My New Patch

[bonniethomas06]

Finally we are in! Whooooee!

And here is my new patch. It has a 'garden' bit, a little stream (dry at the moment) with a bridge to the 'agricultural' bit, where all the magic is going to happen. It actually has agricultural land ties, so whatever we do will have to be er...agricultural. Although the neighbours have hedged theirs off and built a pizza oven/decking on theirs without any strife so far - so we shall see.

Annoyingly all remaining available budget (ha!) is going on fencing the front off from the back, as the little dog is determined to get run over on the lane outside. But after that - POLYTUNNEL!!! or greenhouse? Decisions!

[bonniethomas06]

Sorry, captions are all over the place, but I am sure it is obvious which is which!

[Odsox]

Wow, very nice, congratulations.

One piece of advice, don't try to do too much in one go. Get yourself a big mower to keep the grass under control and then do bits and pieces as and when you have the time and enthusiasm.

Regarding polytunnel or greenhouse, I wrote a piece back in 2010 on just that subject http://selfsufficientish.com/forum/view ... 12&t=19354 and although I've changed my mind slightly on my views then, I still think the best way to choose which (if you can only have one) is that a tunnel is a protected area to grow normal vegetables out of harms way, like wind, excess rain and a degree or two of frost, where a greenhouse (bigger is most definitely better) is ideal for growing more tropical plants like tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines, etc.

But having said that, if you can only have one, get as big a polytunnel as you afford.

One thing's for sure, you've got a busy few years coming up.

[bonniethomas06]

Thanks Tony, and thanks for the link - I will take a look now. I have seen some bench kits that turn one end of a tunnel into a greenhouse area, which seemed to be a good idea, as the main objective is to have somewhere to raise seedlings and sit with the paper in the rain!

[bonniethomas06]

Just read your post Tony - very useful. Whichever poly we go for will definitely make sure the ventilation is up to scratch. And that settles it...we shall just have to have both!

[Cassiepod]

That looks fabulous! you're going to have a lot of fun getting it into shape!

[Green Aura]

Looks fab, Bonnie. My advice is live with it for at least 12 months before making any major decisions - other than keeping the dog safe, of course.

[bonniethomas06]

Looks fab, Bonnie. My advice is live with it for at least 12 months before making any major decisions - other than keeping the dog safe, of course.

That sounds as sensible as it is impossible for someone as impatient and rash as I am! I fear that it will be 12 months until there is budget for most of it, so we will be forced to wait.

Other than the chooks - I have just ordered the henhouse

[Flo]

Probably a good thing that you are spent up as you will be a whole year wiser when you get round to doing anything outside. But it's so frustrating when you just want to get on with growing something isn't it?

[Cassiepod]

I've twigged that if I keep the hens cooped up they will scratch and clear the ground where I want the veg beds to go... so waiting a year and clearing the ground organically sounds like a good plan too!

[becks77]

Looks fab Bonnie, a new start for the veggies and chuckies