What can I plant now in a polytunnel?

[antipodes]

Hello! Long time, no news from me  ;D been in hibernation...
I got a terrific bargain, a polytunnel, 2 x 5 m for about a fiver. Now of course I have bought it I don't quite know what to do with it :)
Just a couple of quick questions:
1) Can I plant as soon as I put it up? Or is the idea for it to warm up the soil for a while first???
2) What can I sow in it at the moment? I had thought of some early carrots, some beetroot, lettuce, radishes, but I was wondering if there were any seed beds I could get started too? leeks? red cabbage? green broccoli?? (trying to think of things that I have seeds of still...)

Thanks for any suggestions!

[antipodes]

[manicscousers]

hiya, antipodes, is it a walk in one ?
we've got very early potatoes, swift in there now, just stick a bit of fleece over if a very hard frost, chinese leaves and little gem lettuce in there, radish and mouli radish as well, we're using part of it to bring on seedlings which have been started off in the house, no reason why you can't start things in it now, they reckon you get a month either side of the season  :)
hope this helps , manics

[antipodes]

no it's not a walk in  it's about 50cm tall (20 inches?), so it is a tunnel. I wondered if I could use it to start off some seed trays, provided I put the trays actaully into the ground , or insulated them with something?? perhaps i should look at my planting guide and see if I can't bring some things forward by planting in there. I had been obsessed with the early carrot idea perhaps but the leafy things also seem to be a possibility.
thanks for that contribution. Anyone else??

[calendula]

early peas would be one suggestion  :)

[manicscousers]

one of my ideas last year was to grow sweet potatoes in one of them, never got around to trying it though  ;D