KEEPING IT UNDER WRAPS

Many of our most popular edibles will grow perfectly well outside in the open soil, so why go to the expense of buying a polytunnel? KG editor Steve Ott shares some advice

- Steve Ott

There are many reasons why you might decide to give some of your favourite fruit and veggies a bit of protection. The main reason for me is that the shelter a polytunnel provides allows me to stretch the season by about a month at each end, and in our relatively short season, every day counts.

I can sow a crop of early salad leaves or lettuces in the spring and snatch a late crop of dwarf beans in the autumn. In the UK growing familiar crops such as tomatoes, peppers or aubergines outside can be a hit or miss affair leaving you at the mercy of the summer weather. Under cover the chances of success are far greater and this is magnified the further north you are based.

Other gardeners might like the fact that the cover offers enough warmth and protection to grow a much wider range of crops with success – things like sweet potatoes and melons.

Whatever you grow under it, the cover provided can help protect against certain pests and diseases such as birds, squirrels, and potato blight. It will also reduce weather damage on leafy crops, increasing eating quality and reducing waste.

Of course, polytunnels aren’t the only option – greenhouses can offer similarprotection and even a simple cold frame or mini greenhouse offers many of the same benefits. A glassclad greenhouse would certainly be my preferred option for heated crops, but for cool or unheated crops a polytunnel is usually significantly cheaper per square metre of covered space.

A POLYTUNNEL – THE OPTIONS

If you have decided to invest in a polytunnel, what are the options and what should you look for?

FRAMEWORK