Polytunnel Prep
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- Опубликовано: 13 сен 2024
- There is always work to do in preparing gardens for a new season, and with my large polytunnel I added some extra infrastructure this year in addition to more compost, fertility and general care of the polytunnel, in order to be able to get the most out of this high value growing space.
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Part of the Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Tipperary, Ireland www.thevillage.ie
The most beneficial aspect to a poly tunnel isn't climate regulation or protection from the elements.
It is using it as a backdrop.
Underrated comment
You know, using it as a backdrop is something I've really appreciated since he started doing it. I especially like it when the plastic is dry and you get that soft view of the world beyond. I know in reality LIVING inside a polytunnel permanently is not feasible, but it sure seems like it would be a great way to live. As long as you don't mind mold growing on all your stuff.
Haha, there is a bit of competition in the polytunnel for space for my 'studio' vs more plants
@@mrJMD Living in a polytunnel would be so interesting!
@@mrJMD Kirsten Dirksen did a couple videos of house in greenhouses. I'd recommend watching them if you haven't.
Love this channel. Its always great to watch what a small team is capable of. Very impressive to this newbie. Also, eff scotch grass.
Thanks! Yeah, scutch grass is a tough one!
I know, such a good channel.
Oh wow so satisfying to see you get that bit of couch grass out with all of its root.... I watched it twice! Yes I know I should probably get out more.
Haha! It was a great clip!
Love to listen to this when stressed. Somehow I find his voice very calming
:)
I have a gardener that comes every so often and looks after our front and back to keep it tidy and refreshed. I'm petrified of creepy crawlies, worms, and despise butterflies and moths, the fluttery bastards. But I love this channel and wish I could get past those things to go in there and get started myself. This channel is just so relaxing and informative.
My mom has a similar aversion to bugs, especially worms, but she loves to cook and loves fresh herbs and vegetables. She retired several years ago and got herself one of those hydroponic towers, and has been loving it. I'm more of a fingers in the dirt guy, but you might find growing without soil to something that you can enjoy.
@@fxm5715 Thanks for the idea.
Thanks!
10:51 God, pulling up scutch rhizomes is such a satisfying experience... and such a frustrating one when it breaks.
Yeah, I agree completely. That one was a relatively easy one as the bed was still quite loose then.
2:24 Trucker's hitch put to good use! :-) Exemplary!
I was wondering how many people would notice that!
long y-forked sticks might make a faster tool for cleaning the tops of the poly, I'd suggest the kind of bamboo used for fishing poles with a segment across the ends of the cloth tied onto the long staff with a triangle of cord, such a tool could be used by one person with a smaller heavier cloth that has a little stiffened seam at the ends to keep it from being limp and crumpling up. Two layers withi some flat chain pinned inside like ribs might really be a good version. Used furry car seat covers would make a good source of this cloth. An image just came to mind of a series of loofah on a rope that goes around a pully on each end on a wagon that has a hand crank so you can simply hand-crank the rope both ways and drizzle clean water onto it at one side... Thats something you could grow then compost!
All interesting ideas, though all of them seem to involve something I don't have, so might stick with what I do have for now. Would be cool to see other people trying these out.
Video requests: More compost videos, I'd love to see more videos on your composting methods and the ways you use your finished no rules compost. As well as any compost you produce, love to see all the different methods.
I am planning an updated compost video - hopefully within the next month.
@@REDGardens Awesome, sounds good. Love your channel, love all the ways you experiment with different crops and the different ways of growing them.
@@evansullivanrichgels5531 Thanks!
I'll have to remember that towel trick, if I ever have a polytunnel.
It is effective.
I planted comfrey (Bocking 14) around the sides of my polytunnel and found that it out competes with the surrounding weeds. I chop and drop a couple of times a year and most of the weeds have dissappeared! Might be another option.
Yeah, that could be an option.
Planting productive food crops that take over spaces might also be a good idea. Strawberries would multiply and spread by runners outside the tunnel and complete against weeds, and also produce edible fruit. Bulbing veg like chives, garlic chives, walking onion, garlic, etc, might also be a good choice as they multiply and compete with weeds. Annuals like aspargus might help shade out weeds, but might compete for light with plants inside the tunnel.
@@ronk4073 I don’t know if any of those would be effective against some of the weeds I deal with. I had to abandon a strawberry patch because the scutch grass completely outcompetes the strawberry plants.
10:52 Ugh, so satisfying to watch.
yeah!
one of the great things about polytunnels is they will allow flexibility with growing crops being able to crops not normally able to grow in other climates.
I agree!
wow 849 upvotes and zero downvotes... you don't see that very often! great video as always thank you
Thanks! It is nice to see that difference in votes!
Thank you for this!
:)
Thank you, for always give me simple and detail information for growing human food.
Glad you appreciate my videos!
Looks like you're off to a great start. Interesting to see what it takes to get the soil to where it needs to be over time. Looking forward to future updates.
Heh, not sure how I feel about getting a "Koch Agronomic Services" commercial right after your episode. I think your agenda and the Koch family agenda are not quite the same!
Thanks. It is so strange what ads come on before and after these videos.
When i first started watching you i thought you were filming in a bus shelter lol
Haha
How are the strawberries doing?
The reason I ask is that I noticed you planting them directly in contact with the soil.
This was something I learned back in 85 when I was working in a garden in Cobh as a young lad, that the reason they are called Straw berries is due to the use of using straw as a barrier between the berry and the damp ground. This protects the berries. Interesting little fact I thought.
Another great video. Tnks for sharing all your successes, findings and the not so much successes. Keeping straight to the point. Always learning from your experiences. Looking forward to the next one. Keep safe. Cheers from Vancouver area. B.C.
Thank you! Glad you appreciate the way I do these things! Hello there in B.C. - hope to get back out there to visit family in the next year or so.
As usual informative and interesting. Regarding rhe strawberries. You potentially will have pollination issues due to being in the tunnel. If so a single damp cotton bud dapped into the centre of the flowers and move it from flower to flower although time consuming will pollinate them for you
Thanks, something to work on. I usually get pollinators in the tunnels, but might be worth doing the extra work.
It's looking fantastic. Hoping to get lots of manure into mine shortly. Alas, a 1/3 of the space is still put aside for the hens due to bird flu restrictions (Scotland), and still struggling to evict a mole.
Thanks. I wonder how many polytunnels are now (temporary) hen houses because of those restrictions?
Thank you for many new videos! They are all very useful!
Glad you like them!
I'd love more moments like 11:00 in my own garden
Yeah, it was pretty sweet!
@@REDGardens would love a compilation of satisfying weeding 😂
@@gutenman7112 That would be cool!
Thanks.... Great update, love from Australia 🇦🇺❤️we have shitty soil conditions here😁😁😁
Hey there own in the southern hemisphere, thanks.
I just used low poly tunnels this past winter for the first time with significant success. I was able to get in a second crop of potatoes before the new year, and have had spinach and salad greens the whole time. I may have a high tunnel a few years into my future, due in part to your inspiration. Thanks, Bruce!
Hope you get a high tunnel at some point soon, but those low tunnels can be really useful!
Great info and in detail (y)
Thanks!
thanks
:)
You could put down a water permeable heavy duty black weed barrier around the greenhouse to create the weed free area that you speak of. Thanks for your video!
I did that the first few seasons.
Wow you are on it this year Bruce .. well done 👏👏👏 inspiring me to get my act together thank you 👍
:)
Great !!!
So glad to find this channel. Great info!!
Glad you found my channel. I hope you like the other videos.
great content thanks !
:)
How many years do you get out of the polyethylene tunnel covers?
With regard to washing them, they make a car-wash tool that is convenient, consisting of an extensible hollow pole that screws onto a garden hose at one end and has a large, soft-bristled brush at the other. It lets you wipe and rinse at the same time.
Thank you for another informative and motivational video.
:)
Great video Bruce. I'm getting a small polycarbonate greenhouse this winter and will be growing in the ground like you do. Also, i must admit i'm sick to death of dripper pipe. I really enjoy watering by hand - it lets you observe things and it's just flat out fun. I must review your previous vids on the polytunnels to see what pests and diseases i'll have to worry about!
I also like watering by hand, for the same reason, to be able to have a good look at things, and to feel more involved.
Great video! Best wishes for this season
Thanks!
You foliar feed? Will you do a video on this including your sourcing for how and why?
Sounds like a good video to do.
Don't think I've ever heard of any one telling a polytunnel to towel of before... ;)
Haha
We had a small row of strawberries in our 500m2 glass greenhouse in 2020, almost no berries on the plants! But the plants grew really big and lush. I do not know if it was a lack of pollination or some other factor.
That is interesting, thanks.
Sidenote: Horridly envious of your growing space and whole situation :D I'll start my market garden this autumn at the earliest, if I manage to get some land, which is very very difficult around here (2nd largest metro area in europe, very population dense and land-poor).
Hope you get the land! I am fortunate to live in a place with low population density.
Great video, my first year with a large polytunnel, weeds could be a problem for me this year, as I lifted my weed mat and the weeds were still holding on
Thanks! Yeah, they can be a hassle for the first few years.
I’m look at putting a 15 foot round swimming pool in one end of the polytunnel, if we can’t go on holiday I will make a tropical area for the kids.
@@kalimstanney8437 Sounds great!
Where did you get the sprinkler system from, I'm trying to find one?
Thanks.
@@kalimstanney8437 I got it from www.fruithillfarm.com/tools/greenhouse-and-polytunnel-accessories/sprinkler-systems/overhead-sprinkler-head.html
I love this channel! Its so inspiring...especially the scientific approach. Please keep the great work up!
Thanks, will do!
The polytunnel plastic at the channel Bealtaine Cottage has many (15?) years and the lady that owns it says that it is because she washes it every year.
That is interesting. The plastic on my other polytunnel is 9 years old now, and seems to have a few more seasons left.
Tried hard to find a single wrinkle in your polyfilm... found none! Amazing job, man!
I was able to get it on quite tight, a bit of an obsession of mine!
@@REDGardens we share the same obsession! :-)
Good video, thanks Bruce.
Have you thought about using a 12v boat bilge pump linked to a car battery to move water?
The pump isn’t expensive and is very efficient at moving water quickly. I haven’t used it though for sprinkler systems.
I have plans to use a pump like that for when I start capturing rainwater, and it will be interesting to see how well it manages the sprinklers. The current issue is with the pipe bringing municipal water to the site.
I have a 12v Seaflo diaphragm pump, trialed it with sprinklers and it could manage about 6 at a time. Plenty of pressure but the flow rate is lacking.
Have switched to using it to just fill a water butt inside the tunnel, and a watering can until I can rig up a proper water feed from a well.
I think an on-demand mains powered water pump would be the way to go if at all possible - I don't know how many deep cycles most 12v lead acid batteries are rated for..?
@@thepandaman That is interesting to know about the diaphragm pump, as I was thinking of installing one. At the moment I think I might invest in a proper solar/batter/inverter setup and run a mains pump, as well as other processes in the gardens.
@@REDGardensif you need it for comparison, the pump I have is rated at 60psi and 18.9 LPM. The sprinklers are the horizontal disc style rather than the spinning head of yours, I don't know if they have differing pressure/flow reqs.
@@thepandaman The psi is much higher than needed, but the flow rate might be enough. Thanks
Hey Bruce, is this the larger polytunnel you intend to do the refined tomato variety trial in? Per usual great video and great content. Keep up the good work!
It will be if I don't get another polytunnel just like it up in the next few months!
i notice your casual approach to drip lines, they are almost placed haphazardly. Clearly you have made the ruling that the precise placement of these lines is not essential. I find this interesting and am tempted to spend less time perfecting my lines at my farm. Thanks for the content
Well spotted. I find that whey i have tried to constrain them with pegs or wire, the movement with thermal expansion and contraction actually caused them to bulge out of position even more. So I am trying to see if this more casual approach is easier to manage. I will be shifting them into place when sowing, and might need to adjust them a bit to get them out of the way of the young plants.
Wish I had this set up. If I purchased a tunnel my wife would have a conniption.
Your money go buy one
Not sure about others, but my partner and I always share planning and responsibility for where OUR financial resources are invested.
Excellent video. Would mind to discuss about F1 cherry tomato
Thanks. Did you see my last video about tomato varieties?
Did I miss a vid on your various drip & overhead sprinkler systems?
Is so, please link.
If not, please consider doing one noting what worked, what didn't & how you adapted & changed the system.
I think the closest I have done is '5 Ways to Water' ruclips.net/video/7AZV2TcOthU/видео.html
@@REDGardens Can you tell us what brand you use? With a name, I can access their product page/website. I may then find a comparable product in my area.
@@flatsville1 I used these www.fruithillfarm.com/tools/greenhouse-and-polytunnel-accessories/sprinkler-systems/overhead-sprinkler-head.html
Watching fr hongkong.
Awesome!
Compared to what I do this is rocket science... 😁
:)
Love this stuff !!
im about to move into a property in Co.Tipperary that has two acres to play with. Would you recommend your poly tunnel and if so, where did you get it from please ?
I got my polytunnels from polydome.ie in Birr.
What is your water source? I am currently using city water for my drip irrigation, but I bought stuff that should work with low pressure gravity fed rain water. Many people say that chlorine in city water is not good for soil life. Additionally, salts in ground water can accumulate in soil. I am not sure how much of a concern these are. But I should be able to get enough rain water for my plants, and also in droughts I could avoid watering bans, which would be give additional resiliency to my garden.
Have you used biochar in your garden yet ?
Any plans of using it on this year crops?
I use biochar one of my other gardens - the Polyculture Garden - but not much to report yet.
Have you considered calculating (even if rough) crop nutrient requirements before you add inputs? That seems like a lot of compost (looks like GWC?) and fertilisers, what is the rough amount of N contained in all of that? I didn't see N on the soil test. There has been a big discussion in the UK for the past year on this type of deep compost no dig system and its sustainability within the Organic Growers Alliance circles. Soil Association limits 250kg N per hectare and most of England is in a NVZ, limited to 170kg per ha.
Those are very interesting points. I haven't really done any of that work. The soil tests unfortunately don't include N (apparently a lot of it will dissipate int he drying process or something.) but it is something I am interested in exploring, and I could see how it could be an issue when using deep compost.
In this context there are a few things that I wonder about. Because of the polytunnel it isn't so much of an issue with it washing into the groundwater or as surface water with the rains, unless I really over water. I also wonder about the difference in using this in a small area of garden within a larger landscape, with this level of application in a small area surrounded by a much larger area with no added nitrogen. Do we count per m2 or per hectare? And it seems that this compost is quite low in N (1-2.5%) and slow to decompose, with quite a bit remaining on the surface after 1 year. Lots of thoughts I need to explore about this issue.
Have you ever looked into introducing symbiotic fungi? It seems like a very overlooked area. We always look at 2 out of 3. We look at the soil. The Plant. But never the Mycorrhiza.
It is something I have though of, but haven't done yet.
@@REDGardens A good read is Mycilium running. Very practical book.
@@jamenforsatan that is a great book, must look through it again!
Dude, you need to use wet&forget to clean your polytunnel. It's amazing stuff and totally safe. It takes me all of 10 minutes to walk around with a pump sprayer to cover the plastic inside and out with a dilution of the alkaline mix. It is not an instant effect, but within a week or two all of the green is gone and it won't come back for at least a year. I do tend to do the same thing with a pressure washer to get off the odd bit of bird poo or mud splatters, but this is even quicker really and only a 5 minute job once a year. I've been doing it for 4 years now and the plastic is still fine and shows no damage or wear. I can't recommend it highly enough!
p.s. you can also go off brand and use any other equiv obviously. There are probably cheaper versions. 1 x 5ltr bottle lasts me for 2 years though, so meh, for
hmmm, never heard of using something like that. Not sure I'd want it near my vegetable plants, but something to look into.
@@REDGardens I always do it at this time of year when my tunnel is pretty much empty. All I have is some spinach and some seedlings like peas and broad beans in there atm. All are 100% fine and growing very well 3 weeks after the spray. :) It's quite natural stuff, just a strong alkaline solution. Never had any issues
3cm of compost as a maintenance seems almost a bit much to me, I have read and heard closer to 1-2cm.
But I suppose you'd have to go a lot deeper to get to "too much of a good thing" territory, and the main issue (drying up and thus parching seedlings too short for the base soil contact) is prevented by the drip irrigation?
I put that much at my farm and I find it’s been great.
I have heard anywhere from 1.5cm to 5cm as a maintenance amounts of compost. But I suspect so much depends on the quality of the compost, and of the soil. This soil had been a bit deficient, so I figured another year of a more abundant dose would be useful. I also think more is useful in the polytunnel, as there is greater output and higher heat. I have noticed the tow surface of deep compost going too dry occasionally, and I think some really good watering to settle the compost for the first few weeks has helped for me.
strawberrys like a fungal-dominated soil. Did you add some?
No I didn’t, but because of the woody compost, the no-dig beds and the wood chip in the paths, I imagine there is a lot of fungal activity already.
I don't have access to wood chips to place on the walk ways. Can i used chopped up dried corn stalks? They have some mold on them, would it infect the soil with pests?
I don't have any experience with that, so I don't know. Sorry.
Thank you, great video as always. I'm just wondering, how can you bring in woodchips in a way that meets organic certification standards? I'm having trouble with this at work because I want to get local tree surgeons to drop off a bulk load of woodchips but I'm being told that would compromise our organic certification unless the woodchips themselves were certified organic
Ah, that is a tough one. I don't bother with certification, so it is something I haven't need to figure out, but I also trust the suppliers that i have imported as they are just local trees. Hope you find a way around that.
Hi where did you get your truck load of organic compost from 😊
We got it from enrich.ie
Who did you get to install your polytunnel? I'm interested in getting one put in in the midlands.
I did it myself, with the help of a few friends.
What size is your pollytunnel ?
Best Michael cork Ireland
Hey Michael. The polytunnel is 5.5 m by 20m
How long does the plastic last on the High Tunnel in your climate? I live in an area where it gets over 40 degrees celsius in the summer.
they become less optimal after 4 years most of the time, doesnt mean they arent good anymore but the plsatic will let less light pass.
I find they last longer than the rated years in this climate. I have a '4 year plastic' going into its 9th season on my other polytunnel, but we never get anywhere that hot.
Did u grow wheat this year?
No, I didn't. I need to get back into that.
So after doing all these amendments is it able to be certified organic? Just wondering how much I can add and still be considered organic ?
With the Irish Organic Certifying Bodies, all of the stuff I have added would still be within the rules, I think. But different places have different rules, so you would need to check.The one issue I might have is adding the copper sulphate, zinc sulphate and borax. I will only do it if the test comes back showing it is less than optimal, but the levels that I would consider sub-optimal may be different to what the certifying bodies considers low enough to permit adding these materials. But, I am not really concerned about what is within the organic standard, as I don't seek certification. What I care about is that my neighbours who eat what I grow trust that I am doing what is appropriate.
The more pertinent question is not of quantity, or how much? But more of what types of molecules or compounds are being used? I am in the States so USDA. organic has a very extensive list of what they consider to. be applicable as amendments or products that grower can use.
In the US, you’d have to use organic fertilizers which are usually the type that aren’t water soluble. So elemental sulfur, boron, etc is fine. The chicken manure would have to be organic certified but that’s easy enough. Water soluble fertilizer like miracle grow have different mineral salts attached to the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium which can build up in the soil, plus then you risk having nutrient runoff into the local water shed.
800 likes, 0 dislikes 😭
That is the way I like it!
Bruce did you know about this experiment ruclips.net/video/pvBlSFVmoaw/видео.html, also there is a comment from Nitzney Mann about distance
Fascinating stuff.
first
first!
@@REDGardens last