The Polytunnel Handbook

A polytunnel, high tunnel or hoop house, can be used as an affordable, low-carbon aid to growing your own food all year round, from crispy salads and fresh vegetables in the dead of winter to juicy melons and mouth-watering grapes in high summer. But once you’ve decided to invest in a polytunnel, there are many questions to be answered, including:

- Do you need planning permission?

- What are the different sizes and types you can buy?

- Where should you put it, and how do you put it up?

- What can you use it for, how do you look after it, and what are the likely problems?

The Polytunnel Handbook looks at all aspects of using a polytunnel, from planning your purchase to harvesting the rewards, and includes a step-by-step guide detailing how polytunnels are put up and maintained. There are chapters on developing healthy soil and preventing pests, and a jargon-free guide to the range of often mystifying accessories that many tunnel retailers offer. For the DIY enthusiast there is a full set of instructions for building a polytunnel from scratch, and the authors explain how to keep your polytunnel productive in every season.

Mark Gatter began growing vegetables while homesteading in north California in the early 1980s, and has been a gardener ever since. He relies on a polytunnel to keep fresh food on the table through the winter. Andy McKee uses his polytunnel to keep his family entirely self-sufficient in vegetables. They are the authors of ＂How to Grow Food in Your Polytunnel.＂