For over 20 years we've been leading the way in the supply of both 'Domestic' and 'Commercial' Polytunnels. We've helped extend the growing season for gardeners big and small...whether you're growing fruit and vegetables for you and your family or commercial crops, plants and flowers. We also work closely with Schools...bringing the outdoor classroom to the next generation. We've even supplied celebrity gardeners including Alan Titchmarsh, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Bob Flowerdew, to name but a few...all proud owners of our Polytunnels. All First Tunnels Polytunnels are made to the same exacting quality standards..we simply call the bigger models 'Commercial' But whether you’re growing for fun...or growing for profit...the choice of a 'Domestic Polytunnel' or 'Commercial Polytunnels' is entirely yours.
A polytunnel is an elongated, polythene covered frame under which seedlings and plants can be grown. They provide protection to plants and can extend the growing season by several weeks. They come in various shapes and sizes with each polytunnel creating its own microclimate that can enable different types of plants to grow. This means that it’s possible to grow fruits and vegetables using a polytunnel that wouldn’t naturally grow in our climate.
Within the polythene tunnel, the temperature and humidity are higher. Crops and plants are also covered which means they are not exposed to heat, cold, rain, wind and strong sunlight therefore, they will continue to flourish even during adverse weather conditions. There are many benefits to owning a polytunnel but one is the fact that as a semi-permanent structure, they can be moved if necessary to another location in your garden, unlike a greenhouse.
Growing herbs, fruits and vegetable crops has never been easier with a polytunnel - Learn more about polytunnels.
For years, the gardener has chosen the greenhouse as the tool of choice for sheltering tender seedlings and plants but more and more of us are turning to polytunnels. What do they offer the gardener?
The polytunnel allows many more benefits other than a perfect growing environment;
More for your money – for the same price as a small greenhouse, you can have a much larger polytunnel and that means more growing space!
Great insulation properties – opting for a thicker polythene means better insulation properties and that means a longer growing season
Easily extendable – plan on a bigger polytunnel in the future? Not a problem because your current polytunnel can be easily extended.
Manage temperatures easily too – you want warmth in the tunnel but too much heat can kill off plants and seedlings. With double doors either end, the temperature is easily controlled as are pests and other problems such as fungal spores.
Protection no matter what the weather – from gales to autumn rains, to days of endless heat and sun, you control the polytunnel climate and that means success no matter what the weather.
Commercial food growers have long realised the benefit of commercial polytunnels and with polytunnels of all shapes and sizes, the domestic gardener can enjoy the same great benefits with domestic polytunnels.
When compared to a greenhouse, the cost of the polytunnel is much lower and this means your budget will stretch further.
Not including delivery or installation costs, the savings compared to a greenhouse can be hundreds of pounds.
A basic no-frills greenhouse measuring 6 by 8 foot will set you back at least £400 with the equivalent sized polytunnel costing nearly a hundred pound less. For just over £400, you could have a 6 foot by 20-foot polytunnel – just imagine all that extra growing space!
Add to the fact that with a polytunnel, there is no need for a base and maintenance costs are lower too – no glass panes to replace! You can see why the commercial grower and domestic gardener is looking to the polytunnel as the solution they need.
And with our great prices and our no-catch Bonus Save Scheme, along with helpful advice and after sales support, there is no better place to buy your polytunnel than from First Tunnels.
The polytunnel is a hive of activity all year round with the seasons of spring, summer and autumn seeing it burst at the seams with all kinds of plants.
From exotic plants and crops to raising seedlings, the polytunnel creates the ideal microclimate for all kinds of plants and crops.
Because it protects plants from the weather, it presents a more manageable and stable environment. This means that the growing season is extended so you will still be picking fruits and vegetables late into the autumn. But it also means you can start to plant earlier in the year too.
And to prove it, there are many accolades being collected by commercial growers and domestic gardeners. Farmer and food producers are winning industry awards for growing vegetables and fruits that would normally struggle in our notoriously changeable weather patterns. For example, growing varieties of chillies in polytunnels here in the UK, widening choice for the consumer.
And Chelsea Flower gold medal winners use polytunnels to grow key plants for their upcoming garden designs over many growing seasons, again because the polytunnel is the ideal growing environment.
Growing in the tunnel is not difficult but you will need to make changes to your normal planting and growing routine but we have it covered with our growing guide for every month of the year. Why not join award winning gardeners and commercial growers by growing a fantastic range of fruit and veg?
Building your polytunnel needn’t be a hassle with our expert construction team. You can, of course, install the polytunnel yourself and with our easy to follow instructions, this is a possibility!
Or you can rely on our construction team to do it – the choice is yours!
