Summer 2018
Creating a whole new growing environment
Before we went for it and installed the tunnels we did a lot of research and tried to avoid the common fails, but we still had some epic ones including ripping a hole in the plastic!
Luckily for us we already had the steel hoops in the ground as it was used many years ago with the green mesh netting, so it was a case of putting on the plastic and building doors.
Any excuse for a digger!
The Trench Method
The mini digger unearthed a trench all the way around so we could pull the plastic down into the trench and back fill it to keep the whole thing nicely torte.
We first re-enforced the existing door frames with new wood and concreted them neatly in place. An ultimate seal is the goal but also considering ventilation and easy access for wheelbarrows!
Levelling the ground around the door area as this door is on a slope! 
Relaying the weed suppressant fabric
Before and After
We purchased our Plastics from FirstTunnels and found them to be of absolute top quality! They provided us with a great service and lots of very useful guidance. We will definitely be using them again in the future.
The benches were made from recycled pontoon decking from a local Marina! Designed to hold 4 big trays comfortably, we jet washed and got them in straight away!
My top five favourite chilli peppers to grow from seed every year!
After many years of growing chillies I can’t help but have my favourites and every Spring I find myself planting the same varieties in prime spot of our raised beds. We still grow new and experimental varieties each year but they are usually grown in pots on the side and are judged on how well…
Our favourite plants to forage for making unique Christmas wreaths
Autumn provides an abundance of colour and textures in the garden, arguably the best and most stunning season, many plants, shrubs and trees make perfect materials for diy festive wreath making! It has become very trendy around here to attend a ‘wreath making’ class during the run up to Christmas but they often charge a…
Harvesting compost from our worm farm that recycles waste into ‘gardeners gold’
Our wormery has been up and running for several years now and we have learnt a lot about how to keep the worms happy and productive, and what are the best materials to use. Luckily for us, worms are very much into many foods that are usually wasted and so creating the most amazing compost…
Our best ever cucumber harvest in the Polytunnel!
Our raised beds in the polytunnel are now in their fourth year and it is really showing. Growing in the Polytunnel is something we have been documenting since we installed them back in 2018. We have trailed many plant varieties over the years and have had some interesting results. I have mostly posted about growing…
Autumn In the Polytunnel
The nights become chilly and the mornings frosty, the polytunnel has had another hot summer and is finally cooling down. Space is filling up with tender plants in containers and our fruit and veg growing in the raised beds are coming to an end and soon to be replaced with winter crops that are grown…
Polytunnel Progress: Building a Heated Seed Bed
Going into 2020 we decided that a heated seed bed inside the polytunnel would be amazing for starting seeds early in the year without having to sacrifice our indoor space! There are many plants that do not require such early start but we will be focusing on those such as Chilli Peppers and Sweet peppers…
Growing Dahlias from Seed and overwintering tubers
One of our latest plant obsessions is the Dahlia, since growing them from seed and realising just how easy it is to get many years out of these lovely plants. I first attempted these many years ago, with a tray of seed under my living room radiator. It was so successful it led me to…
Chilli and Sweet Pepper Review
It was a hot summer here in the south of England, and our first with the new polytunnel We couldn’t wait to see how our chilli peppers would grow in comparison to previous years being grown in the ground in the old greenhouse. This year we grew chillies in there, as well as in pots,…
First Summer in the Polytunnel
2019 is our first summer having the Polytunnel and we’re sharing our successes and failures that came along with it. We have absolutely loved it and couldn’t have hoped for better results when it comes to our growing goals. We did come across some challenges including Managing the Environment. But we also learnt that we’re able…
Growing Summer Hanging Baskets
We’re sharing our experience from start to finish including which plants we used, compost, fertiliser and a review of the whole process. Including failures!
Homegrown and Hopeful 
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