Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Tip
Suspended staging and shelves
An area of staging is essential for any greenhouse or polytunnel, giving you a horiz-
ontal surface at a comfortable height for seedlings, potted plants or a capillary bed
(see Chapter 6, page 49). Some tunnel suppliers offer polytunnel staging kits,
which have legs at the front but are secured by Q-clips at the back (see diagram on
page 20), making them a little easier to defend from pests by smearing the legs
with fruit tree grease, which not even slugs are keen to cross. This is handy, given
the carnage that even one slug can cause if it manages to sneak up and hide in the
folds underneath a tray of modules.
For a truly pest-free working area, though, you can't beat suspended staging. You
can make this easily by covering a wooden frame with stout mesh and suspending
it from the tunnel frame or crop bars (see picture in first colour section). Unless you
pack it absolutely solid with trays, the mesh lets enough light through for plants
beneath to get some sun, and it's easily removed when it's not needed. Suspended
staging needs to be hung independently from each corner to avoid rocking, and the
corners at the back should be cushioned with piping insulation and duct tape or
similar, in case you accidentally shove it against the polythene cover.
A highly useful variation of this theme is the suspended shelf, which is simply a
thick plank or board suspended in the same manner. Suspended shelves are too
narrow to work on but make an excellent place to put container-grown plants up
out of the way, where they receive the best possible light without appreciably
shading plants beneath. A suspended shelf at chest height gets approximately 5°C
warmer than the rest of the polytunnel on still, sunny days, so is only suitable for
heat-loving plants, and greater attention needs to be given to watering them. If you
are not able to lift a watering can up to this height, consider using a spiral hose
set or lift the pots down for watering. See the colour sections for examples of a
hanging shelf.
Tip
Hanging gloves
To stop gloves from becoming lost or separated, drill a small hole in one end of a
clothes peg and hang it from a handy nail in the shelf or staging. When you finish
with your gloves, dust them off and use the clothes peg to clip them together at the
cuff. A few clothes pegs hung in this way will invariably end up being useful for
other small items as well.
What to sow
Aubergines, broccoli (sprouting), cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery,
chard, coriander, fennel, kohlrabi, lettuce, radishes, rocket, spinach, spring
onions, strawberries, tomatoes.
