So, what’s in the tunnel?

It’s surprising how big it is in there, but fortunately I was prepared and grew a few (!) plants in advance. Because it’s next to the old tree and there are ‘issues’ with roots at the top end, I’ve decided to mainly grow things in pots for now. And because I’m not sure whereabouts in the tunnel I want to grow them, I’m supporting them with canes. I know, I know, it’s asking for trouble but I have got plastic bottles or pots on them.

So after potting a dozen French marigolds (from the local garden centre) to attract pollinators and deter nasty things like aphids, the following are currently in the tunnel:

Tomatoes
Gigante Liscio x 2
Costolutu Fiorentino x 11
Roma x 7
Garden Pearl x 4
Japanese Black Truffle x 4
Chocolate Cherry x 6

Some of these are bigger than others though and probably only half of them are in there final (cannabis!) plant pots – for anyone worried about the cannabis connection, see the previous post!

Chillies
Ring of Fire x 5
Hungarian Hot Wax x 5
Jalapeno x 4
Padron x 3
Cayenne x 3
Unknown/unlabelled x 7

I bought a couple of different ones from the school garden open day, only I can’t remember what they were and the others are a result of my poor labelling! Could have sworn I’d sown some Joe’s Long earlier in the year though…

Cucumber/Gherkins
Miniature White x 3
Bimbostar x 1
Paris Pickling x 1
Unknown x 1 (but it’s going to be one of the above!)

and I planted a couple of pots of basil. Now when I was there this morning the camera gave up on me, but fortunately I went back later in the evening accompanied by my assistant keen to see the new polytunnel:

But it’s difficult to capture everything with the lens I have in there, but despite having 70+ plants in there, it’s in no way crowded.

Other jobs today…
I’m fighting a battle with squirrels or mice to get the few strawberries that have been ready so far, but I managed to get a couple first thing this morning.

Watered the polytunnel.

Made a frame for the cucumbers/gherkins to grow up.

Planted on some tomatoes and chillies, and the marigolds.

Planted some peas (Telephone). Sadly my dwarf ones have been eaten after I proudly boasted earlier this year that mine always grew without netting them, and then the tall ones I planted either didn’t germinate or got eaten.

Planted some radish, lettuce and two types of salad leaves, undercropping the beans and peas.

Then picked up various squash plants to plant out up at plot no. 2, stopping off home for some lunch of home grown salad first.

Plot no. 2  grows weeds exceptionally well, and after the rain at the weekend I was in danger of losing the potatoes yet alone the onions!

This was taken a couple of nights ago, just as the light was fading hence the flash, but it’s difficult to see the spuds in there! Fortunately I’m pleased to say it’s much better now and you can see both the potatoes and onions. And the potatoes have been earthed up!

I then planted out some courgettes (All Green Bush), pumpkins (Crown Prince) and a squash (Gem Store). Then my time was up and it was time to get the kids from school, but I managed to find another four strawberries to take with me.

Around the plots
At this time of year there is a fair amount going on:

Alium bed, the giant ones going to seed, the others just coming out now

Broad beans, with potatoes behind, comfrey in flower and covered in bees and the entrance to the plot is somewhere behind there!

Blueberries, and if I don’t get some netting over them they’ll be going the same way as the red currants – i.e the birds are going to eat them.

Foxglove, suffering from a lack of water and only about two foot high.

Gooseberry bush – it does so well, I just wish I liked them!

Lettuce intercropped between the french beans to the left and (hopefully) peas to the right

Self-seeded phacelia

‘Cottage Garden’ up on plot no 2, with a cosmos in the foreground, with cornflowers behind and some carnations fighting for some space with them, dahlias (going out of shot to the left) and foxgloves and gladioli behind. This is how I always hope the garden at home will look, but it never does!

"Are you going to do anything with that greenhouse?"

Having sat in the garden since I collected it, gradually killing off the lawn I put down last year, Mrs D has been dropping subtle hints that I should do something with it. So I dug out the instructions and measured out the base to start the foundations.

Before:

After:

The greenhouse to go in just fits inside the old walls of the previous greenhouse, which will hopefully help to retain the heat. Given the size of the greenhouse it needs some decent foundations, so the plan is to put down some concrete before laying one course of bricks on top on this to put the greenhouse on. I’m now a big fan of instant concrete! Whether it has been accurately measured and is level, well stay tuned to fine that out but hopefully these can be ‘ironed out’ when I lay the bricks.

Elsewhere on the plot, not much happened after carrying several bags of concrete! However I weeded round some of the fruit bed. The strawberries are coming into flower:

The gooseberry bush is just beginning to start forming fruits:

Along with the red currant next to it:

My dwarf peas are through:

And the broad beans I started off in toilet rolls are slowly getting going. Like the rest of the plot, they could do with the weather being a bit warmer:

The garlic is doing better this year than last. It’s in a nice sunny location and I’ve been giving it a bit more care and attention after the disappointment of last year. It’s been a bit battered in the wind recently so I straightened up a few of them and firmed them it. Next years strawberry bed in in the foreground, some of them have some flowers on which I will take off to promote the plants growth – I did this with the blueberries on the plot too, although I was sad to do this hopefully it will play off next year.

Finally, the shallots are looking quite happy now it’s been a bit wetter, here shown in a rare (almost) straight line on the plot!