Cheap Poly Tunnel

Cheap Poly Tunnel

Last year we bought a cheap Poly Tunnel. Often cheap means rubbish but in this case, considering the size and what you can do with it, cheap means excellent value for money.

The tunnel we got from Ebay, new, starts at around £200, then as they sell them, goes down in price. We got it when it was about £130 including postage. But at present it has just gone under £100. For a 6m by 3m tunnel it is incredible how they can make, almost certainly ship across the world, pay import duties, make a profit by selling it and include the postage price. They have sold thousands.

It was easy to install, definitely within the day, with most of that time taken to dig a trench for it to sit in and then bolt together.

The draw back, but I don't know how much more expensive ones cope, is wind. It doesn't like wind, but in a sheltered spot is fine.

Ours started to flap a bit in high winds, but I meant to secure it and for got and it tore, so had to replace to cover but even a replacement cover came in at only £60 approx. Secured better, and with a few wooded posts placed inside to stop it moving it has been OK since. It'll be interesting to see what freezing temperatures and snow do to it over the winter but the manufactures say take it down for winter. If you did that it'd only take half an hour to pull the cover off and another hour to put back on but I want to leave it up. If it does get damaged in the winter I think another £60 investment would be worth doing each year if necessary.

It has probably been the best very cheap thing I've every bought, especially when you consider my friend spent £1500 on one. His is far more sturdy and a bit bigger, obviously much better but is it worth the extra £1300? His doesn't have windows to open to control the heat and is semi clear plastic making it get extremely hot on a blazing hot day where as this cheap one has green reinforcing plastic strips all the way through it which acts as a little bit of shading, so I think there are swings and round-a-bouts because his probably lets in more light but at the end of the day they both do the same thing, provide a large, warm area in which to grow.

As long as you can provide it with shelter and are prepared to replace the cover once in a while, maybe add the odd wooden post for more strength, then this very cheap tunnel is worth buying.

The posts in the photo on the front left and right of the tunnel, and in the centre are so I can put a wooden bar across to stop the large door from flapping in the wind. The trellising to the right is also a wind break, but also to hide it a bit and to section it off from the rest of the garden.

  So far, I'm very impressed with it!