Never had a poly tunnel before so....

[Lumpy]

When can I start putting toms, pepers etc in it. Its quite large but does get very warm inside even when it has been snowing.

[Alison]

The temp needs to be consistently above 10deg, day AND night so quite a while yet.

[daviddevantnhisspiritwife]

Worth investing in a Max/Min thermometer for your PT. Very useful as you can check what the temperature dropped to overnight and then curse yourself for leaving your chilli/tom/cucumber seedlings out in the cold (yes I have mant times).

I have a couple of these:

Liroyal LCD Digital Temperature Humidity Meter Thermometer: Amazon.co.uk: Lighting

But there are loads of different ones for a few £ up.

[Bigmallly]

Too early yet Lumpy. You'll be surprised how cold it gets at night even in a PT.

[Bigmallly]

I had a stroke of luck in H0mebase a few weeks ago, I picked up one of these £11 down to £4.............good value.

[marchogaeth]

What else are/do you going/want to put in there? There are several plants you could be sticking in now to get an early start - maybe just one or two of each. Lots of things can be germinated inside and eased out.

Like everyone else said though, way too early for peppers and toms. It's not just the air temperature that needs to be above 10C for growth, you also need the soil warm as well.

[marchogaeth]

Can I just add that it might be worth adding a slightly more geographical location to your profile as that will make quite a difference to how much you can extend your season in the tunnel.

[Lumpy]

Thanks all - I will start mooching for a +/- thermometer.
It never occurred to me that I could put other bits and pieces in at this time of year - drrrrr!
Can somebody give me any ideas?
Location is half way between Lincoln and Newark

[Kristen]

Location is half way between Lincoln and Newark

If you put it in your Profile we'll be able to see it next time - rather than having to guess or having to remember

[marchogaeth]

When I first started polytunnel gardening, this book was my bible. I still pull it out every few weeks just to have a look at Mark's suggestions and to check I've not missed anything. (I have my seed box set out to match his calendar and then move seeds around to their garden planting date - sorry nerdy, I know.)

Once you know how your season works you can adjust accordingly - he is in S Wales so you might find you are a bit colder - my tunnel is North facing and I find it very slow in the spring to reach the higher temperatures but my greens and beans are a joy to behold so I don't mind waiting to put the hotties in.

So here's what he has for February/March and these are for growing through to harvest in the tunnel but obviously you can start plants to move outside.
Aubergines (I'm dubious - I start in the house but if you don't mind waiting for germination they might be ok)
Broad beans
Sprouting broccoli (March)
Cabbage - Spring type
Carrots
Cauliflowers - you have never eaten cauli until you have had one out of the tunnel.
Celeriac
Celery
Swiss chard
Coriander (if you can get the bl***y stuff to germinate at all!)
Fennel (March)
Garlic
Kohl rabi
Lettuce
Spring onions
Pak choi if you are really quick otherwise it will bolt.
Peas
Peppers but see aubergines!
Potatoes
Radish
Spinach
Sweet potato
Tomato but see aubergines, again!
Turnip
SO now you have made me realise I'm miles behind and hopefully you have got some food for thought.

Joyce Russell does a book that got a lot of rave reviews. My personal view is read it second (at the end of your first season). She is quite good at getting you to think about pushing your season by taking a few risks, so now I always stick a few French Beans in in August and I may or may not get a crop.

You also need to be brutal (I find this hard) so if you put a courgette in the tunnel to get and early crop - pull it out once the garden ones start. BNS - loves the tunnel but you have to be prepared to chop fruit off so that you get a proper harvest - this is particularly disheartening when they get their second flush but they won't ripen.

PS borrow this book from the library http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Polytunn...d_bxgy_b_img_z

PPS check out this thread. It would be nice to have some company there!

[Lumpy]

Thank you for that - I never realised that the tunnel was so versatile. I suppose I just thought of it as a place for toms etc.
I now have the urge to go and start sorting it out as at the moment it looks like a bomb site.

[marchogaeth]

Thank you for that - I never realised that the tunnel was so versatile. I suppose I just thought of it as a place for toms etc.
I now have the urge to go and start sorting it out as at the moment it looks like a bomb site.

In fact many growers say peppers don't do that well in a tunnel. When I retire, I want another one and I might just plonk it over some of the existing garden beds just because it will make such a difference to the ordinary plants in the beds.