'View from the Greenhouse / Polytunnel door 2018'

[veggiechicken]

There's at least one here http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ml#post1572758

[Guest]

I am still very new to all of this. I only just got my greenhouse last summer. I find it all very therapeutic for helping me with depression. Sometimes I don’t even know if something will work or not. I’m just learning as I go along I guess. I am feeling quite excited about getting started this spring.....

Don't panic, find your own pace. You will soon learn VC's pace is excessive* and usually rather bonkers but we luv her for it. Nutters are not excluded from the vine (thankfully)

*5 greenhouses
*1000's of seeds
*5 heated propagators
*30ish veg beds
*100's of kale plants
*100's of courgettes and will take more come summer
*360+ days of sunshine (there are a few days when it rains in VC's world)
*Even 1 dog soon came with a litter of puppies
*an endless supply of pointy sticks. (So I better go hide up quick)

[Cadalot]

Nutters are not excluded from the vine (thankfully)

If they were there would be very few people left

[Dead Dogs]

Nothing to see in the greenhouse, so here’s a ‘view from the greenhouse’.

[Bacchus]

Today i sorted out my auto pot system, really working out how i was going to splice in the 6 new pots.

I've decided on three rows with two pairs on each. I've also slid over the drying rack above these .. so it should be out of the way there whete i can't bump my head. It used to be over the central bed but i intend to put tomatoes there this year.

[unclefudgly]

Progress. Love this time of year in the polytunnel

[Dead Dogs]

No a view from the greenhouse at home.

[Bacchus]

Those last two posts show pictures of activity that's starting to look very productive. I tend to not grow anything much over winter as when I leave for work it's dark and when I get home from it's dark too which makes it difficult.

[Bacchus]

What a lot of "tunneling" was done today - any more and I'd have ended up in Scotland...

I decided to raise the height of the central bed by adding another row of boards. As they are just fencing boards I braced it with stays hammered into the ground to prevent bulging. It should be fine. The plan is to use this area for two rows of tomatoes this year. The bed is about 5' wide so they should have plenty of room to grow here without being crowded.



The next problem I have is to actually fill the area. I did have some rotting cow manure I could "dig into" and see if it was suitable.



So I made a bit of a start on that - such a difference between the rather dry soil/compost in the tunnel and what has come in from the heap



This is about as much as I can do today - the rain has come on

Still it's a start...

[unclefudgly]

^Looking good and very tidy!

[Bacchus]

Some more work preparing for this years crops.

I've decided to cover the long central bed in the tunnel with fabric to keep the weeds down and the moisture in.

First:


I dug a trench to bury a soaker hose that I happened to have lying around but have never used before. I tested it and it seems to work fine except for a hole near the top that water shoots out of for some reason - I might have to seal that up but I'll leave it for now until I work out what it's for.



By good fortune it's length exactly goes down one side of the bed and up another so by knowing where it is I can plant the tomatoes just to the side of it through holes in the fabric.



The one thing I did right when putting the polytunnel up is getting water piped into it. So I have a tap in the corner that I can just plug into. I made a connecting hose from an off cut of a hose and connected it up.

Once I get the bed filled with more compost I'll be able to just seal it with the fabric.

Hopefully this will all work out - it's a bit of an experiment this year. The bed is about 28 ft long so I think I can get 10 plants on each row - just under 3 ft space between them - any thoughts as to if this is too much? Just 2ft seems a bit tight.

[unclefudgly]

Ooh that looks good! A great idea about the soaker hose, and water in the tunnel? Your spoilt!!

If you have the room I think 2-3ft would be ideal for Tomatoes, mine were 2ft apart last year, seemed to work very well.

[Bacchus]

Ooh that looks good! A great idea about the soaker hose, and water in the tunnel? Your spoilt!!

If you have the room I think 2-3ft would be ideal for Tomatoes, mine were 2ft apart last year, seemed to work very well.

Thanks - 2ft apart would let me get in 13 plants per row. Maybe I will go with 2ft..

[veggiechicken]

Feb 16th views

GH No 1



Bijou mangetout at the far end - starting to flower.



Lots of mixed up leaves keeping me in salads and some more pea flowers.



GH No 2



More salad and a radish!!

[Bacchus]

I planted a few flower bulbs today. The mass of trays here all have onions or broad beans in.



This unholy mess is my work area...



But it was a hive of activity today...