Polytunnels

[confusedwhippet]

We are planning to be as self sufficient as possible for our food but due to our location right by the sea I'm not sure how well vegetables will grow outside. Therefore we have decided to get as large a polytunnel as possible. I confess to being a polytunnel virgin. Could anybody tell me what vegetables work well under cover and those which don't?

[ohareward]

Can't help you there. But if you didn't have the tunnel you would not need to salt your vegetables

Robin

[ohareward]

This is a site where the people are just starting out. Click on polytunnel.

http://www.sallygardens.typepad.com

This site looks really great.
http://www.thurstongarden.wordpress.com/tag/polytunnel/


Robin

[flower]

don't know much about polytunnels but asparagus thrives on salty soil

[Cheezy]

Sea kale is meant to be nice to eat and theres always samphire.

But you could probably forage for these!

Don't forget Jersey royal potatoes are just a kidney potato grown on South facing terraces fed with loads of seaweed, so you should be able to grow them.

[digiveg]

I put in a tunnel right at the end of April (10 x 20ft) and have toms, cukes, carrots, courgettes, artichokes (globe), basil, rocket, lettuce, beets, pak choi, peas, chard, dill, celery and cilantro growing in it.

Everything is doing well so far but I think some of my choices will prove to be optimistic. For example, it gets too warm in there for the lettuce to last very long - but they were nice big starts and I had nowhere else for them to go. I expect they'll be OK for a little while and then bolt, so we're planning on eating them first.

Lots of decisions to make before getting your tunnel - what sort, what features etc etc. I'd be happy to let you know the sort of things we ran into if it would help.

[ina]

I confess to being a polytunnel virgin. Could anybody tell me what vegetables work well under cover and those which don't?

From my experience: We grew climbing French beans; sweetcorn; courgettes; pumpkins; peas; all kinds of salad leaves and lettuces; tomatoes; cucumber; carrots; herbs; very early potatoes, and very late ones; spinach; strawberries; raspberries (and I've probably forgotten a few things). I'm also going to try a few celeries this year.
I find that it's better to start most plants off inside the tunnel, rather than sowing them direct outside in our harsh and windy (and possibly salty) climate; then harden them off well before planting them out to give them a better start than they would have just sown outside.

[Thurston Garden]

This site looks really great.
http://www.thurstongarden.wordpress.com/tag/polytunnel/


Robin

This is me hehe. Any questions just give me a shout!