Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Growing in Greenhouses & Polytunnels => Topic started by: sion01 on January 06, 2013, 17:45
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I'm flirting with the idea of a polytunnel and think that the only way I can justify the lost space and expence is if I can harvest stuff through the year.
Could I get salad leaves etc through the year?
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Joy Larkcom does :D whether we can is another matter :D
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I have spinach and swiss chard in mine at the mo. This is mainly for greens for the chickens.
Charlie at the allotment grows round lettuce.
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I've got chard, true and perpetual spinach in mine at the moment, plus a few small cabbage that were planted out late but which I'm hoping will grow on when the weather warms up a bit. I've also got a few kohlrabi in there which are also small. I got my timings a bit wrong with the late seedlings this year, but hoping I'll do better next year. If you have a look at the How to Grow Food in your Polytunnel book, they certainly seem to get something all year. My big problem is I'm severely lacking in motivation when the weather gets that cold and miserable :)
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I'm so sad :(
Bought a smallish (in the huge scheme of things that they can be) polytunnel last november and put it up.
I seived all the soil inside and was all ready for planting and despite how well I tied it down and buried it, it ended up a twisted mess in the plot next door :ohmy:
Gutted.
Whatever you decide to do - make sure you have anchored it well for gale force winds (like we got a fortnight after I erected mine) :(
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You were unlucky there Devonbarmy. Mine has stood up to Skye weather for more than 5 years (touch wood). I expect that the soil anchoring yours didn't have time to settle before the winds. I've heard that you are better off covering them in the summer, since you can get the cover tighter that way (stretchier in warmer temp). Also make sure that the bolts for the frame are well tightened or have lock nuts. I've heard of tunnels locally where the crop bars (that should make the frame stronger) have come loose and punched through the sides of the tunnel :(
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I've grown overwintered lettuce for a number of years and it works fine.
Because I use the polytunnel for tomatoes and their are plants in there until November, I've taken to putting the lettuces into pots and then burying the pots into the polytunnel when the tomatoes are taken out. The only problem I've really found is that the lettuces feed the slugs through the winter!!