof woof]

She's refusing anything grander that what we ordered at the moment but we'll see if she changes her mind if she gets more interested.

I've already got two lengths of wood painted and drilled and ready to be screwed to the brick posts as seen in the picture above. The vertical cold frame will be secured to them so hopefully they'll stay in place. We test it out first with containers full of water to see if there's any movement and spillage but we should be ok.

I'm just waiting to hear from the seller and hoping they'll send another plastic cover rather than have me send the whole thing back especially as they're now showing as out of stock and don't know when more will be available.

 

[JonathanRyan]

Silicon the pipes together and make sure it’s pegged or buried into the ground these have a tendency to fly away easily.
There’s a uk growing group on fb I’m in and at least 4/5 if not more didn’t last the wind a few weeks ago.

Been doing a light bit more gardening over the past few years with the kids but lockdown gave us the chance to kick it up a gear.

Probably spent far more than I will recoup from what we eat in the next few years but the kid and I have enjoyed it and they actually want to eat or at least try stuff they haven’t had before.

Pretty much had salad and pak Choi 2/3 times a week each since we started and about 20 radish.

Toms are the one I’m Most dubious about they nearly died in the frost and look good then look like there about to die every other week.

We spent about £300 prob in total with the wood/ cheap poly tunnel and all the compost(think I’m at about 20bags now)

Got toms,cucumber,courgette,lettuce,pak Choi, gai lan/gai choi(two more Chinese cabbages), cabbage,broccoli, kale, radish,beetroot, pots, peas, sugar snap peas, broad beans,cuca melon, shark fin melon ,chilli and peppers plus herbs.

View attachment 281987View attachment 281988View attachment 281989

Polytunnel looks great! Is that a kit + your woodwork or did you make the whole thing? What kind of plastic is that?

 

[woof woof]

My saga goes on.

The item arrived with a damaged box and the plastic cover is also damaged. The supplier Smart Garden offered a partial refund of £4 with I see as an insult as a new cover from Amazon is a lot more than that. So... complain to Amazon and hope for a refund and they can pay the postage. Cheeky muppets.

Oh the joys of buying from market place sellers on Amazon.

 

[woof woof]

Project completed!

The new one isn't as high a quality as the one that had the rip in the cover but it'll do.

I had planned to put it against our boundary fence and had bought the wood and cut it to length but Mrs WW is painfully shy (even though in Thailand she had over 200 people under her, go figure...) and once she realised that when fiddling with this she'd be facing the neighbours she changed her mind and wanted it put here... So here it is tied to some little plastic brackets I had in stock and they're hollow too so I was able to run the ties though them.

She seems happy enough with it






Thanks for your help and advice everyone Hopefully this has helped or inspired others too and I have to say that looking at the pictures above and reading what other people are up to I am hoping we can expand a bit in the future. Maybe I'll get that green house I fancied one day

 

[pmac]

Polytunnel looks great! Is that a kit + your woodwork or did you make the whole thing? What kind of plastic is that?

Sry for the late reply, and if I hijack the thread to much.

The tunnel was bought from amazon and the price has dropped slightly now. It’s by outside sunny 3X2m (£72)
Then I bought the wood to frame it/ make the beds and build an external bed.

Actually looking at it and had I not just rushed to get it all done I might have made the whole thing myself.
There are plenty of videos on YT showing how to do this.

This doesn’t retain heat great so the difference between day time and night time temp is a lot. We have had 20/10 over the hot weeks and this was at 40/10 which plants don’t actually like.
I think it might be due to the design with the windows but had read it’s also due to air circulation so is always evident in tunnels/green houses.
My cucumber indoors is twice the size than the ones in there

Next year I’m going to rotate it 180 and using the frame extend it across the whole garden and use a clear cover.
It’s been great fun for the kids and me.

 

[pmac]

Project completed!

The new one isn't as high a quality as the one that had the rip in the cover but it'll do.

I had planned to put it against our boundary fence and had bought the wood and cut it to length but Mrs WW is painfully shy (even though in Thailand she had over 200 people under her, go figure...) and once she realised that when fiddling with this she'd be facing the neighbours she changed her mind and wanted it put here... So here it is tied to some little plastic brackets I had in stock and they're hollow too so I was able to run the ties though them.

She seems happy enough with it

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View attachment 282755

Thanks for your help and advice everyone Hopefully this has helped or inspired others too and I have to say that looking at the pictures above and reading what other people are up to I am hoping we can expand a bit in the future. Maybe I'll get that green house I fancied one day

Keep an eye on gumtree I just missed a 10ft green house being sold for £150

 

[woof woof]

I thought I'd dig this thread up again because we went to B&Q yesterday and they had some nice cold frames at what looked to be good prices. I was impressed with this one...

B&Q Plastic 1m² Growhouse | DIY at B&Q

B&Q Plastic 1m² Growhouse - B&Q for all your home and garden supplies and advice on all the latest DIY trends

www.diy.com

They had some discounted to twenty odd quid which I thought was very good value as the one they had built up and on display looked to be good enough quality.

Ours has been in place two years now with only minor wear. On one side the zip is fraying a bit at the bottom and one of the horizontal plastic bars on the top shelf kept coming out of its socket, probably because Mrs WW put a lot of weight on that shelf but a dab of No More Nails and some string binding has held it in place. As it's winter we don't have too many plants at the mo but in summer the frame is full to bursting. The normal routine is to open the cold frame in the morning and in the warmer weather we take most of the plants out and put them in the sun then in the evening they go back in and the cold frame gets zipped up.

It's been well worth the money and has been a nice interest for us both. I'd still like a greenhouse at some point and B&Q had a nice small poly one last year, I think it was this one...

Palram - Canopia Mythos Silver 6x4 Greenhouse | DIY at B&Q

Palram - Canopia Mythos Silver 6x4 Greenhouse - B&Q for all your home and garden supplies and advice on all the latest DIY trends

www.diy.com

Other than that we've recently bought a composting bin. Mrs WW made some compost in a plastic box we had and it turned out very well, better than the stuff we buy at B&Q so she fancied a bin to make more. This is the 300ltr one we got...

300 Litre Garden Composter Bin Composting Waste Box Recycling Eco Storage : Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors

Great prices on your favourite Gardening brands, and free delivery on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

I'm a bit worried about flies so I put it round the back of the garage. It's on the lawn so worms should be able to get in and improve the compost.