As the weather was cold and stormy this week I decided to
take shelter under plastic and clean out the polytunnel.
I had a lot of dead and decaying greenery in there, like old
sweetcorn and sunflower stems. Every time I walked in and brushed past them there
was a waft of dusty mould. I’m sure it wasn’t good for my health so the dust
laden leaves needed to go on top the compost pile outside.
I spent a happy half an hour ripping up roots and hacking
back rocket plants until I saw a large frog out of the corner of my eye giving
me the eye in much the same way “Hypno toad” does in the TV programme Futurama. I have a small pond (well sunken bucket
really) in the tunnel and did put some frogspawn in there last spring.
Most
survived but disappeared quickly as they went on to puddles new. This one either
took up permanent residence or has come back to hibernate in the warmth.
Whichever reason, it wasn’t happy and somehow forced me with its hypnotic eyes
to down tools and leave the plants, soil and mould alone. I don’t need much of
an excuse to do nothing in the garden but I’ve never used a frog as the main
reason the tunnel will be left untouched for at least another two months.
Only
then will I start clearing which hopefully will please my staring frog.
If, unlike me you can do a bit of work under cover, now
would be a good time to get clearing the tunnel ready for seed sowing and
planting.
Clean, wash, disinfect,
rub down
I don’t tend to wash down the plastic on polytunnels. The build-up
of algae and moss don’t really bother me or the plants. There can be a bit of
muck on the outside top but I find a good storm gets rid of that as it’s like a
pressure washer. I just feel as long as the plastic is in one piece I’m happy
and I can get into a lot of mischief with a brush on the end of a stick covered
in suds.
The dead and decaying matter should be all right in the
tunnel but if you do know of anything that was diseased this could do with
being removed before any sowing is done.
Insect eggs and fungal spores lurking on old infected crops
can rapidly infect any new tender plants and ultimately affect your produce all
summer long. I tend to find a lot of Cranefly larvae and other moth pupae in
the hidden crevices around the tunnel frame so I pick them off.
Right Place, right
time, right plant.
Some areas of the tunnel will be hotter or sunnier than
others so picking the right place for young plants might need a bit of thought.
You could probably get away following seed packet planting times in a tunnel
too. I have grown some plants in the tunnel before that I wouldn’t do again I definitely
wont plant brassicas as they grow too fast, get all juicy and fragile making it
so easy for cabbage white butterflies to get in and destroy the crop with tier
caterpillars.
Some plants are trouble free though and they don’t have to
all be edible either, some perennials and annuals do well with a bit of
protection and add to the diversity in the tunnel in the form of companion
planting.
Light and air
flow.
Ample air movement helps foliage dry quickly after watering
and therefore helps to dodge diseases and pests, I tend to leave the doors open
as much as possible, even in winter. Try and give the crops plenty of space. If
your plants have the right amount of space, water, light, temperature and the
appropriate soil conditions they won’t be under any unnecessary stress and will
thank you later in the year with a fabulous, fruitful harvest.
Manage water.
If possible, group
plants in the polytunnel according to their watering needs. Allowing your
plants to get extremely dry and then flooding them will results in uneven
growth, irregular growing foliage, and reduced yields.
Rotation.
Do a bit of crop rotating. Different crops have different nutrient
requirements and rotating crops annually helps to reduce a build-up of crop
specific pests and nasty disease problems.
Valuable organisms.
There are beneficial nematodes that attack and kill insects,
slugs and other bothersome things that lurk in the soil. There are also lots of
helpful insects and other little critters that are willing to eat irritating
pests that want to scoff your crops before you do. Ladybirds, frogs, toads and
spiders can all help to get rid of insect pests for you. If you manage your polytunnel
to protect these, they will help you manage the pests. This is the best reason
I have not to be washing the inside of the plastic as I think any chemical
cleaner would damage the balance.
Clean gardening tools
It’s a good idea to give your gardening tools a decent
spruce up and a quick sharpen to improve their performance. Clean those
secateurs!
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