We’re all getting back to basics and growing our own in the garden is something which is rapidly growing in popularity. Everyone is hoping for a barbecue summer with long, sunny days which are perfect for helping provide a bumper crop of fruit and vegetables, but if the past few years are anything to go by, we are more likely to see endless weeks of rain and wind. The problematic British climate means that we have to give nature a helping hand, and one of the best ways of doing this is by erecting a polytunnel.

With variable English weather, allotment gardeners Sue Hinton and David Saunderson yearned for a polytunnel. This month Sue gives us an insight into their experience of selecting and erecting a polytunnel and encourages others to have a go.

Polytunnels are a valuable addition to any garden, allowing you to prolong the growing season so you can harvest crops for longer and increase the variety of crops you can grow.

There’s nothing we love more at Northern Polytunnels than the taste of home grown fruit and vegetables. Planting your own fruit and vegetables and watching them blossom into deliciously tasty strawberries, sweet peas, raspberries or other such delights is extremely rewarding.

Northern Polytunnels are proud to work with to bring you a very special February offer.Any Polytunnel purchased in February will receive a FREE seed box from ALLOTINABOX.So don't delay order today...

Purcahse an Allotment Polytunnel and you will receive...

Northern Polytunnels highly recommend's a new book from Allotment Junkie "Lost the Plot" 

"Four years in the development, two years in the writing, 172 pages - this is the first book in the 'Lost the Plot' series.

With 20 years experience of helping novice and expert growers alike, we are always on hand to assist you at every step of the way, offering helpful advice on what to grow or providing superior Polytunnels and raised beds that will help you grow the best fruit and vegetables possible.

As you’ve no doubt heard, NP Structures recently unveiled their ROBUS range of  multi span structures - the UK’s only commercial polytunnels designed and manufactured to British and European Standards.

Let’s face it, the UK is no stranger to the wrath of Mother Nature – just this week we were battered by gale force winds and snowfall. Worryingly, an increasing number of polytunnels are falling victim to the UK’s unpredictable weather, leaving many farmers and growers wondering when Mother Nature is poised to pull off her next unexpected trick.

Latest competitor comparison research by NP Structures shows commercial growers are being let down by polytunnel suppliers providing inferior, poor quality commercial structures.

Commercial growers demand commercial polytunnels that are not only fit for purpose but are also built to last. This summer alone has seen a number of destructive storms and a record amount of rainfall wreak havoc across the British countryside, and unfortunately a substantial number of poorly built commercial polytunnels have fallen victim to the wrath of Mother Nature.

Why have a Polytunnel in School?

We know you don’t need a polytunnel to grow. We know you can grow in planters, grow bags or even an old toilet! But what a polytunnel gives you is 365 days of weather-proof school gardening. When we build we build quality, we build a tunnel that will be used by your children, their children and their children… well you get the idea.

At Northern Polytunnels we always aim to give our customers the help and advice they need to ensure that what they’re growing and how they’re growing it is done to the best of their ability. 

At this time of year we are often asked how best to prepare the garden for the upcoming year and the main piece of advice we give is this...get yourself a polytunnel.  It is absolutely paramount that you are prepared for what the unpredictable British seasons will throw at you and with a polytunnel, your crops will be better and you’ll forever be one step ahead of the weather.

At Northern Polytunnels we are always striving to help our fellow green fingered enthusiasts find new and better ways of looking after your plants and gardens.  To that end we have been beavering away in the workshop and have created a fabulous cover system that incorporates Polytunnel technology with our raised bed fittings.  The result is our fantastic hoop kits, available in a variety of different sizes.

The automation controllers will allow farmers and growers to control their growing environment and maintain conditions within their glasshouse or polytunnel – leading to healthy plant growth, increased crop yields, reduced energy consumption and lower labour costs.

Ian Wolfenden of NP Structures said, “Our automation controllers monitor the key environmental factors that may affect crop quality, including CO2, temperature, humidity levels and irrigation pumps.  The units enable growers to have total control of their glasshouse and polytunnel operations at their fingertips.”

NP Structures will offer a range of controls - suitable for both smaller glasshouses and polytunnels, as well as larger, institutional polytunnels and glasshouses.

NP Structures Donate Polytunnel Cover to Shore Leave Haslar Memorial Garden.

Shore Leave Haslar based at Royal Haslar Hospital in Hampshire has been donated a replacement polytunnel cover by NPStructures for their 18ft x 32ft single span polytunnel.

The Shore Leave Project is located within the Memorial Garden at the hospital, in a corner of the grounds. The project is run by a group of local volunteers, all-working to create a peaceful location for veterans to recuperate through the benefits of horticulture therapy. Their current polytunnel is damaged and desperately in need of repair. After being contacted by a volunteer from SLH, asking for any help towards replacing their polytunnel cover, NP Structures were delighted to donated one to the project FOC.

NP Structures have provided specially designed work shelters to a world renowned construction company to help with their role in a multi-million pound civil engineering project in the UK. The 9 metres wide by 4 metre high structures are based on the design of the NP Structures commercially available, Work Shelter, but developed to suit the customer’s specifications.

NP Structures, also known as Northern Polytunnels will be sponsoring a community garden, on-site at their offices and manufacturing plant in Colne. The garden and allotment although very much in it’s early stages will be known as the ‘Waterside Community Garden’ and will provide a meeting and learning environment to people of all ages.

The garden is the idea of Waterside resident Mark Gunter and several other locals at the Admiral Lord Rodney Pub, Waterside Road, Colne and conveniently right next door to Northern Polytunnels. They approached Northern Polytunnels before Christmas about using some unused land at the side of the manufacturing plant, to clean up and use as a small growing plot. After hearing these plans of using the area as a community plot, Northern Polytunnels were eager to give the ‘Watersiders’ the use of their polytunnels display area.

There’s nothing like a wild storm or two to show up the poor quality of some polytunnel companies, or to highlight the strength and durability of Northern Polytunnels. We’re delighted to say that the vast majority of our expertly engineered structures came through the end of year storms unscathed, intact and still protecting what they were built to protect.

The Best Cricket Net

Without a doubt the ultimate summer sport is cricket and with the cricket season fast approaching, there’s no time like the present to get some practice…

Are You Ready for Lambing Season???

We will be exhibiting at IPM Essen, Germany 2012 in January 2012. IPM Essen has been held for over 30 years and is a global marketplace for the international horticultural industry.  IPM Essen 2012 is a 4 day event running from 24th - 27th January, where over 1,500 exhibitors from 46 counties will be presenting their products and services to 60,000 visitors from more than 90 counties.

Northern Polytunnels specialise in polytunnel structures which are a safer alternative to glass greenhouses for the 'Grow Your Own' industry. A big advantage of choosing a polytunnel over the a greenhouse is the cost. The costs of a greenhouse and a polytunnel will vary depending on specification. However based on square metrage and set-up, a polytunnel will always come out on top.

At Northern Polytunnels, we have a wide range of polytunnels for hobby and commercial use. Each polytunnel comes in a variety of sizes and options, such as; coverings, ventilation, crop bars and irrigation systems.

All Northern Polytunnel structures come with carefully written instructions on the 'How To's' of building a polytunnel.  We advise all our customers that if you can follow written instructions and you can build a piece of flat pack furniture - you'll be absolutely fine building one of Northern Polytunnel's polytunnels!

2011 RHS Flower Show Tatton Park

This year we donated a polytunnel to the Association of Manchester Allotments Societies. The polytunnel was used on AMAS’s plot at RHS Tatton Park Flower Show in Cheshire.

A polytunnel is a metal tunnel made up of galvanised metal hoops, supports, crop bars and base rails.
Our polytunnels come in small 8ft - 14ft widths for the home grower and large single and multi span structures for the commercial grower.
Northern Polytunnels first introduced a range of polytunnels in the 1970's

GLEE 2011

Norhtern Polytunnels sales team has just returned back from three days at the GLEE Show held at NEC, Birmingham.
The GLEE exhibition is one of the most comprehensive trade shows for leisure & garden retail industries in the UK.
This year’s show was packed with companies showcasing new products & latest buying trends.

Following an excellent show last year Northern Polytunnels will be exhibiting at the Four Oaks Trade Show again this year.

Four Oaks Trade Show is held in Cheshire on 6^th/7^th of September and hosted on their own site and along with outside plots the trade show includes 13,000m² of covered exhibition space.

Glee Birmingham 2011

Northern Polytunnels will be at the Glee trade show this year on the 19-21 September at NEC Birmingham. The Show offers a comprehensive mix of products and services for the garden and leisure industry.

ROBUS in the PRESS

Sally Drury from Horticultural Week wrote an article on developments and latest offerings on the market for glasshouse type structures.

Sally visited the Director of Northern Polytunnels, Ian Wolfenden in July to discuss our new structure ROBUS.  The article was a great success and featured in the product pages of The Market Report.

Currently polytunnel design has evolved over time since its inception in the early 1970s, mainly based on experience and cost, without any specific loadings or calculations being applied.

Each Manufacturer claims his structure is stronger, and better by design and price, but from a customer point of view there has been no way of measuring or checking the quality of the product they have been receiving

The new ROBUS structure has been designed in line with the following codes of practice;

NP Structures manufacture and distribute polytunnels of all sizes and ranges for a multiple number of different purposes, we have been in the polytunnel industry for a number of years now and are experts when it comes to these structures distributing and supplying them for businesses in a range of various different industries.

Northern Polytunnels are a family run business who have been prosperously manufacturing and selling polytunnels in the UK for well over fourty years now, giving us a vast wealth of knowledge within the industry, so I think it would be fair to say that we pretty much know our stuff when it comes to polytunnels and all that relates to them.

Do you ever wonder how you could save money on your weekly shopping bill?

I think it would be fair to say that most of us either wonder how our shopping bill is so expensive and most of us try to cut it down, but in this climate it feels like there is no way to do it!

We will use this blog to keep you up to date will all the goings on in the Polytunnel world. Here you will find features on up coming offers, FAQ’s, Discussions with Growers, Customer feedback and lots, lots more.

How do you decide what to talk about in the first ever blog? How about a history lesson? Lets start from the very beginning and the history of the Polytunnel and Northern Polytunnels.

NP Structures have now firmly established as one of the leading providers and manufacturers of polytunnels throughout the whole of the UK with over fourty years of hands on experience within this industry going into every polytunnel. The idea for NP Structures first came to light many years ago in 1969...

Northern Polytunnels have now been established within the polytunnels industry for over forty years with the business moving down through generation after generation of family, through that period they have always maintained their professional approach and dedicated attitude to the development of polytunnels and other related products...