Product Description

The last decade has seen an unprecedented rise in demand for organic fruit and vegetables, and each year more of us are discovering that home-grown food is fresher, tastier and more nutritious than food shipped in from elsewhere. A polytunnel can be used as an affordable, low-carbon aid to growing your own food all year round, from crispy salads and stir-fries in the dead of winter to juicy melons and mouthwatering grapes in high summer. The Polytunnel Handbook looks at all aspects of polytunnel use 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11405 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Review
Polytunnels have a key role to play in the grow-your-own revolution, and a comprehensive guide such as this is long overdue. --Simon McEwan, Country Smallholding magazine

As someone considering buying a polytunnel, I am so pleased that I read this book first. The Polytunnel Handbook has guided me to the type of tunnel I need, made me think about the use and given me confidence to get started. --Liz Wright, Editor, Smallholder magazine

From the Back Cover
A polytunnel 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.

About the Author
Andy McKee first grew vegetables with his father at the age of five, and since then he has grown in situations ranging from a seventeenth storey window box to guerrilla gardening in the middle of a Christmas tree plantation. He had his eyes opened to the potential of polytunnels during a visit to one featuring a hot tub warmed by a clay oven. He lives with his wife and family in rural Dorset, and is entirely self-sufficient in vegetables. Mark Gatter began growing vegetables while homesteading in north California in the early eighties and has been a keen gardener ever since. He's a firm advocate of an organic, raised-bed approach and relies on a polytunnel to keep fresh food on the table right through the winter. He and his wife share their smallholding in Wales with 11 sheep, several chickens and two dogs.

Customer Reviews

Indispensible guide
This book is packed with useful information including assembling and erecting your polytunnel, suggested internal layouts, advice on where to buy, what to grow and at what time of year depending on where you live in the UK. I would highly recommend this indispensible guide.

The Polytunnel Handbook
This book is unquestionably worth every penny. It is packed with informative ideas for those, like me, who are interested in Poly Tunnels. It covers everything that you should know about layout, design, planning application, position, size and the function of a Poly tunnel. A captivating read.

A dissappointment
I eagerly awaited this new publication as I had a polytunnel installed last year, stuck a few pots into it and left it at it while I had a baby. I was looking forward to good info about what, how and when to grow in a polytunnel and how gardening under plastic might differ from open air gardening such as extending seasons etc. Instead this book gave great detail on building a polytunnel, dealing with mildew and similar challenges etc. All great if you are starting from scratch or considering a polytunnel but not much use if you already have one and are looking for ways to get the best production from it. The first book in years I wish I hadn't bought.