Repair or Replace?
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- Опубликовано: 30 июн 2024
- The older polytunnel I grow in has lasted a long time, and a lot of cuts, holes and tears in the plastic have accumulated, including a large gash at one end caused by a panel blown in the wind. So the plastic needs some emergency repairs, and perhaps it is finally getting close to the time to replace the whole sheet, before there is a major failure.
0:00 Repair or Replace the Plastic
1:07 13 Years of Use
2:32 Many Types of Superficial Damage
3:25 Larger Slits and Tears
4:55 Patch Up and Repair
6:39 Or Replace
8:11 The Embedded Cost of Plastic
9:21 Being More Resilient
10:18 Buy Now and Prepare to Replace
11:53 Or Let Things Fail
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Good life left in much of that plastic. Cut it up for mini-hoop tunnels that cover one or two beds at a time.
Good idea!
Yes, I do likewise. I grow seedlings under some recovered plastic, and keep compost under more to dry and sieve it easier.
Thirteen years of service is an incredibly good result! I like your plan for replacement this summer during a good weather spell. I strongly suspect that if you don't do it then, it will fail at the worst possible time.
You are probably right.
This has felt like the longest winter to me, with all the rain. I can't imagine it's better in Ireland. Due yet more downpours today.
I have joined plastic sheets by overlapping them, placing a sheet of paper on top, then running a soldering iron along the paper. Very strong seam. Works great for patching..
Interesting option. I should try it out.
I think it needs replaced. The old sheet can be used for coverings in cold weather. Buy the best quality you can find and replace in the best possible timing. Bravo on getting it to last 13 years. I've never heard of it lasting that long.
Yeah, giving the tunnel a proper upgrade would be good! I think in Ireland the sheets can last a long time because of the low light levels, if they can be protected against the wind.
I always appreciate the logic behind the decisions. Very helpful!
🙂
You are one of the channels that a company would love to donate a tunnel to for the advertising value. I know Charles Dowding got one from First Tunnels in the UK. No harm in asking 🙂
I am sure I could get something, but I try to keep my channel free of advertising.
I'm amazed it has lasted as long as it has
Yeah! I am really tempted to see how much longer it will last!
13 years is great compared to the expected 4 years. Personally I would be inclined to replace the whole lot, you wouldn't want to experience a catastrophic rip when you had it full of high value plants. But repairs in the mean time are better than m nothing!
Yeah, it is the risk of a catastrophic rip at the wrong time that worries me.
I was going to recommend that you buy the replacement now and store it, as you said at the end. It's only going to get more expensive and possibly harder to get. As you say, that 4 year rating is for Arizona or Spain, here in Oregon I have a nearby greenhouse that's at least 20 years old and is still on the original plastic due to our low UV levels, like yours. My oldest is only about 10 years but it's going strong, just tape repairs from deer damage and my mistakes. After 13 years you've gotten your money's worth out of it, time to move on. If you can afford it, I'd forget the trench method and just get a cheap 1" / 2cm board to run along the bottom and install wiggle wire to hold the plastic. It's so much easier than screwing around with the trench method and it's really not expensive if you shop around. I'm a cheap old guy and all my polytunnels have it. Your quote on replacement cost seems awfully high compared to our cost, probably near double. I'm using plastic made in Belgium so you might be able to find a better price if you can find a real greenhouse supply source that caters to the trade, not retail.
does the cost not depend on the grade and quality of the plastic?
Yeah, it makes sense that the rating is for a much sunnier location!
I can't use the kick board and wiggle wire method with this polytunnel, as the pipes are just driven in the ground and can be pulled up - have watched it happen to another polytunnel that ended up being destroyed. The trench method is most common in Ireland, as it is seen as most secure in the high winds we usually get.
The wiggle wire method definitely makes sense in situations that requite the plastic to be replaced regularly!
Everything is more expensive here in Ireland!
Thanks Bruce. I would think you could find someone local who wanted to use the plastic to make a much smaller polytunnel/s or re-use the plastic on an allotment or such. Most of it is still in good shape. The great advantage of not doing replacements in a hurry, is that you give yourself time to find people who can re-use the goods (permaculture groups, Olio, FB etc). Maybe a student growing project? Most people seem to try to find takers for goods with very short notice and then feel disappointed. It's like moving house - it takes time and good planning to do it properly, without waste or stress. --- I also wonder if you could use it barrier material to block weed regrowth in other areas - between the polytunnels or lining the trenches to stop perennial weeds coming through. I imagine that several layers would prove hard for couch grass to get through. You have the advantage of having huge swathes of plastic to use. Other ideas might be too use several layers for the compost heated showers you were talking about; Some kind of mushroom growing area? --- It might help your quandry to get excited about various re-use projects you could dream up, though, yes, the plastic is very heavy, awkward and huge to store. Could you keep sections of the current plastic to patch up the next polytunnel - experimenting and find more effective ways of repair than tape?
Yeah, it probably will get used for something interesting.
I edited the message above to add more ideas @@REDGardens
I definitely learnt a few lessons with covering my polytunnel. It uses wooden base rails and battens at the bottom for tensioning, and I wanted the wood to last so treated it with Creocote. Unfortunately that treatment appears to make the polytunnel plastic more brittle, so combined with the sharp edge of the batten was the first stress point. Secondly the ends seem to suffer more than the sides on mine, so I want to build more framing to split it into smaller "panes", so split the brunt of the wind a bit more.
I also don't have mains water here, so want to improve rain catchment off the tunnel next time by integrating a drip edge above guttering at waist height next time I cover it, by sending it over a wooden beam (with rounded edges!).
As for the bird damage, I seem to notice that mine was from rooks attempting to peck at various insects, or what they thought were insects on the other side of the plastic. Probably all the more reason to keep on top of cleaning.
Oh, that is a tough lesson!
The one benefit of a base rail system is being able to collect rain water, something I also want to explore
To mitigate against bird damage people on our site have erected a taut length of fishing line on top of their tunnels on poles ... then they added bunting to the line and that seems to have stopped birds pecking at insects through the plastic.
I erect netting beside my greenhouse over winter to try and alleviate the force of the wind. It works but looks unsightly, plus I never am sure when to take it down. It's a gamble.
It's very encouraging to see how long the sheet can last
Yeah, I am surprised that it has lasted so long.
Painting the frame white to reduce hot spots.
I think some things about stuff.
If you buried a board (half in, half out of the ground), either treated timber or concrete sheet, you would not have to dig up the plastic and re-bury it. You could just use wiggle wire and channel to attach the plastic at the bottom and be done with it. The concrete sheet solution is pretty much permanent because it neither rots nor shrinks nor expands. Not very cost effective initially though it will outlive you.
We use wiggle wire over a couple of hoops (tech screws to shape the aluminium to the hoops) so we can just replace a section, especially when the damage is bad in one place, but most of it is fine.
We use rope, crossed over between hoops to create the tension in the plastic. We can always make the ropes tighter if the plastic stretches or flaps too much in the wind.
If the solution is permanent, does that not create extra work (and waste) when the plastic sheet invariably needs to be replaced in a decade?
Interesting option. Hadn't though of the concrete base to fix to.
@@JamCamel Firstly, its probably cement sheeting I meant rather than concrete. But no. The sheet comes six or so inches out of the ground and has a wiggle wire channel all the way along to attach the plastic. You can just "unzip" the plastic from it and replace it quite easily without ever removing the baseboard, Only a pain if you want to relocate the tunnel.
Thanks for a very informative and enjoyable video.
I think your approach is perfectly sensible.
It would be a complete scunner if you put a new cover on and it’s later wrecked by the wind.
Maybe you could reuse the old cover as covers for cold frames or incubator beds. I know that there will be a lot of it though.
Good luck
Thanks. Yeah, there will be a lot of plastic to reuse!
I don't see any anti hot spot tape on the tubes that will prevent damage from heating of polythene touching them and help reduce rubbing against rust and fittings.
I'm sure I've seen polytunnel cover suppliers limit their warranty period from when purchased, rather than when installed, for the reason that polythene left folded for years before use is much more likely to split along the folds.
Yeah. That tape wasn't put on when the frame was put up.
I'm not a pro but I use heat gun to solder big plastic sheets together. The bigger the plastic sheet, the less likely it is to fail. As you pointed out, the main reason it break is the rub against the metal frame. We should focus on finding the best solution to avoid the metal rubbing (and also the heating from the hot metal in summer?).
Interesting option. I should try it out.
I am definitely going tot put on the padded tape when I replace the plastic.
Great insights as always. Thanks for bringing us along.
🙂
I made tubes out of wooden floor underlay to cover the tubes. It doesn't disintegrate and protects the plastic
Excellent video
Glad you liked it
13 years is a great run for plastic that is rated for 4 to 6 years. If patching the roof works ,why not push it to its limit. I don't see the price of any petroleum goods going down so yes ,invest for the future . You could build the end frames off site ahead of time . My thoughts on recycling the old plastic would be to try a zone push with low tunnel inside the hoop house. I'm seeing ginger grown in the Montreal area using this method.
A low tunnel inside the hoop house is a really interesting idea.
Repair and shop for the best deal and a good time. As there are really nice big spots that are fine you could make some of more of the little warm boxes for the other gardens!
Yeah, a lot more cold frames around would be great!
Consider a passive solar GH. You will reduce the amount of whatever type of clear plastic you need to replace by 50 %. I aimed for season extension, but my GH stayed above 0 C during minus 10 C and minus 13 at ground level outside ,,,
Baltic Homesteaders has a great series of videos on passive solar greenhouses. Not the cheapest upstart costs, but lower ongoing costs, and probably more resilient to winds and storms.
I would love to build a passive greenhouse!
Another well produced video.
The life expectations is likely related to the plastic breakdown to the point of chemical or micro plastic leeching.
Thst been said, id personally replace the plastic as soon as possible before growing season properly starts if possible to do so maybe spring time when warmer like youve said. Then id produce cold frames for some raised beds outside with the left over plastic, alternatively the comd frames could be used as a mini hot house to extend the lofe a little, come winter these could be stored inside the near empty tunnels
I have also heard that the life expectations are based in much sunnier locations. So here in Ireland, with our general lack of sun, the plastic can last a lot longer, and is more likely to be damaged by wind.
No heat tape on the frame? You need heat tape, that is what is causing it to split at the metal pipes. My tunnel is over 20 years old and is still good.
Yep. Wasn't put on when installed. In Ireland I think it is much more useful as a cushion against the wear from the wind moving the structure, than the heat from the pipes - rarely gets hot enough here.
Having been involved in commercial growing... The reason that most gardens replace the plastic so often is that they buy the cheapest plastic available. The quality is equally low, and the plastic just doesn't last.
In cases where the plastic (regardless of quality) gets damaged, the cost of repair (mostly labor) is so high that it's often more efficient to just replace the whole thing.
Makes sense. And a lot of commercial growers use the wiggle wire channels to secure the plastic, which makes it really easy to replace.
I think you should do your best to keep it alive until the bitter end. My polytunnel was utterly destroyed in a storm a couple years ago, but with enough tape, I managed to patch it together last year. It gave me quite a bit of tomatoes and cucumbers in return. I will try as long as I can to keep it going, out of pure spite. :-D
Haha! Pure spite, a great motivator!
For the end hoop you can use channel lock, an aluminium rail with ‘W’ shaped wiggle wire to hold the polythene down. I use in on my tunnel nearly 5 years now ends are open with a scaffold net draped over it. Also I use hip board running the length of the tunnel to give further ventilation.
Are you in a hotter climate. Around here we try to reduce the ventilation 😁
No I’m in Dublin, I find if I close up I get viruses and mould on the leafy greens and algae on the polythene
I can tell you that in the high desert where I live , there is zero chance you would get 13 years out of that plastic. HIgh altitude UV is brutal
I can imagine the UV is staggering up there. Here in cloudy Ireland, the plastic is more likely to be degraded by the wind
Large tears can be laced back together and then covered with a patch 🙂. Each side of the tear needs to be reinforced/built up before the eyelet is crimped into place. If you have the width, the tape can be folded down the middle, over the edge of each side of tear. I've done this before, it works, just take inspiration from your shoes 👍
Interesting approach. I’ll have to try it. Thanks.
Beef up the thickness of the plastic more than you think you might need before crimping the eyelets in and all is good ❤
Perhaps look at polycarbonate as a replacement. Polyethylene plastic tunnels are slowly being replaced by polycarbonate as its much stronger and weather resistant. It is more expensive but will outlast the polythene sheeting by many many years.
Yeah, polycarbonate looks interesting. I wonder how easy it is to get sheets to retrofit existing profiles.
@@REDGardens hi, thanks for responding. We have retro fitted 2 of our small tunnels here which were originally vinyl. It's very easy, no stretching or burying, just screw them directly on to the frame. The sheets come in many different sizes and overlap at the joints to keep the rain away. We used my greenhouse. Ie for the sheets. We've no association with this company but have used them many times and found their prices and service to be very good.
Hope you get the tunnel sorted soon, look forward to seeing what way you go with it, best wishes for the coming season.
Bicycle innertube repair glue. Big box store also carries large rolled sheets of plastic for moving. Double up the repair if needs to be thicker
Interesting option. I might try that.
If you replace the plastic, put a layer of poly tunnel repair tape on all the spots it touches the metal.
Put the tape on the metal.
That would help. I am probably going to use the padded stuff.
Not sure if it is mentioned in the comments. But you should be able to purchase a felt tape that is made to go between the metal and the plastic to greatly reduce the issue of rubbing. Would be a great addition when you replace
I used some padded 'anti-hotspot tape', which does a similar thing.
Other than the repairs to the entrance and metal work when you replace the plastic would you take advantage of that time and add any additional features? Roll up sides are popular and give better ventilation but maybe your summers really don’t require it? Of course having that nice left over plastic gives options for second layer and or internal partitions or zones within a poly tunnel. I think each additional layer gives you an extra zone of heat/protection. Could give you options for more experimentation.
It would be a good time to do any other improvements, but not sure what they would be. Yeah, the roll up sides are not really useful, especially with this tunnel that is on a slope that helps with ventilation not those rare days when it is hot and not windy. I do want to capture rainfall off this tunnel, so want to think of how I could do that on a tunnel with the sides buried.
For the structural tears on hoops, there are other kinds of tape that are a lot more effective than poly tunnel repair tape. I find silage repair tape really good. It's opaque, of course, but I don't think the small additional shadow is very significant
Yeah, I should try some other tapes.
Replace it and use the old plastic in the garden and mobile mini poly tunnels.
🙂
I think I'd be tempted to use Gaffer Tape on those tares by the the frame, light loss in this case would be minimal and I suspect that the tape would still be there when the rest of the polytunnel was long gone.
yeah, it might hold up better.
I’d be devastated if my polytunnel shredded in a storm but I’ve only got the one and you have three
Yeah, having several does reduce the anxiety for me.
For what it's worth, I am sure you could sell portions of the leftover plastic to other gardeners. I'm Galway based, but I wouldn't turn my nose up at some second hand, decently priced heavy duty plastic like that. I'm opposed to purchasing new plastic-based items for my own use on account of the sustainability issues. But I think I could justify second hand purchase and use it to make my own small shelter for hardening off seeds. To be clear, I'm not asking you to take it down and cut it up so I can have some, especially since I can't afford to replace it for you! 😅But it might be a greener option for you that would also help offset the cost of replacement and other opperating costs. Just some food for thought! :)
Yeah, the heavy duty plastic is really useful. I have been using some stuff that had been from the fire damaged plastic on some shelters and storage areas. It is strong and tough, and hard to tear. And because of the lack of UV damage due to the low light levels around here, it could last a long time!
Replace , in the long term, its worth it
you can use Pipe insulation in the frame / pipes , it helps in cold and warm weather
Hey! Maybe helpful, we use a kick board basically (2x6) , attached to the frame, with a wiggle wire track and wiggle wire at the mid point of the 2x6 to attach the plastic. This keeps the plastic off the ground, and allows for easy replacement of plastic.
We also have a kick board but also another line on wiggle wire track 4ft from the ground. This bottom four feet is covered with both netting (bunny guard) and a double thickness of plastic. This allows for roll up sides during high summer.
Those systems look great, but they need to be fixed to post properly secured in the ground, i.e. with concrete footing. The foundation pipes with this polytunnel are just driven into the ground, so can be pulled up fairly easily if the hurried plastic wasn't holding it down. So there is nothing secure enough to attach the kick board to.
Would it be possible to put the new cover over the old one for an extra layer of protection?
Not sure. That approach might make sense if I bought a significantly thinner and cheaper plastic as the second layer.
Have you considered the woven greenhouse plastic material?
That product plus the protective pipe tape would make a new covering more robust.
I haven't, but something to look into.
@@REDGardens Some suppliers will send samples upon request.
Repair!!!!😊
👍
They make UV stable sail repair tape that is much more robust than polytunnel repair tape, probably more expensive tho, but mite be a better option for splits near the frame. I repaired a windsurfing sail thinking it would only last the holliday duration, but it lasted >10 yrs before I replaced the sail.
Thanks for the suggestion. I should look into that option.
Can you get Tuc Tape over there Bruce? I had about the same damage on mine 4, almost 5 years ago and repaired it with Tuc Tape Blue, still going strong...
I don't think Tuck Tape is available over here.
Hi Bruce, do you mind sharing where you purchased your last tunnel and whether you concrete the hoops in. I purchased a tunnel for what I thought was a good price 2 years ago and it got completely destroyed in storm Isha. The hoops actually bent in the wind. I’d appreciate your insight as this channel seems to have no external commercial bias. Great insight as usual.
I got it from polydome.ie, and the posts are concreted in.
Glad you noticed the lack of commercial bias, I turn down a lot of offers to keep the channel independent.
Hi Bruce I was thinking could you cut a square patch of Polly tunnel plastic and stitch it on with fishing wire and a needle?
Interesting idea. I wonder how well that would work.
Are you able to reinforce the current plastics that are rubbing against the metal pipes with duct tape? Having the metal pipe rub against duct tape might help you keep the tunnel longer.
I was able to put in the padded anti-hotspot tape, which does the job well. Duct tape might also work.
Check out the cost effectiveness, will it be substantially less expensive to repair the plastic? Look into a hack repair, find discarded plastic to cover the holes and the cost of glue will be the only cost, also you can redo the construction using the existing plastic to cover as much of the structure as possible thereby reducing the size of new plastic needed. Cheers
I was thinking of the option of just shortening the polytunnel by one bay, and keep using the same plastic, but I want all that space!
@@REDGardens yep, I saw all the effort you took to make the tunnels too and I I saw the protective tape that guards the plastic from the metal, where the metal hoops have torn the plastic apply as much protective tape there and try to tape the existing plastic back together and then glue another piece over the repair, that could double the strength of the repair. Thank you so much for showing your work and your research, it’s very helpful and inspiring. I wish you great success in all your endeavors and efforts. Salute Red Gardens!
If it is possible, I'd recover it with corrugated clear PVC roofing. That would give you a ten to twenty year lifespan, greater durability and easier repair. It's expensive, but as I get older, I prefer that every infrastructure job I do, I want to do for the last time.
Something to look into.
Invest in a solid replacement. Severe weather conditions are going to increase and intensify. Maths never lies. Valentina Zharkova.
Yeah, the future is likely to be worse.
Can the hoops be repaired if they get bent in storm damage. Also if I bought a roll of plastic to store away in shed, would it maintain its strength.
I don't know if hoops can be repaired, or at least I don't know how to do it. I think if the plastic is out of the sun, and away from water and potentially damage, it will last a long time.
I assumed that the year rating on the poly tunnel plastic was to do with light transmission rates, have you got a light meter to see how much you are losing? Would be interesting to see how much improvement there would be after you do put a new sheet on or even different ratings between your different tunnels
I am pretty sure that year rating is due to UV degradation, based on much sunnier places.
I do want to invest in a good light meter, to test the different locations, but I think the biggest factor is keeping them clean.
Do your tunnels have fans or a roll-up side for summer? My hoop house gets to be 120F (49 C) in summer. With doors and vents open and a shade cloth on top, it's still to warm for most plants.
We rarely have that problem here. Most of the time it isn’t hot enough, and ventilation through the end doors is usually more than enough.
I've heard that, in the US, a lot of gardeners use a rigid plastic called Solawrap. Supposedly it lasts longer, though I'm not sure if it's available in Ireland
Thanks for the suggestion.
13 years out of a 4-year rated (warranted?) material is pretty solid. I'd replace and maybe cut this into smaller pieces and save to solarize future beds.
Theres a material discussed in some of the market garden videos (No Till Growers channel) called SolaWrap people seem to like that's more durable supposedly
Thanks for the suggestion about SolaWrap. One of the issues I have with using the plastic in the gardens is keeping it from blowing away! If it was usually a lot calmer around here I can think of a lot of useful things that would be much easier.
@@REDGardens that's fair. Only so much you can do with bricks before you're laying a foundation
Wow thirteen years out of four year plastic. I was wondering how long greenhouse plastic actually lasts. Normal sheeting degrades into tiny pieces., within a few years.
I guess the lack of sunlight around here really helps 😀
Redo, and improve the poly tunnel in the process.
Reasoning:
- plastic becomes brittle over time. even more so where it becomes hotter and colder…
- it has to be done anyway
- it gives you opportunity to paint the frame in white, with a roll-on fence paint which sticks to zinc coated pipes and metal oxide (rust). In Germany the most comman brand would be hammerite, but in other countries there might be other products.
=> that should reduce the hot pipes problem a lot.
The farmers in the US have all that nice aluminium C-channel/Wiggle wire thingies for attaching the plastic sheet to the structure. So they can go double layer and they could also (re)use smaller pieces of plastic.
I have no idea if the C-channel/Wiggle wire system will hold up in irish winter storms.
It holds up even better because the air filled chamber keeps the plastic very taut
I have seen this wiggle wire systems, and they look great, and would definitely make it a lot easier to replace the plastic. One of the issues in this case is that the pipes supporting the polytunnel are just hammered into the ground, so a strong wind can cause uplift, and pull them out of the ground. The buried plastic holds everything down. I have seen this in another polytunnel, which ended up being destroyed. So I don't have anything to secure to fasten the rail system. I also don't know if those systems will stand up as well to the high winds we get as the trench method.
I was wondering if you did any treatment to the wood of your polytunnel? Would you do anything different in your next wooden doorway? I'm about to build an small wooden greenhouse but I still have doubts about this issue...
I would definitely do a few things different. I only helped someone else put it up, and it was their decision to use the scrap wood (not treated), not bother with the padded tape, and was fine with he crooked frame. All things that I have to deal with now.
I'd suggest using treated wood.
I live 1200 foot above sea level in 🇬🇧 and would love to have a polly tunnel but I don’t think it would survive the winds we get 😢
yeah, wind is an issue, but others seem to be able to manage with some windbreaks.
Stretching the use time of the plastic might be an environmental benefit on the one hand, on the other isn't there a worry of microplastics being introduced to your soil and products if it starts to break down on molecular level due to (over) age? Might be better to put into recycling before breaking apart.
Good point. most of the plastic is still in really good shape, with no signs of cracking of becoming brittle to degrading, probably because we don't get a lot of sunlight around here. The bigger risk of microplastics is probably from the loose sections and edges of plastic that flap or flex a lot in the wind, so repairing the tears to keep the plastic tight should help.
Can anyone tell what thickness the plastic is in this video? Any idea if it's thicker, or thinner, than 6 mil?
I think it is about 8 mil
Where do you get your plastic from?
Generally from polydome.ie
i wish someone would invent glue for plastics..😮
That would help, and defiantly exist, just don't know anyone who has used glue on polytunnel plastic. I have heard that melting plastic together can be an option.
at this point, you need to build a green house
Yeah, I should build a greenhouse.
Bruce, what’s the cost to replace this sheet of plastic. When did you move to Ireland from Ontario.
It would cost between €400 and €700, for the plastic, depending on the supplier and the quality.
I've been here for almost 30 years.
@@REDGardens Bruce, I had no idea you moved that long ago. Thanks, really enjoy your videos. Gives me lots of new ideas or things to try.
@@REDGardensDidn't know it had been that long! Impressed you haven't lost even a bit of your Canadian accent.
@@JamCamel A lot of my accent is still there, partially because a lot of my friends are not Irish, or have a very mild accent. But when I speak, I often use phrases that are more Irish sounding.
Use clear duck tape get a few more years.
I wonder if it would last longer than the polytunnel tape.
Can’t you just make the polytunnel just a bit smaller? So instead of the current dimensions you start the tunnel at the next hoop?
That would be an option, but I think the tear is small enough to be patched.
Are we really talking about $200 for 13 growing seasons that you got for free? Omg
Free?
Wiggle wire?
Not really used here in Ireland. I suspect because it doesn't stand up to the higher winds.
@@REDGardens I'd check that assumption. I have seen it withstand 75 mph winds in the greenhouse myself. You may be correct..... But I'd not go off an assumption.
It worked so well locally a huge local commercial greenhouse was torn of it mornings and blown a ha!f mile by the very same winds... Glies of Hillsdale MI if your curious. Thank you for sharing.
@@XSRocket Yeah, that is just an assumption, and perhaps not the reason they are hard to source here in Ireland. An other possible factor, is that the sheets of plastic will last a lot longer here inIreland because of the low sunlight levels, which means the lower UV damage. So if the sheets don't need to be replace nearly as often as they would in sunnier places, the easy of the wiggle wire isn't so beneficial.
@@REDGardens I buy that replacement angle you need or want wiggle wire ill hit you with link.
Why would you buy new plastic? That one you have looks very usable, so don't waste your money. Keep fixing holes and carry on.
The main reason is the weakened tears make it much more likely to blow off in a storm, and that can cause a lot of damage, including bending the frame.
😎 Promo'SM
First!
Yay!
One option you didn't mention? hire a young kid to stand there and hold the flaps of Plastic together. Although, maybe that's not the best budget friendly idea!
Haha, my own little polytunnel helper!
CO2 is good for plants
Yes, and more of it in the atmosphere caused more extreme weather, such as prolonged drought, stronger storms, flooding, which are all bad for the plants, outweighing any benefit from increased CO2 concentrations.
@@REDGardens I remain unconvinced. But your cadence comes through even in your writing. I find it very pleasant and I enjoy the RED Gardens project very much. Thank you.
I’m currently reading Patrick Moore’s, former president of Greenpeace, book. The CO2 comment was probably prompted by that. No disrespect intended. Have a wonderful day!