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What a polytunnel earns its keep for

Sprint 22 assessed both structures separately expecting them to come out the same, and they did not — in one specific and useful way. Nothing in this catalogue is UNLOCKED by a polytunnel. Polythene loses overnight heat that glass holds, so the crops living at the edge of their heat requirement ripen later and less reliably under a tunnel than under glass, and every one of them drops from 'only possible here' to 'better here'. What a tunnel does instead, and does more cheaply than any greenhouse, is buy weeks at both ends of the season across a very wide range of crops. Forty-eight of them, which is what the structure is actually for.

How this list was built

Generated from the catalogue by the same engine that powers What can I grow? — 48 of the 102 edible plants qualify. It is published because it names a question people ask, returns enough plants to be useful, does not return most of the group it is about, and rests on fields that are actually populated. Lists that fail any of those are on the coverage page instead.

48 plants
PlantTypeLightSpacingMin. pot depthIn a container
AubergineSolanum melongenaVegetableDemandingFull sun45–60 cm30 cmwell suited
BasilOcimum basilicumHerbSome care neededFull sun20–25 cm15 cmwell suited
BeetrootBeta vulgarisVegetableStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade10 cm20–25 cmwell suited
Broad beanVicia fabaVegetableStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade20–23 cm30 cmworkable
CarrotDaucus carota subsp. sativusVegetableSome care neededFull sun, Partial shade5–8 cm30 cmwell suited
CeleriacApium graveolens var. rapaceumVegetableDemandingFull sun, Partial shade30–38 cm30 cmmarginal
CeleryApium graveolensVegetableDemandingFull sun, Partial shade23–27 cm25 cmmarginal
ChardBeta vulgaris subsp. vulgarisVegetableStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade25–30 cm25 cmwell suited
ChervilAnthriscus cerefoliumHerbSome care neededPartial shade, Dappled shade20–25 cm20 cmwell suited
ChicoryCichorium intybusVegetableSome care neededFull sun, Partial shade25–30 cm45 cmworkable
Chilli pepperCapsicum annuumVegetableSome care neededFull sun40–45 cm20 cmwell suited
ChivesAllium schoenoprasumHerbStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade20–30 cm15 cmwell suited
CorianderCoriandrum sativumHerbSome care neededFull sun, Partial shade15–20 cm20 cmwell suited
CourgetteCucurbita pepoVegetableStraightforwardFull sun90 cm35 cmworkable
Curry leafMurraya koenigiiHerbDemandingFull sun100–150 cm35 cmwell suited
DillAnethum graveolensHerbStraightforwardFull sun20–25 cm25 cmworkable
EndiveCichorium endiviaVegetableSome care neededFull sun, Partial shade25–30 cm20 cmworkable
FigFicus caricaFruitSome care neededFull sun400 cm40 cmwell suited
French beanPhaseolus vulgarisVegetableStraightforwardFull sun15–20 cm25 cmwell suited
KaleBrassica oleraceaVegetableStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade45 cm30 cmwell suited
KohlrabiBrassica oleraceaVegetableStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade25–30 cm25 cmwell suited
Lamb's lettuceValerianella locustaVegetableStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade10–15 cm12 cmwell suited
Land cressBarbarea vernaVegetableStraightforwardPartial shade, Dappled shade, Full sun15–20 cm15 cmwell suited
LemongrassCymbopogon citratusHerbSome care neededFull sun—25 cmwell suited
LettuceLactuca sativaVegetableStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade15–30 cm15 cmwell suited
MarjoramOriganum majoranaHerbStraightforwardFull sun20–30 cm15 cmwell suited
MelonCucumis meloFruitDemandingFull sun90 cm35 cmworkable
Pak choiBrassica rapaVegetableStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade20–25 cm20 cmwell suited
ParsleyPetroselinum crispumHerbSome care neededFull sun, Partial shade20–25 cm25 cmwell suited
PassionflowerPassiflora caeruleaOrnamentalStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade200–300 cm50 cmworkable
PeaPisum sativumVegetableStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade5–8 cm25 cmworkable
PotatoSolanum tuberosumVegetableStraightforwardFull sun30–38 cm40 cmwell suited
RadishRaphanus sativusVegetableStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade2.5–5 cm15 cmwell suited
RaspberryRubus idaeusFruitStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade40–45 cm40 cmworkable
RhubarbRheum × hybridumFruitStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade90–120 cm45 cmmarginal
RocketEruca vesicariaVegetableStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade10–15 cm15 cmwell suited
SavorySatureja hortensisHerbStraightforwardFull sun20–25 cm15 cmwell suited
ShisoPerilla frutescensHerbSome care neededFull sun, Partial shade30–40 cm25 cmwell suited
SorrelRumex acetosaHerbStraightforwardPartial shade, Full sun, Dappled shade30–38 cm25 cmwell suited
SpinachSpinacia oleraceaVegetableSome care neededFull sun, Partial shade15 cm20 cmwell suited
Spring onionAllium cepaVegetableStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade2–5 cm15 cmwell suited
StrawberryFragaria × ananassaFruitStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade35–45 cm20 cmwell suited
Sweet pepperCapsicum annuumVegetableSome care neededFull sun45 cm25 cmwell suited
SweetcornZea maysVegetableSome care neededFull sun35–45 cm45 cmmarginal
Thai basilOcimum basilicum var. thyrsifloraHerbSome care neededFull sun25–30 cm20 cmwell suited
TurnipBrassica rapaVegetableStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade15–20 cm25 cmworkable
Vietnamese corianderPersicaria odorataHerbSome care neededPartial shade, Full sun30–40 cm20 cmwell suited
Winter squashCucurbita maximaVegetableSome care neededFull sun120–180 cm45 cmmarginal