Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
UK, you won't see ripening tomatoes hanging on healthy, vigorous vines in a poly-
tunnel during the winter - there just isn't enough heat or light available.
Nevertheless, it's very tempting to try to keep at least one variety of summer crop
going as long as possible into the winter, and courgettes, cucumbers and peppers
are likely contenders. Even in severe temperatures, a fleece cloche can protect
such crops for much longer than they would otherwise survive, and might allow
you to continue to harvest the final fruits as late as December. Storage options
can stretch the period for eating fresh produce too: cucumbers, for example, can
be stored for many weeks if wrapped in cling film and simply left in a cool place
rather than put in the fridge, where they will quickly deteriorate. This can mean
fresh cucumber on Christmas day and perhaps beyond. So, while they are normally
considered a summer crop, you can be enjoying cucumbers for six or seven
months a year. For the UK, that's amazing.
While peppers aren't likely to grow after the end of November, they should
remain fresh on the plants and therefore won't need to be stored elsewhere. With
the additional protection of a horticultural fleece, lettuce, pak choi, radish,
Chinese cabbage, celery, rocket, mustard greens and chard will all be unaffected
by the frosts. Even though the latter part of December and the early part of
January are usually the coldest times of the year, these crops should all be growing
visibly, though slowly. If you plant enough of them, they will last into the spring
and even beyond into the 'hungry gap'.
Watering
Very little water is needed during the winter, but with the automatic irrigation
drained down to prevent damage from freezing, you will be surprised at how
long you spend going to and fro with watering cans, particularly in February. Be
careful to get as little water as possible on the foliage, where it could cause dam-
age if it freezes. Watering is best done as soon as temperatures in the tunnel rise
above freezing, to give any accidental splashes as long as possible to dry. In
extended periods of freezing weather no watering at all is needed.
Frost protection
By December, any broad beans or winter peas in the tunnel will probably be too
tall to cover with fleece, but the good news is that they won't normally need it.
While they will tend to droop badly after a heavy frost, provided you give them
some support to stop their stems from bending right over, they will usually,
except in particularly vicious periods of extended frost, be able to 're-inflate' and
carry on. Likewise, while peas are natural climbers, frost will make them slacken
their grip and unwind. So for this reason too it's important to make sure that the
upper parts of pea plants are tied into place throughout the coldest weather.
