First Spring In the Polytunnel

It’s getting busy!

Warm temperatures are here as well as the lingering frost and the tunnel is filling up quickly

We have been busy for the last couple of months growing our seedlings indoors and transferring them to the tunnel in preparation for various growing projects.

Growing for the annual Spring plant Sale

Growing Summer Hanging Baskets

Overwintered Plants including our small Citrus Fruit collection are thriving in the polytunnel environment!

Prickly pear Cactus comfortable in a warm dry spot

Perennial seeds sown directly in the tunnel in September give us strong and healthy plants the following Spring!

Delphinium Pacific Giants Blue summer seeds are collected and sown in the Polytunnel

Scabious being grown for cut flowers are looking strong and healthy in Feb thanks to a good start

In March we have many vegetables plants and many of which would have to be protected from local wildlife so the Polytunnel provides perfect protection.

New seeds that will be transplanted to the raised beds for a hot and humid summer

Seeds of Watermelon and Melon are already being sown in preparation for our Spring sales as well as having premoelum spot on our a new raised beds!

We will be trialling a few different varieties of tomato again this year as we sell alot of tomato plants it is important that we find the best varieties for our climate and for taste of course. Most tomatoes bought at local shops are imports which means that flavour is less important than storage quality.

Two rusty old trolleys recovered from the old greenhouses were dragged in for extra stacking space!

Two new raised beds in place ready for our First Summer growing in the Polytunnel!

We can’t wait to see how the polytunnel environment will create new growing opportunities. Many plants we have tried growing outside or in the greenhouse before that just didnt thrive, will be trialled in our new raised beds.

We used the ‘Hugelkultur‘ method of stacking layers of logs and branches in the base of the bed which will decompose over the years and add many microorganisms to the soil.

Tropical Plants

We will be giving all sorts of new plants a go in the polytunnel this year but we’re very excited about growing Moringa Tree!

Other fruits that we’re looking forward to growing in the new environment this year include Passionfruit, Melons, Sweet Potato and Hot Chillies!

Follow our blog to see how our new growing area within the tunnel progresses throughout the season. Sharing experiences of the oncoming challenges we will inevitably face including managing the new environment, and the micro climates within it.