Build Your Own Poly Tunnel

As promised here are the basics on how to build your own Poly Tunnel
First concrete 4 foot lengths of scaffold tube in to the ground at 5 foot centres the quantity will depend on how the finished tunnel will be. These tubes should be 3 foot long above ground

Next fix scaffold planks to the outside of the poles on both sides and the back using builders Band 

SCREWFIX 

 Next put the 50mm water or gas or gas pipe over the scaffold tubes and push down to the top of the scaffold boards to create the hoops for a 10foot wide tunnel use 19 foot lengths

Next build the frameworks at both ends using randomised cls timber from Wickes or B+Q

cls B&Q

The hoops need bracing on the smaller tunnels I use 2x1 timber 

on the larger ones I use the same cls as the framework just screw the wood in to the pipe 

you are now ready for the sheet 

you can find the sheeting instructions here

sheeting instructions

Core blimey Carrot time already

Today I managed to get a full day on the garden and cored my first stump carrot bed. As my early shows are at the end of august I needed to get this done asap. as sweet candle take 22 weeks from sowing to maturity I am actually a week late.I have changed my mix this year and am using a variation of  Ian Simpsons mix the mix I decided on is
2oz Dolomite Lime
2oz Seaweed meal
2oz Nutrimate
1oz Super phosphate
1 oz Sulphate of potash
4 gallons sieved peat
1 gallon silver sand
1 gallon fine Vermiculite
1 gallon sieved bagged top soil
this was all mixed up in my mixer for half an hour to ensure an evenly distributed mix. 4 mixes filled 45 holes I then sowed 2 seeds per station and watered well. It is now just a case of waiting for them to germinate then thinning them down to one per station.

I also sowed my first chitted parsnip seeds 5 stations so far

Kelsae onions are now flying along

Vento onions that were planted in to the tunnel last week have now settled in nicely despite the snow that we had this week

we are now eating spring cabbage which has done well 

Chitting

I arrived back from down south on Friday  night and immediately put some parsnip seeds to chit.This is the process of pre sprouting the seeds before sowing, this makes germination more reliable as parsnips are a bit hit and miss if you dont The process involves placing some damp kitchen roll in a tray then placing the seeds on top,I then cover the seeds with some more damp kitchen roll and place the tray in a heated propogaror, the trick is to then keep a sharp eye on them and as soon as they start to sprout sow them immediately, more on this next week when hopefully it happens.

Parsnips method and mix

Saturday saw me remove the mixer from storage and commence mixing my parsnip mix. I have decided to simplify things this year due to lack of time because of work commitments,the basis of the mix is seived irish moss peat which I obtained locally in 200 litre bales it is lovely fine stuff with no twigs or rubbish in it

The recipe is as follows
Peat sieved 10 litres
Silver sand 10 litres
Fine vermiculite 10 litres
Sieved bagged topsoil 5 litres
Westland no 2 10litres
To this I add
4oz review 4 or vitax q4 ground up
3oz seaweed meal
3oz dolomite lime
2oz nutrimate
another important factor is to weigh all the fertilizers accurately to avoid getting different mixes,I use a digital scale for this

Each mix is then thoroughly blended in my mixer for half an hour. This is to ensure all the fertilizers are evenly distributed giving a uniform mix to produce uniform roots once I had enough mix I started the coring and boring process. Firstly I core out a 3" hole using old plastic drain pipe I then use a ling metal bar to deepen the hole and rotate it to make the top wider,this leaves a cone shaped hole which takes 6 litres of mix to fill .I use an old measuring jug to do this and when the holes are full I place a 4" plastic ring on top which helps with watering later on .

.I will be starting to chit my parsnip seeds this weekend,more on this when I do it
Also a mention to my mum and dad for keeping it all weed free and all the water barrels full while I have been away I would struggle without them, below is a picture of the weed free plot.

not a weed in sight 

More at the weekend when I get back up North

Onions and Leeks plus Parsnip bed disaster

Yesterday I went on to the garden with the intention of  planting my leeks and onions in to the tunnel only to find that the weight of the sand plus the heavy rain on Friday night had caused one of the corners to split.The prospect of empting 3 tons of sand and re filling after the repair did not put me in good spirits.I hatched a plan to use a heavy duty ratchet strap to try and force the boards back in to place,Fortunately this worked and with some larger screws all is well again and boring will be undertaken next weekend.

OH DEARY ME

After wasting most of the day repairing the box I finally got the leeks and some of the onions planted in to their final positions the leeks now have a 12" collar which I hope to change in a couple of weeks.The tunnel has frost protection just in case the weather gets colder 

On the giant onion front I planted 2 in to their final positions I only intend to grow 2 this year mainly for fun as I have no chance of getting in to the prizes at harrogate. This years are way behind last years which made 10.5lb if I can get a 10 pounder this year I will be more than happy

Shallot time

Sunday and the lovely weather saw me putting in my shallots which have been sat in pots since Christmas. they have lovely top growth and a nice root system has developed.I swore I would not grow Shallots again due to the lack of success in previous years,it is not growing them that is the problem it has been keeping them after lifting.
I decided to have another try with 24 bulbs purchased from the GN. and after reading Medwyns article in aforesaid publication last week I decided to get them planted out.

I sowed some Broccoli this week its a new variety for me which is Aquiles F1 Dan has grown it before and swears by it it has the same characteristics as Smithyveg not very tall with a big head.

Calabrese, Aquiles F1 Seeds

S: February-April or September H: June-September or May

Can be over-wintered if desired for an extra early crop of top class, tightly domed heads. It can also be planted closer together than many others, making the most of garden space. Once the central head is cut, delicious smaller side shoots are produced. Plants are highly resistant to foliar downy mildew.

Calabrese, Aquiles F1 Seeds

D.T. Brown Choice

60 seeds

Code: 12560

£2.39

I also bit the bullet and ordered a tablet computer this week great for taking on the garden and blogging  activities

Back to more serious things the new parsnip bed is finally full of sand 3 ton in total.I will be boring it out this coming weekend and also starting to chit my seeds i will go  more on the mix ,chitting and boring as I do it.

I also put the tiller through the onion and leek beds in the tunnel in readyness for planting them in to thier final positions after tilling in sone tev 4 fertilizer and some slow release mirracle grow both beds were watered with Armillatox to kill any nasties.I intend to plant these up in the next couple of weeks once we reach 12 hours daylight .

My over winter onions and spring cabbage seem to be really starting to grow now not long till we start eating the cabbage 

Finally I managed 9 40 litre tubs of molehills from Sunderland last week so the Brassica bed is filling up nicely I hope to get the same again this week from Bristol 

ltchy feet

Saturday saw my 51st birthday and the event was marked by a morning shopping for garden related items both in town and online.I than spent the rest of the day on the allotment joined by Linda,Kara my daughter and Harley the head Gardner and now fully fledged chicken herder.
My first task was to unload the van which was full of 40 litre tubs of mole hill soil 7 on total gathered from the grass verges around the north east where I have been working this week.I try to collect 250 litres a week as I need a substantial ammount to fill a new raised bed In the large tunnel,which I am hoping to use to grow show brassicas in a club root free enviroment,as the rest of the allotment is full of the desease which is nigh on impossible to eradicate.This new bed is 20foot long by 6 foot wide and 2 planks deep. I am hoping to have it filled for the end of march.

I then started sorting all the onions that are under the lights with the help of Kara we got all the Kelsae potted on and supported.The Vento were all re potted in to the same size pots,the object of this was to change the growing medium as they were in some B&Q compost that claimed to be John Innes numbr 2 it was total shite  never again. They are now all in Westland and looking much better.

I have been eager to get going and sowed my first propper batch of seeds yesterday,these are mainly Brassicas for kitchen use. I did however sow a few Goldstar and cherry tomatoes,the giant sweede seeds sown last week are through already and have been potted on along with a few chillie plants.
I also recieved some pot leeks from Dickie Walton on Thursday theseare Cumbrian and have now been potted up and are under the lights,There are no pot leek classes at the shows I attend but they are always a good bet in the any other veg class.

The spring cabbage in the large tunnel are doing well hopefully we will be eating them in a few weeks