Go The Rocketeers! Post No.1

Hello!

A slightly grey sky here in mid-Wales today but at least it isn't raining.

Yesterday it was raining as I made my way to what turned out to be a really wonderful day with fellow Rocketeers. Five of us were attending a Poly Tunnel Growing course with Kim of Green Rocket Courses; I have mentioned her on my blog recently.

Kim swapped the Lanes of Brighton for the hills of Wales and now runs courses on her wonderful smallholding where she is sharing her knowledge, experience, hints and tips with enthusiastic gardeners, be they novices or seasoned. I learnt so much, being a novice, and have lots of share so will be writing more than one post about the day. I may not manage to cover everything but do hope you find it both informative and interesting.

We stepped through this lovely gateway leading to Kim's garden.

The course was aimed at those looking to purchase a poly tunnel (PT) and how to get the most out of it. Kim has two including a brand spanking new one from First Tunnels which is 30 feet in length. We talked about everything from how large a tunnel you might need, planning inside and out and lots more.

The day began with tea, coffee and homemade muffins and we got started. We began talking about the actual siting of your PT and if you need any form of planning permission. In general if you are going to put it in an existing garden most people don't have to go through that process. You are best to take into account how close it is to the road and any neighbours and it shouldn't be more than 3 meters high if it is not for commercial use.Ideally it would be placed at the top of any incline for the benefit of drainage. Siting it north-south on the long side would give the best chance for sun exposure but you should also take into account exposure to wind if you are on a hill. Any company erecting your PT would be able to give you advice.

LAYOUT
When it comes to the layout this is entirely up to you. Raised beds can be made as high as you want, you would need a potting bench/staging and you might want seating; 

a PT can be a social area and being surrounded by your plants whilst planning your ideas with a brew is a lovely idea, I think.

You want to think about how you will get between the beds; gravel or slate on top of membrane where you are creating paths is a great option as this keeps weeds down and is a fairly cheap option for a relatively large space.

- Gravel laid outside of the PT is a great idea, too, as this prevents moss creeping up the sides of the structure and keeps the muddiness down outside so not bringing in too much.

You many also plan in space for a small pond. You can put an old container into a corner, add a few plants and stone etc and the water will encourage wildlife visitors to your PT whilst acting as a heat sink. Talking of heat, it is entirely up to you whether you decide to heat your PT at certain times of the year, try it and see if you think it makes a difference to the propagation or growing of your plants.

WATERING. 
Keeping your plants watered can be done by various means. Good old watering cans always work but if you have a large space to cover this will take some time. You could attach a hose to your water but and spray the plants but you could consider investing in a sprinkler system which is the most effective way as you can water for longer but less frequently whilst getting down to the roots.

VENTILATION
You will at times need to open the doors and/or vents of the PT. This is beneficial for reasons such a letting air circulate through and this can help with reducing blight if there is air flow. It might just be too hot! If you have the doors open you may want to ensure any free-ranging chickens, rabbits etc are not going to sneak in for a snack you may want to  think about some sort of barrier against the door way. It is an option to put netting over open windows but if you want the bees and other insects to fly through then just let them.

CLEANING
Now cleaning your PT is something you probably only need to do once a year; it is a bit of a faff so you might want to enlist the help of friends! A good way to clean it is to use an old duvet cover and with a to and fro motion this will clean the roof quite well then water and a sponge would work for the rest of the cover.

After a very interesting morning we stopped for a wonderful lunch of delicious homemade quiche, potato salad and lots of salad leaves and purple sprouting broccoli.

In my next post I'll talk about some practical things we learnt about in the afternoon.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx