Polytunnel update!

A fruitful day spent gardening at home as DH was poorly in bed and I had to man (woman?!!!) the phone. I had intended a plot day but I had more than enough to do here so it wasn't really a big deal.

I felt that the path down the middle of the tunnel needed edging as the soil was rather higher than the path and was spilling continuously. I didn't want wooden edges as these eventually rot (the deep bed wood was rotten already after only 3 seasons) and it encourages woodlice.

We have a large number of tiles left over from a building project here so I used them to edge with. I am pleased with my efforts even though it is obvious that I didn't use a line.....!

I have installed the irrigation in both beds. The one in the RH bed (not the hose laying on the top) is a seep hose which I have buried. The one on the LH bed is a perforated hose which I have laid on the top of the soil. The bit of hose which is laying on top of the RH bed is a hose from a butt which takes water from a small area of roof. This hose will be moved around as needed. I had a job to keep it all adequately watered last year and hope this will solve the problem.

I turned in all the manure I had spread in here after Jeyes Fluiding the beds last week. In another two weeks time I will plant the strawberry runners which you can see in the rootrainers here into the beds along the path edges. They should produce an early treat for me when working in the tunnel.
This summer the tomatoes will go along the back wall, on the very right. The cucumbers will go in the far left corner. The lemon tree (which has lost a lot of its leaves over the winter but has 4 lemons coming on it) will be moved around to wherever it isn't in the way. And the fig, in the big pot at the back. will go somewhere outside when it warms up a bit. I think it is time I found a permanent place for it in the garden. When I get on with re-modelling the front garden i should find a place for it against the house wall....south-west facing.

When I walked through the plots with the dogs this afternoon I saw that Chris had spread the manure we moved to his plot. So his hungry soil should be much better this year.