Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
leaves that you wouldn't put on a plate, as you might at other times of the year,
because the plants will need every possible bit of leaf area to catch what little
light there is. Now all that remains is to watch the faster-growing plants for the
first signs of spring, when the whole cycle starts again.
Planning your plants
Planning is important in any vegetable garden, but in the polytunnel, where you
may be juggling summer harvests with plants for the winter and hungry gap, it
is even more vital. Whether or not you decide to follow a formal rotation, rough
plans of how you want your tunnel to look as the seasons progress will help you
to make the most of your protected space. The tunnel may look big when it is
empty, but as soon as you start to make full use of it you will almost certainly
wish it was just a bit larger.
Tip
Plan in terms of meals
As outdoor gardeners we're all conditioned to think in terms of providing worth-
while amounts of whatever we plant. When you use a tunnel crop to supplement
an outdoor one, however, the rules are slightly different. To help get yourself away
from thinking in rows and half-rows, ask yourself how many actual meals the harvest
has to provide and sow accordingly. If you're just extending the season by a few
weeks, you may need only enough to provide a meal or two - just a square metre will
be enough space for most crops.
Overleaf are four versions of the same simplified tunnel layout, one for each
season, based on the sowing and harvesting times given in Chapter 8 and sum-
marised in the chart on pages 63 and 64. In reality, of course, things are much
more complex than these plans suggest. Quick crops are sown in gaps anywhere
and everywhere, seedlings are planted under the canopy of larger plants soon to
be removed, and pots on staging or shelving take things - literally - to a new
level. You will notice that the layouts lead up to the next hungry gap, since this
is the time of year that needs planning the furthest ahead, but nothing is written
in stone: if your plans change, your sketches can too.
As well as the sowing and harvest times, it is important to remember the growth
habit of the plant concerned. For example, cucumbers are tall and cast deep
shade, so you should avoid putting them along the south side of a bed.
Don't be a slave to the idea of a perfect rotation (see Chapter 8, page 66). As you can
see, the overwintering aspect of tunnel growing means that by the time a plant
