It's a while since I last posted so it's time to bring you up to speed with where my polytunnel growing is at.
One bed is housing alliums, Onion Radar, Shallot Golden Gourmet and various varieties of garlic. The other bed was sheltering my overwintering herbs and the celeriac. The latter is coming on, but it's time to look towards my Spring vegetables and early pickings. With this in mind I have sown carrot Early Nantes, bunching onion and radish Sparkler. The former two have gone under added cloche/coldframe protection, the latter will have to take its chances. Further along and near to a door end I have planted my broad bean Aquadulce Claudia. These were getting a little too lush and leggy at eight inches, so I have lopped the tops off some, as they will resprout when Spring starts. They are sited near to the door as they will require pollination from the visiting insects.
Back to the alliums, which have put on considerable growth, again possibly a little too lush for this time of year - comparable to outside crops - but the temperature has reached mid teens in there most days. At some point the snows will fall and with it will plunge those daytime readings. It is at this point that growth will be checked, but I wait to see what late Spring will bring for me. Larger crops? Better crops? Earlier crops? Who knows, I am in my first real year of learning as far as polytunnel growing goes, but I am hopeful that we will yield a start to making our hungry gap just a little bit shorter. Fingers crossed.
I've just found your new blog, and I'm so jealous! I did very little veg growing last year but what I did grow was just ok - peas & beans were rubbish though! Hope to get a bit more done this year but nothing done so far except very late planting of garlic. Really need to get the greenhouse cleaned & sorted ready for some seed sowing. Oh yes, still not planted my autumn onions sets either yet - oops!
ReplyDeleteWelcome - most people I know, even the most hardened veg growers had a terrible growing season in 2012, so take heart! You were not alone.
DeleteThe polytunnel has allowed me to get an early start with certain crops, but I too am behind on the allotment. Greenhouse benches starting to fill though!