Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Growing in Greenhouses & Polytunnels => Topic started by: simon hughes on July 26, 2019, 17:32
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Afternoon,
I have a 36x14ft tunnel that is fairly new and was shared with my neighbour. But they pulled out and now I have all to myself. I had only got it to grow the usual stuff over summer but now feel compelled to make use of it all over winter. It's split into 3 beds the length of it. What should I sow now to plant when the chillis, toms etc get pulled end of summer? Kinda overwhelmed with the space so need a plan. So far it's just garlic and spring cabbages in the plan. Can I grow chard and beetroots? Pak Choi? I do like a lot of salad as well. Apart from that wondering what to do. How do you use yours?
Ta
Si
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Last year I overwintered peas, cut and come again salads, spring onions, coriander, parsley and winter cauliflowers (which normally bolt outdoors for me). This year I'm going to add oriental crops too!
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You may find the polytunnel section on the site useful - there are monthly growing guides.
Polytunnel Growing (https://www.allotment-garden.org/polytunnel-growing/)
That's a fair old tunnel - somewhat green with envy! My first polytunnel winter wasn't too good due to fungal problems but I've installed a solar-powered ventilation fan which seems to have cured that. We've a particularly humid atmosphere here. Small, sweet early carrots - freshly pulled are a treat from the tunnel.
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PSB will be ready much earlier and bring your cropping period forward, all kales likewise, any overwintering cabbages, spring cabbage, any other brassicas you can think of relish the protection from wind and rain and pests!
Mustard greens, perpetual spinach, chard, winter radishes (try the blue and red ones called Blue Moon etc from T&M, they are amazing!) , Spring Onions, shallots, Autumn sown bulbing onions (Japanese onions) multi-sown in modules then planted out in there. Whatever hardy salads you like, early sowings of carrots and beetroot, plus new potatoes from, mid February onwards, especially if you can give them additional cloche protection inside the tunnel, with peas, mangetout, Cherry Belle radishes, that need no extra help in there; broad beans (de Monica) from a Spring Sowing are incredibly early,
Just keep an eye out for whitefly on brassicas or aphids on peas etc... they also relish the protection and need to be dealt with promptly of they overtake everything at an amazing pace . No carrot fly, onion fly.pigeons or other flying pests. Mice can move in... snappy traps deal with these readily.
I wouldn't be without my tunnels in the Winter, and mine are not quite the area you have Simon (2 that are 6m by 3m which in Summer I join with a 1m wide netting section to give a cntinuois space but close them off in Winter to 2 spearate ones as they are warmer then.. moving in some tubs of mint is good too if you have space
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Have you considered putting in some peaches, nectarines,apricots to take up some space, not a winter crop I know, but would b3 a welcome addition for the summer if it were me.