In common with probably half the nation we decided that we needed a poly tunnel in addition to the normal vegetable garden once lockdown began in Spring 2020. Hannah had previously owned a large, wide poly tunnel at our former home but this time we had to find one that fitted into a long narrow space. We chose to build the tunnel alongside our neighbour’s boundary and the site was long enough, but we were very limited on width because the grass track that runs from the cattery up to our paddocks has to be kept clear so that vehicles can travel along it, normally those belonging to the vet, farrier, shearer or horse dentist as well as our own tractor.
We dug out shallow trenches first and, in best small holder style, re-used some ancient decking boards we’d removed from the back garden, to make the beds. Hannah put cardboard on the soil to keep down any weeds although after taking off the top layer of grass. She left the smallest gap possible between the beds but made sure she could still push a wheelbarrow along it.
As with the all the poly tunnels we’ve built, the digging is the most arduous part, unless you have a mechanical digger, so we hired one for the first day. The second most difficult bit is putting the plastic cover over the hoops but since this was quite a small tunnel it wasn’t too bad, especially as we managed to do it on a very still day, which is essential really because the plastic is very unwieldy and rips easily once it begins to flap about.
Because we were on a limited budget we chose to dig a trench all around the tunnel which was then backfilled with the dug out soil to anchor it securely. This is good practice in windy locations like ours. Although there is an easier option as you will see in the post about our next poly tunnel.
The tunnel has been well worth both the effort and expense and we’ve had an excellent tomato crop. Even the cucumbers came good after the first couple of bitter ones. The final crop is aubergines and peppers, both of which are still growing, along with some decent sized butternut squash. The only problem we have had, and it is quite a problem, sadly, is that the prolonged warm, humid weather has caused blight . We lost our second crop of potatoes and also the ones that Hannah had planted in sacks outside the poly tunnel which we were hoping to eat at Christmas and the blight has now got into the poly tunnel. We must give careful thought to what crops we plant next year and this year’s successful potato strip in front of the cattery will be used solely for decorative flowers, probably a cutting bed for Hannah’s floristry side project.
Foxglove Farm 