Polytunnel Accessories Explained
Polytunnels give you a flexible, cost-effective way to extend your growing season, protect crops and fine-tune growing conditions for plants, making them the perfect choice for hobby gardeners and commercial growers.
One of the advantages of polytunnels is that they are available with a wide range of polytunnel accessories, allowing you to create a growing space that suits your individual needs and the needs of your chosen plants. Our range of polytunnels for sale comes with a selection of optional extras and accessories, which can be included at the point of purchase or which can be added later to allow gardeners to continue to improve their growing area at any time.
In this guide, we'll explore the various polytunnel accessories UK growers use, as well as practical tips on how to repair a polytunnel.
Why are polytunnel accessories beneficial?
While many customers opt for a standard polytunnel kit in their chosen size, which provides them with everything they need to get their polytunnel up and running on a soil base, other customers opt for an “all singing, all dancing” polytunnel, adding on all the available additions and accessories.
Our high-quality polytunnel accessories offer a range of benefits, such as:
- Durability and stability: Structural add-ons like anchor plates, base rails and triple ridges help secure your polytunnel to the ground and prevent it from lifting or sinking, allow for easy cover tensioning, and add strength to the structure, no matter what the weather.
- Healthier crops: Correct ventilation, pest protection and consistent watering help to regulate temperature and humidity while reducing the risk of disease.
- Lower maintenance: Accessories such as anti-hot spot tape, robust ground covers and cover care solutions can reduce the frequency of fixes and maintenance.
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Bespoke solutions: Polytunnel accessories allow you to create bespoke systems that suit your growing needs.
What polytunnel accessories are available in the UK?
So, which polytunnel accessories are you going to need? Ultimately the choice really is yours, but it’s worthwhile considering what your needs and preferences are, and what your chosen plants may need.
Doors
When it comes to deciding what polytunnel door types you want, we offer a range of options to choose from.
A garden polytunnel is supplied as standard with a single hinged door at the front and a dummy door, which is a sealed unit, at the back – this is a perfect choice for gardeners building their polytunnel in the corner of their plot, only needing a door at the front for access.
Adding on a door at the rear of the polytunnel is a popular choice for schools, meaning that when the bell rings the pupils have two points of exit.
Double doors are available on larger garden polytunnels and are supplied as standard at each end of commercial polytunnels.
There is also the option of having sliding doors which slide open on the outside of the tunnel and sit flush to the polytunnel.
Our polytunnel doors are made from tanalised timber for longevity and provide ample access for wheelbarrows and wheelchairs.
Belts and Braces
Many of our customers tell us that they want to build a polytunnel on a very blustery site and, for that reason, they choose from our selection of ‘belts and braces’ options.
Adding a triple ridge or a storm strengthening kit to your polytunnel provides extra strength, rigidity, and practical support to your tunnel, and gives you extra peace of mind that your structure is ready for storms.
Crop bars are a popular polytunnel accessory for adding extra strength and if you’re planning to grow in hanging baskets or want to tie up tomato plants, crop bars are the ideal accessory to include with your polytunnel kit.
Cover Fixing
A standard polytunnel kit, from 6ft wide all the way up to 24ft wide, is supplied with a polythene cover which is secured by being buried into the ground (we call it the “trenching” method). While many customers choose to trench their polytunnel cover in the ground, others opt to use base rails to secure the cover at ground level instead.
Base rails – available in timber or aluminium – are a popular choice if building a large polytunnel or when the tunnel is to be built on rocky ground. Base rails are adjustable to allow for cover tensioning, helping you achieve a “drum tight” finish.
Ventilation
If you’re planning on building a polytunnel in a spot that will be in direct sunlight all day, ventilation will be important during the warmer, sunnier months. On small polytunnels, the door options you select can provide ample air circulation, whereas crops growing in large commercial polytunnels can benefit from side ventilation.
You can choose to add a timber or aluminium side rail on one or both sides of the structure. A side rail is clamped onto the polytunnel hoops and ventilation netting is fixed between the side rail and ground level, providing airflow through the polytunnel.
And what’s more, when nature needs a little help, a polythene ventilation screen is available, putting you in control by allowing you to screen off the side ventilation netting during the colder months, helping you create the environment which best suits your plants all year round.
Irrigation systems
Growing your own delicious fresh food in a polytunnel means that you are in control of how much water your crops receive. We offer manual and automatic overhead irrigation systems, which offer a simple, effective way of bringing water to your plants.
- Manual overhead kits: A polythene pipe runs along the roof with sprinklers on drop tubes at roughly every hoop. Smaller tunnels use a single central line, while wider tunnels use two or three lines for full edge to edge coverage.
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Automatic irrigation kits: This watering system includes a premium Galcon battery-operated tap timer and adjustable pressure regulator. It offers set-and-forget watering, which is ideal when you're away.
Gutters
While some customers choose to use overhead irrigation kits in their polytunnels, those who growing on allotments may not have access to mains water and opt to keep their crops hydrated by collecting rainwater using polytunnel gutters instead.
Harvesting rainwater is a sustainable and cost-effective solution for watering your plants. Our bespoke polytunnel gutters are created by our experts in-house to be long-lasting, low-maintenance and more secure than stick-on guttering.
Designed to be used in conjunction with timber side rails or with our aluminium side rails, polytunnel gutters are the ideal way to harvest rainwater from the polythene roof.
Growing Aids
For gardeners using their polytunnels to bring on seeds and young plants in trays and pots, staging supports or trestle benches are useful additions to their tunnel.
Steel staging supports clamp to the polytunnel hoops and are designed to be fitted with a top of your choice, creating strong shelves, benches and workstations.
Trestle benches, made from tanalised timber, provide a practical and portable staging and shelving solution. These benches, ideal for potting on plants, can be easily moved to where you need them on your plot, and can be folded away when not being used.
Another useful growing accessory is a ground cover sheet. Ground covers suppress weeds while still allowing water to be easily dispersed through without causing puddles. Tear-resistant, easy to clean, and with handy grid lines to help you evenly space out pots and planters, ground cover helps to keep the inside of your polytunnel tidy, reducing time spent on maintenance.
How to repair a polytunnel
Even with the best setup, weather or wear can cause minor problems. Exactly how to repair a polytunnel will depend on the type of damage, but here's some guidance on common issues you may encounter.
Patch small tears
If you find small holes or tears in your polythene cover, it's important to patch it as soon as possible. Clean and dry the area before applying our clear, UV-resistant repair tape.
Re-tension a slack cover
If you find that your cover has started to become slack due to the framework sinking slightly over time, take action to re-tension the sheet on a non-windy day and ensure your cover is taut again before a storm hits.
Replace damaged components
Swap any damaged parts or replace missing accessories from our spares range.
For more advice, check out our blog on how to repair a polytunnel.
Why buy polytunnel accessories from Premier Polytunnels?
We're specialists in polytunnel frames and have over 35 years of experience in the industry. You can shop with confidence that our polytunnel accessories are of the highest quality and will make a significant difference in the performance and longevity of your structure.
We're here to help you throughout the process, from exploring different types of polytunnels to building polytunnel frames. Don't hesitate to get in touch with us on 01282 811250 or send us an email at info@premierpolytunnels.co.uk for more support.
Shop our UK polytunnel accessories today
Whether you'd like to upgrade your current growing space or buy a helpful polytunnel repair kit, we have everything you need for your structure to perform at its best.
Shop our extensive range of polytunnel accessories online today or contact us if you'd like advice from our friendly team.