Friday, 24 January 2025

Storm Eowyn Tore My Polytunnel Cover.

 This was the scene this very


morning:

It's not even two years old.

I managed for years without a polytunnel but I will miss it especially on rainy days 

Perhaps I should buy polycarbonate plastic sheeting?  Polytunnel polythene can not stand the Atlantic storms which seem to be getting worse every year.

We still have electricity and Mr Musk's brilliant Starlink satellite Internet service.  I wonder if he would give us a few grand for the free advert and I will replace my polytunnel cover?  I need to find another 900 Euros.

Isn't life rhubarb?


31 comments:

  1. I did fear for your tunnel, it was totally in the path of the storm, not cheap if they only last a couple of years. Start a 'go fund me page' and link it on here, as they say every little bit helps

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  2. It's happened 4 times with different polytunnels we have owned Marlene. The covers are supposed to only last 5 years before the sun naturally breaks down the plastic. I have been looking on Done Deal at polycarbonate tunnels. They are not cheap. Thanks for your comment.

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  3. I wondered how you were faring. I'm sorry your polytunnel has taken a beating. I hope you don't lose too many of your plants.

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  4. Thanks for thinking of us Jabblog. It was scary and dicey tying down pig arks and sheets of corrugated iron in the gales and rain in pitch darkness last night. Thankfully we all lived to tell the tale. Living in the countryside next to the sea isn't always nice. We live on the Gulf Stream and if we don't get heavy frost they should be alright. I always over winter frost tender plants like Osteospermums. We lost a lot of them in 2010.

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  5. I am so glad that it was only your polytunnel and that you are still with us.
    It sounds as though it was pretty grim out your way.

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  6. Exactly our sentiments JayCee. I am sure we have had far worse storms but it's always a frightening and very worrying time. I will get a new polytunnel cover in the spring. Hope you are having a great s7nshine break?

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    1. It's been wonderful so far. Just what the doctor ordered.

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    2. Great stuff. Is it very British?

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  7. What a storm! Sorry it destroyed your cover. That is a big loss. Cali

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  8. We have had worse like Ophelia which span round and Darwin that pushed and pushed all day Cali. Thanks for your comment.

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  9. Yikes! I was going to ask if it would be an expensive fix. I hope you manage to get it sorted.

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  10. It's quite a big tunnel Jules. I will have to sell some plants to replace the cover. Time to put my carboot sales prices up me 🤔 thinks? Polytunnel gardening is great on a rainy day.

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  11. I hope you can salvage it Dave. It looks like it could be pulled back and a mend but maybe that is a bit of an optical illusion. In gusts like you had it is not surprising that it caught the brunt of the wind.

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  12. It's tore more since I took that photo this morning Rachel. Like I said above. I managed for years with no polytunnel. But it's good to have somewhere to propagate even on very wet days. Thanks Rachel.

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  13. Sorry to hear you had that damage. You certainly need a new tunnel for all your plants.

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  14. Thanks Linda. We get so much rainfall that we need somewhere to garden even when it's raining. There's always something that needs replacing and they don't insure polytunnels.

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  15. Dear Dave,
    I am so sorry that Eowyn attacked your polytunnel so brutally. Give it a day or two before you decide what to do next.
    Best wishes,
    Neil
    (aka Yorkshire Pudding)

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  16. Polycrubs aren't cheap but at least they are designed and built for these conditions. I dread to think how much a large one would be..and you don't see them secondhand

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    Replies
    1. They are about 4 grand GZ. I will have to win the lottery. Hope you are having a great trip.

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    2. It is good just living here for a short while, amongst friends, meeting some new people, more than "holiday".. regaining health and fitness hopefully...and fortunately missing storms and ice

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    3. It sounds great. I would love to hibernate or move to a more pleasant climate like Portugal.

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  17. Thanks Neil. It's not the end of the world it's just annoying. I will get a new cover or polycarbonate sheets when the gales have gone.

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  18. Dave that is devastating. In climate like yours it is not just about what you do on wet days but the altered conditions it creates for your plants. I was going to ask if you could tape it but I see Rachel gas already been there. Can you use the remaining plastic on a smaller greenhouse?

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  19. PS would it help to plant some rows of tough wind break plants before you get resources together to build a new one?

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    1. There is an old blackthorn hedge behind the west gable and I had planted phormiums in front of them. The gale came from the east and not from the west up the bay. There is no shelter on a peninsula TM. Thanks for the advice though. I do appreciate it!

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  20. Very true TM. There's a lot to be said for moving to a warmer clime like yours. The pladtic might be salvageable but it's unlikely.

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  21. I definitely think that you should do a Go Fund Me. I would donate, Dave. I am very sorry to read about your tunnel. I know that is was your own little sanctuary. It's really just too bad that you cannot simply take the cover down before a bad storm. I suppose that is not practical though. A sad day on the small holding to be sure.

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  22. Thanks Debby. The 3 Little Pigs comes to mind. That nasty wolf Eowyn would not blow down a house/polytunnel made out of bricks. Time for a rethink maybe polycarbonate sheets. Polythene is not up to the job anymore.

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  23. Sorry about your tunnel ,Dave. I think you may need storm bars on it to help brace it. One of our earlier tunnels was restyled into that shape. This storm was not so bad for us becaus it came more from the south here.The earlier storm was more damaging. The barn roof was lifting and we actually roped it dowm. I was up the ladder and it was a weired sensation seeing the tree trunks of which it was built, lifting up. I had visions of being carried off into another field.
    We purchased some 4 and 6 inch wide clear tape to repair our tunnel cover. It wasnt totally good but we got another couple of years use out of it, Some tunnel covers are reinforced with netting embedded in the polythene, I dont mean the cheap stuff which rots quickly. You can buy the better stuff with which to recover. As you say its good to work in the dry, the frost protection is usefull if you have peach and apricot trees growing in the tunnel, they protect from late frosts.
    Hope you can repair it Dave.
    Kathy

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  24. Thanks Kathy. It's scary isn't it tying things down in a storm? I think it was the combination of the last four storms that finally destroyed the polytunnel cover. I was not happy with the thickness of the cover and we paid a lot for it. I think John Seymour's family had the right idea and moved from Wales to France. Ireland is very stormy especially in winter. I will have to wear my "rainy day" waterproofs until we fix the tunnel.

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