If you’re new to polytunnel gardening, you’re probably wondering how to keep your backyard polytunnel heated during the winter season. Heating a polytunnel is only one of the many questions that the UK newbie polytunnel gardeners ask. After all, who doesn’t want to make sure that their plants placed in an environment that provides the ideal temperature for their growth?
Check out some of the commonly asked questions about polytunnel gardening.
Does a Polytunnel Need to Be Heated?
You need to insulate your polytunnel if you live in a UK area where the climate is cold.
Is an Unheated Polytunnel Frost-Free?
Although an unheated polytunnel can keep overnight temperatures warmer than the temperatures outside, it doesn’t guarantee that the plants inside it stay frost-free during the coldest of winters.
How Do You Keep a Polytunnel Warm?
You can keep your tender plants warm during those cold winter nights if you insulate them with a bubble wrap, use a thermostat, use heaters, ventilate your polytunnel, circulate air, or keep your plants off the cold ground. Bubble wraps with more giant bubbles provide better insulation. Be sure that all of the windows and doors are covered to retain the heat inside the polytunnel.
If you plan on using heaters, KlimaHeat would be a great choice because it heats up as soon as you turn it on. It’s best to monitor the polytunnel temperature with the use of a thermostat. Make sure that the temperature levels kept between 24˚C (75.2˚F) to 28˚C (82.4˚F).
The best way to avoid cold and hot patches in your polytunnel, as well as inaccurate temperature readings, make sure that the air inside it evenly warmed with the use of air circulators. While you’re at it, make sure that you open your polytunnel vents regularly to freshen the air and prevent the growth of moulds, mildew, and fungus. Close the vents before the evening so that you can keep your plants warm through the night.
Is Polytunnel Gardening Worth the Investment?
Yes, it indeed is. There’s nothing more sensible than growing your plants in a secure and protected area that features the best growing environment for your fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Investing in a polytunnel may require an upfront cost, but you’ll quickly recoup the value of your investment and then some.
Here are some of the best reasons why polytunnel gardening is worth the investment:
It protects your plants from inclement weather
With a polytunnel to shield your plants from heavy rains, high winds, blizzards, hail, and other harsh weather conditions, you can rest easy knowing that your tender plants won’t be affected. Unlike traditional outdoor gardeners in the UK, you won’t need to develop emergency preparations to ensure your plants’ safety against inclement weather.
You’ll eliminate the need for a UK garden shed
Aside from housing your precious plants, your polytunnel can also serve as a storage space for all of your gardening needs, including seeds, tools, equipment, and accessories. You won’t have to build a garden shed!
It keeps the beneficial bugs in and the destructive ones out
Since polytunnel allows you to take complete control over what comes in and what goes out, you can have the option to enhance your plants’ growth potential by letting in some of the insects that are beneficial to them. These include bumblebees, ladybugs, aphid parasites, aphid predators, beneficial nematodes, fly predators, leafminer parasites, mealybug destroyers, whitefly parasites, thrips predators, spider mite predators, soldier bugs, praying mantis, pirate bugs, moth egg parasites, and many more.
Conversely, a polytunnel can also allow you to keep the destructive insects and animals out. These may include cabbage maggots, caterpillars, cutworms, Colorado potato beetles, Mexican bean beetles, flea beetles, tarnished plant bugs, Japanese beetles, scales, rabbits, deer, raccoons, squirrels, voles, and groundhogs, etc.
Save money on grocery shopping
Since having your polytunnel allows you to grow your food, you can be sure that you’ll enjoy a steady supply of your favourite fruits, vegetables, and herbs all year round. What’s more, you won’t have to worry about the fluctuating prices of fresh produce that usually influenced by transportation costs and the weather. Best of all, you’ll get to save more money on grocery shopping.
You can extend the growing season
One of the best things about having your polytunnel is that you can easily extend your crops’ growing season. Keep in mind that the levels of temperature and humidity inside your polytunnel are entirely under your control. Control means that you can keep your plants’ growing environment consistently warm and humid – perfect for enhancing plant growth regardless of the weather or the season.
You’ll get to grow more plants
Polytunnel gardening will make it easy for you to grow out-of-season plants or plants that aren’t native to your area. If you live in a colder UK region, your polytunnel will allow you to grow tropical fruits and vegetables that you otherwise couldn’t.
Final Thoughts on How to Keep Your Backyard Polytunnel Heated
Knowing how to keep your backyard polytunnel heated should be enough to convince you of how convenient and practical UK polytunnel gardening is. Purchase your polytunnel today and discover the beautiful benefits of growing your plants in a polytunnel!