The Polytunnel / Hothouse has been a long time in the making. At last the paths are laid, the beds raised, the polypipe hoops up and the doorway framed. It is time for a cover.
It was one thing to find a website where I could order a piece of plastic seven and half metres wide and ten metres long but I wasn't sure how I would get it to our far-flung corner of the country. "No worries", the manager said, "We can send it by Australia Post." So a few days later a box arrived at the nearest Post Office with a pile of folded plastic in it. The only way to get it ready was to spread it all out. It needy a still day, a dry lawn and a few blocks of wood to get it laid out.
The next challenge was to get it rolled up so that it could be unrolled over the top of the hoops. After a few abortive attempts I remembered that I had some two metre lengths of conduit pipe that I could join together and wrap the plastic around. With four of these in place I could make a roll the full length of the frame.
Now for the tricky bit - attaching it to the frame. First I stapled it round some lengths of sheep shed grating - about 2.5 by 2 cms. Then I had to balance the roll on a table and a couple of chairs so that I could dangle the end alongside the bottom plate and screw the grating onto it.
Then I could gently lower the roll to the ground. All set and as far as I could go by myself. Time for some reinforcements to help unroll the plastic and secure it.
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