Ecogreen Aerated Polythene Tunnel

I have started to double-dig the trench for the poly-tunnel.

The tunnel is a nice bit of kit. It measures 3 metres by 60cm and comprises of a number of steel loops covered by thick a green-tinted polythene.

According to the blurb, the green tint filters strong sunlight to prevent scorching and the large aeration holes keep young plants ventilated and encourage pollinating insects to enter. Plants in the growing tunnel are easily watered either by hand or natural rainfall, without the need to remove the cover.

We'll wait and see how effective it is.

The digging was hard work. I have done half now and will finish the rest today. The technique is as follows.

1. Dig a hole 60cm wide and 1 spade deep, placing the soil in a wheelbarrow
2. Once the hole is dug, fork and loosen the soil at the bottom
3. Put a layer of manure into the hole
4. Move along, dig another hole, putting the soil excavated into the previous hole
5. When you get to the end of your row, put the wheelbarrow contents from the first hole into it

Orkney seaweed and other things

I have been on a spending spree recently. I've bought a giant poly-tunnel, some Orkney seaweed fertilizer and some large bell cloches. The cloches come in very handy protecting young seedlings from slugs.

Most of the seedlings are now outside in a specially prepared 'nursery' area. I've planted six of my seed potatoes. I didn't realise that potatoes took up so much room! I have placed them in one half of the big raised bed. The rest of the bed contains purple sprouting brocolli and a lone artichoke.

Yesterday I planted some lettuce, spinach and coriander seeds. Today I potted six runner bean seeds. I thought I would plant these again as they were a great success last year.

My next job is to weed the carrot plot and double-dig the marked-out plot for the poly-tunnel. Once I have done this I can plant the aubergines. I might also get some courgettes in under there where they will be nice a toasty warm!

Good news on the onion front. There are numerous shoots appearing!

I was thinking about how best to attract beneficial insects into the garden. Jake's wildflower garden should help a great deal. Maybe I should plant some more nasturtiums this year. I remember last year they were covered in caterpillars that would surely have been chomping away on my veg.

Wildflower garden

I have started planting my seedlings into three inch pots. So far I have three each of basil, sweet corn and tomato. I popped into the garden centre and bought some manure, potting compost and some rather snazzy large bell cloches. The latter are for protecting my purple sprouting brocolli, which I'm glad to say is going great guns!

Jake helped me prepare a bed for his wildflower area. This should encourage beneficial insects into the garden. There is still plenty to do . I've marked a plot for my growing tunnel and now it needs double-digging.

I have planted some Cayenne chili seeds.

Spring is here

We have had a couple of lovely Spring days so I lost no time in getting out into the garden and mucking about. I have now planted the raspberry canes. I went a bit mad and not only double-dug the plot but also knocked up a small raised bed for the raspberries.


The seedlings are going well. Jake's corn and tomatoes and carrots have germinated although in a haphazard fashion! I will have to make a separate little plot for his produce :-).

I ordered a giant eco-green growing tunnel with a fine green tinted mesh to keep out the nasties and have marked out a new plot. I also want to order the same tunnel but with a polythene cover to grow the aubergines as they need plenty of warmth.

The slugs are back and made a nice meal out of the brocolli. I've bought some bell cloches to protected them while they are small and a slug trap. I will also order some nematodes and treat all the raised beds and plots.

Looking at my little plot now I can see it is slowly filling up and it is only a matter of time before I run out of space! I would like to get a couple of chickens too. A friend told me I needed 1 sq metre per chicken so I'm not sure where I would put them. This is the problem when you don't design your plot beforehand. In my case it has grown organically as and when I've decided to grow more.

Early start to proceedings

The garlic experment is going well. All three bulbs have shooted, so that bodes well. Only one brocolli has survived the winter and has been chomped on by unknown insects even though it has been 'protected' by the enviromesh cover all Winter :-(.

In the kitchen I have seeded two trays containing basil, tomatoes and lavender. I have a nice blueberry bush bought from Homebase and a pot of parsley on the go. As if this wasn't enough Trudi gave us a nice artichoke which has just germinated. I almost forgot, I also have a large pot full of aubergine seedlings!

Out in the garden I have been busy preparing the plots for the carrots and onions which I have also seeded as of last weekend.

Fin came round yesterday and gave us some raspberry canes. I am just in the process of double-digging a trench next to the old shed to accomodate these. Unfortunately there are lots of bricks and rocks to contend with. This is not as bad as the mahoosive bramble roots that need digging out.

Today there was a slight frost so I am taking a gamble with my broad beans. A couple of them seem a little limp. I may pot a few more in case these don't make it.