Tuesday 24 May 2016

Poly Tunnel 2 Happy Dance

Yes it is all up and running, the second poly tunnel or otherwise know as Citrus Grove.
 Saturday we spent the day turning the inside of the poly tunnel from a building site to a growing area,
Membrane had to be laid
 Sand brought in and levelled
 Then the slabs could start going down
 This end of the poly tunnel has been laid 3 deep in slabs and is to replace my greenhouse,
 Paths had the same treatment I could then get the edging done, I managed to get one border dug over ready for planting on Saturday evening, there were some strawberry plants left over from the fruit cage so these got popped into a bed of there own in here, they will be a welcome early fruit for us next year.
 The remaining  two borders were left until Monday as we were out on Sunday

 Now all dug over edging in, gravel around the outside edges of the slabs to fill any gaps, all the citrus trees are planted into the middle area, come winter I will be able to fleece the middle area and give them some extra protection.

The far left border has been planted up with tomato plants, after I took this photo and along the back of the tomatoes I popped in the red onions I go from the show for free,
The other border will be planted up with the potatoes and cucumbers, along the front of both borders I will stick in some extra salad veg.
 The front area still needs clearing, on my list for this week

 My growing area is a delight a clean tidy space, that can be used to overwinter plants, there is another water barrel to be brought in here yet,
 My lemon pips that I germinated are now producing leaves
 4 of the 5 are now growing on well, the fifth one was a late starter
 I planted out some Basil and Coriander in the space at the front of the strawberries
It has really shaped up this year,  2 poly tunnels, fruit cage and we have the raised beds in this area.
Its great to have it all finished, it was hard graft but its done and its another of those jobs we wont have to repeat. 
 

24 comments:

  1. Your poly tunnel looks fantastic Dawn, I should think you're very pleased with it! Look forward to seeing more updates soon. Glad Sol is feeling better too x

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    1. It was big sigh of relif getting it finished :)

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  2. Oh - that is so beautiful - and organised. I have polytunnel envy lol

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    1. I cant work in chaos and it is to replace the greenhouse too :)

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  3. Great job weel done, as usual. I admit to having grow space envy, but know that I would have to neglect the sewing if I went back to having a huge garden again. I am thinking of covering part of one long bed later this year though.

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    1. Yes crafting has taking more of a back seat just of late :)

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  4. Dawn that looks amazing. So organised. Your lemon seeds are really coming on.

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    1. They are growing at a rate of knots now :)

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  5. Looks fabulous, you've both worked so hard, well done! We've decided to get a new bigger polytunnel for next year, to replace our current 2 small ones, we think a bigger one will give us much more scope to grow more.

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    1. I am using the small ones as growing arches now :)

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  6. Green with envy here, but you both work hard and deserve to see loads of produce from your plot.

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    1. It will be a while before we re-coup the costs in produce, but we will :)

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  7. Arhhh I wish I had a poly tunnel..........one day perhaps!

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    1. thats what I kept saying now I have two :)

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  8. Knowing how hard you and Martin work, you deserve this new investment to enjoy and put to good use. I will try and get up to see you soon - it's been somewhat hectic here!

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    1. Thats it now the growing area is complete time to move on to other projects :)

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  9. If I had such a poly tunnel I'd be doing the happy dance too! Plenty of room for a nice chair out of the wind. Hope Sol is feeling better poor soul. x

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    1. I am moving one of the old garden chairs in there when the new ones arrive :)

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  10. Wow! That poly tunnel is a thing of beauty! So neat and tidy. What a wonderful way to grow food in a cold climate :)

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  11. I keep showing Lester your blog when you write about your poly tunnels, but at the moment he is dithering about the money it would cost to buy one. But we shall get one, of that I am certain. Although our growing season is a long one, the start of the season can be cold which tends to hold back seedlings, which means that they are slow in getting established before the hot weather arrives.

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    1. I came across an article on making your own poly tunnel will have to look it out for you :)

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