polytunnel plans for winter!

[hedgewizard]

Calling all experienced tunnelers!

What is best to grow in winter in the tunnel? Our first frost date is expected to be mid-Nov, and I'm thinking so far lettuce (under fleece), pak choi, early carrot (to grow on in spring), turnip, oh I don't know what else. Come on chaps, "Gardening under Plastic" is no help at all here. Help me out!

[hedgewizard]

Since there have been no takers for this thread, I did a bit of research myself and thought I might as well post the results. This is what I'm going to be planting out in about an hour and a half - some of it is going onto a shelf suspended on wires from my crop bars so that it doesn't get so much frost damage.

Overwintering peas
Autumn sown broad beans
Land cress
Rocket
Corn salad
Parseley
Fast crop carrots
spring onions
radishes
chard (already growing)
leeks
coriander
Chinese Cabbage - Wong Bok.
Pak Choi - China Choi.
Komatsuma.
Chopsuey Greens - Shungiku.
Mibuna.
Chinese Cabbage - Tatsoi.
Mustard Greens - Giant Red.
Purple Choy Sum.


And a few "off-piste" experiments;
Mooli
Sugarbon peas
cauliflower

Any more suggestion - post 'em quick!

[Shirley]

Missed your first post... but have no idea anyway.

I just WANT a polytunnel NOW... but think it's too late for this year. Sobs....

[hedgewizard]

Shirlz, if you have the readies to get one bear in mind that the season for growing in there starts in... where are you from... ooh, what - late February? Early March?

Anyway, it's all in apart from the japanese stuff because I have to order the seeds. I may cop out a bit though and just go for pak choi and mizuna.

[PurpleDragon]

I have a poly and I didn't realise you *could* use it in the winter!

Are you using raised beds? "Suspended on wirte from crop bars" - what does this translate into for people who have never heard of crop bars?

My (clay) soil was not well prepared at all this uear and subsequently my crop has been pathetic. If I can salvage something and grow indoors over the winter, my self esteem may raise itself a small notch again.

Mind you - you're away down in sunny dorset while I'm up here in the freezing north east, so that may make a difference ...

[hedgewizard]

No, I'm growing in soil beds at the moment. I was doing so much backbreaking stuff last year anyway I thought it wouldn't hurt to dig four 2'x24' trenches into flint-strewn subsoil. Kidding - we had a JCB on site so I used that! I scored 20 tonnes of recycled mulch in from the council for £70, so I've been growing in that mixed 50:50 with topsoil. It's been OK, but low in nitrogen and magnesium (as I found out quite quickly).

The suspended shelf idea is simple - I got crop bars from the tunnel manufacturer, which are braced horizontal pieces that go across the tunnel hoops at 6' height. You can just see one above and behind the ladder on this shot taken during erection in the spring.



I half-inched an old scaffolding board 14' long, and I'll drill holes in this and run nylon cord through them (using washers) to hang it from the crop bars in the middle of the tunnel (usually they're for hanging baskets etc on). The shelf should get less frost than ground level, and of course it's slug proof unless we get an attack from the dreaded Greater Dorset Arboreal. A shame I'll forget to water the trays really! The real value of this shelf will be raising brassica and lettuce seedlings 100% safely in spring.

[PurpleDragon]

Thanks for that. Like the pic :)

I have crop bars in my poly. I thought they were part of the structure and came with it. I use mine to tie string to to help supporttomatoes and also a sort of wirey stuff I use to help support my grapevine. (I really much get a proper support sorted out for that this year). I also hang my sticky flyer catchers and hanging baskets too.

Along one side I was growing strawberries (but they are done now and I lifted all the plants - only got a couple of baskets full this year - they were old plants). I also have an asparagus, some plants I like but have no idea what they are, tomatoes and the grapevine.

I have a long potting table along the whole length of he other side so I could use that I suppose instead of your scaffolding shelf? What would you recommend a novice gardener put in at this time of year? The whole table is currently not being used apart from a couple of small shrubs I'm brinigng on that made just have time to get into the ground.

I am very eager to utilise this poly all year if I can, but I have to bear oin mind that it is on an exposed rise in my garden and gets pretty cold in the winter. Would I need a wee heater in there or something? Can you put a heater in a poly? Will it affect the plastic?

I am desperate to grow my own leeks. When would be the best time to get started on these? The cats killed off this years crop during a fight.

Your advice would be grreatly appreciated :)

[hedgewizard]

Can't really give too much advice as this is my first year using a tunnel, but I understand you can heat a tunnel and it won't affect the plastic - but the insulation's lousy so you'd need to line the inside with horticultural bubble wrap. I'm not bothering this year, but next year I might make an enclosure between a couple of crop bars and heat that with a little paraffin burner. I've also heard of people moving their chooks inside for the winter since they give off a fair bit of heat.

As for when to plant leeks, anybody's guess I'm afraid as you won't find this information out there without a damned good look. Most tunnel people seem to be pot-planting them in Feb/March depending on how warm your tunnel soil is. I notice a few people saying leeks don't do any better in the tunnel than out for early sowings though - hence the pots I think.

If you're quick mind, you could get some King Richard leeks in there and hope for a mild winter - there's one forecast - and they should be fine.

The only advantages that my floating shelf has over your table is that it doesn't take up any soil space, and it's completely proof against soil pests and slugs. Oh, and being up in the air it should get less frost, since cold air behaves like a liquid.

Your exposed rise will probably freeze quicker than the surrounding area, so make sure you close your doors an hour before sunset to allow a little heat to build first. You should open your doors in the morning unless you predict that it won't get above freezing, otherwise the tunnel will stay colder than the outside! It's a good idea to get hold of a few polythene boxes (or make some out of sheet polythene) to put things you're a little worried about into for a few days when it gets exceptionally cold.

Do me a favour - sow some leeks and post how they get on! Something like King Richard needs about 90 days growing time from start to finish but that assumes reasonable temperatures - you can get some idea of your frost dates here. Good luck!

[PurpleDragon]

I will do. I am going to have a ruke thru my books (although I've found the experience her is actually more relevant than the book stuff often) and see what strikes my fancy for winter veggies.

I shall keep you updated :)

[colhut]

Have no polytunnel, but like the idea of suspended growing. slugs are a constant problem, and beating off the frost occasionally is a double bonus.

[hedgewizard]

I'm intrigued as to how you're going to arrange suspended growing outside of a structure. There are other ways to beat both slugs and frost - so what have you got in mind?

[MrsD'ville]

Well nearly a year on I thought I'd reply to this!

We've recently moved to a place with a PT. Atm the tomatoes and courgettes are having their swansong and I'll have them out by the end of this month. There is permanently resident parsley, horseradish, thyme and, err...can't remember what else is in that corner. Dill and rocket have seeded themselves all over the place so I've pulled out the original plants and will deal with the seedlings as and when they emerge. The dill I'm excited about, the rocket I can take or leave.

The rest of the space is currently planted with onions, garlic, potatoes, spinach and radishes. I had hoped to see some activity from the pots, spinach and rads but nothing so far. When the toms and courgettes come out I'm planting more onion and garlic.

I had intended to plant my peas there too, but apparently the one thing peas don't like to be companion planted with is alliums, so my winter peas are going to have to take their chance on the (large) end of one of the strawb beds. I'm going to be hacking those back to not very much in the next few weeks.

I've never gardened in a PT before so this will be an interesting experience!

[Thurston Garden]

Sorry HW, only just spotted your thread

There's not much to add to your list apart from overwintering onions. I sow these from seed about now (in cells) and then plant them into the tunnel beds in late winter.



They are ready to crop late May/early June. (The missing onions were eaten by rabbits!)

I think my tunnel is very inefficient to heat, so I erect a hot frame made from salvaged double glazed units:



The lid is made from a double layer of fleece which is nailed to a strip of wood at each end. This keeps the fleece tight during the night and allows me to roll it back on sunny days.



Your suspended growing system will also be mouse proof - I have a serious mouse problem: beetroot/spinach seeds and fully grown carrots are favorites!

Crop bars are optional on smallr tunnels, but do form part of the structure on larger ones. My crop bars are 16 feet long They are extremely useful for tying onto what ever the size.

But now for my favorite tunnel photo:



The shed on the left is the main henhouse now and is 12 foot long. All of the tatties in the foreground drowned in the wet clay soil. In fact everything outside did

[Tigerhair]

TG... WOW

[hedgewizard]

Second that... WOW! I've really got to get to grips with this winter thing, although I did pretty well last year. Once again I'm late with planting, so my summer planner for next year is going to have gaps in it - so far as I can see, it's the best way the tunnel can be used for both halves of the year.