How to Build a Polytunnel Workshop Series
Photo credit: Sharon Cosgrove Photography
We bought a second-hand polytunnel this Spring! It’s dismantled and waiting to be re-built at the farm!
Polytunnels are great. They are addictive! We love the one we have already. This year it allowed us to grow delicious salad leaves throughout winter. Right now it’s the nursery for our young seedlings - keeping them warm and sheltered.
In summer it’s full of of delicious heat-loving fruit and veg - tomatoes, green beans, courgettes, cucumbers, chillies and aubergines. We use it to dry out and cure our onions and pumpkins, we relax in it - (it’s the perfect spot for a snooze in a sun lounger.) They really are amazing multi-purpose spaces for anyone interested in growing - whether it’s vegetables, fruits, herbs or even flowers!
So, if you are getting serious about growing your own, and have toyed with the idea of getting a polytunnel, but just don’t know where to start - I’ve got the perfect workshop for you!
I learned a lot putting up our first huge polytunnel 2 seasons ago, and now it’s time to set up our second (slightly smaller) one.
I’m inviting all polytunnel enthusiasts to the farm for a month of hands-on polytunnel-building workshops!
We will be hosting four Tuesday evening workshops at the farm throughout April. They are on 9th, 16th, 23rd & 30th April from 6:30pm to 9:30pm
Attend one, more or all 4 evenings...
Learn how to put up a polytunnel - We will cover choosing a site & orientation, setting out and installing anchor posts, erecting the frame, skinning and pleating ends and installing doors. You will learn everything you need to have the confidence to put up your own polytunnel, if and when the need should arise!
Erin busy harvesting salad in our polytunnel last week!
The Schedule:
(Weekly content is subject to changes based on speed of progress and weather and unforeseeables. We will need a very calm and warm day to start the process of skinning the polytunnel)
Week 1 - Locating, setting out and installing anchor posts
Week 2 - Building the frame
Week 3 - Door frames, doors and baserails
Week 4 - Skinning, pleating and final finishes
The Plan:
Each Tuesday evening will follow a similar pattern
6:30pm: Tea/coffee and the plan for the evening
7pm: The work begins!
8:30pm: Two course dinner. Claire will be in the kitchen whipping up a hearty dinner and dessert.
9:30pm: Home-time! With bellies full it’s time to call it a night!
The Details:
The food & drinks: There will plentiful tea, herbal tea, coffee & water. If you would like anything else to drink please feel free to bring whatever you fancy. We’ll be providing a hearty two-course vegetarian dinner prepared using seasonal, organic vegetables from our farm.
The time: 6.30pm - 9.30pm on Tuesday evenings: April - 9th, 16th, 23rd & 30th April.
The place: Laurelbank Farm, 121 Middle Road, Saintfield, Co. Down, BT24 7LS
The cost: A voluntary £10 per evening donation to cover the cost of dinner.
What to bring: Bring suitable footwear and clothing for a session outside, whatever the weather.
Dietary requirements: Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements when you book and we’ll try our absolute best to accommodate you.
Cancellation Policy: If you need to cancel your booking, for whatever reason, please let us know as soon as possible. For full details of our cancellation policy please click here.
