[adri123]

Hi,

I'm getting carried away with all this but having fun so it's ok I suppose.

Anyway, as well as my heated and lit two tray propagator I'm now building a 'grow box'.  It should be about a metre square in footprint so plenty of room for pots etc.

So to sum up I'll have the propagator, the grow box and the polytunnel with 8 raised beds in....

Peppers, chillies, aubergines and toms are already sown. Anyone got suggestions as to what else could be got under way or despite all the artificial help I'm making myself should I still hold off on dukes, melons, squash, sweetcorn etc

As a returning veg gardener but new to PT growing I'd like to get the most out of it from year one so any advice much appreciated.

TIA

Adri

[DD.]

Squash and sweetcorn will shuffle off this mortal coil at the slightest whiff of frost. If you're intending planting them outside do not consider sowing for another month at least. I won't!

Propagators etc. are fine, but we keep stressing you need somewhere to put all the plants!

[adri123]

Nothing is going outside.  The only growing space I have is 8 8ftx4ft raised beds in the PT.  And lots of staging space.

Would that mean your advice re squash, sweetcorn would be different DD?

Ta

[DD.]

I still wouldn't sow yet.

I think your polytunnel is unheated and that can only afford so much protection. An unheated tunnel or greenhouse will eventually drop to near the outside temperature, albeit more slowly.

[Totty]

If you provided the correct heat for germination, have lights to give good growing conditions etc, in theory you could sow cucumbers in December if you want. But when they germinate, and then get potted on to four inch pots, and go back under the lights they will soon be ready to go into five inch pots, then space becomes a premium.

In all honesty, a grow box is great, but in 1 metre square you can't be expecting to get everything off to an early start. Use it wisely for the slow growing plants, chillies and aubergines for example. There won't be enough good light in the day for ages yet, in order for cucumbers and such like to thrive.

In order to make the most from a season in the polytunnel, my advice would be to make sure you have excellent plants, ready at the right time to be planted out. As I mentioned before, early sowing is fine for slower growing stuff but a complete waste of time for everything else including tomatoes I'm afraid.

Totty

[JayG]

Agree with those suggesting caution - although PT's and GH's help to extend the season a little there's no escaping the fact that our summers remain obstinately short in the UK!