Spring Vegetables in the Polytunnel
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- Опубликовано: 23 апр 2019
- It is remarkable how quickly spring crops of vegetables can produce in the protection of a polytunnel, even when there is very little growth outside. But with a diversity of different crops, it can be tricky to make sure you get the most out of the spring crops, without delaying things too much for the summer crops.
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What a wonderful tour of one of your poly tunnels. Thank you for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed the tour!
What a beautiful garden! I really want to try a high tunnel like this on a smaller scale. Thank you for sharing your work.
Thanks - it is a lovely place to hang out and work in.
I really appreciate the detail in this video, and that very dangerously sharp knife.
Yep, I keep it as sharp as I can.
All Looks great. I wish I could grow as much as u do. Keep up the amazing work
I looks beautiful alright! I'm so inspired and can't wait to move to somewhere with a garden. Until then i'm swatting up on all the best practice. Lookin forward to more. Very clear and informative. Cheers!
Yes, this garden is so pretty!
I love how it looks this year!
Wonderful video of the poly tunnel. Inspirational.
Glad it has inspired you.
Wow....everything looks so healthy and mature...great work🐝
Thanks. I am delighted with how things are going this season.
Look forward to seeing how you handle the green manure. That poly tunnel was beautiful!
It was beautiful with the abundant and diverse growth of the green manure in the polytunnel.
massively extensive process to harvest. Thanks for the abundance of information
Glad you appreciate it all.
5* video again! Love the pace and the sharing ways. All the best.
Wahoo 5* - thanks.
I like videos that are very specific and to the point. I have watched many of your videos and you have never wasted a minute of my time. Keep up the great work.
Great to hear that you vale the efforts I put in to make these videos consice.
Your work is fascinating as always! Truly an inspiration :-)
Thanks!
Thanks for your videos, I started to follow you recently. I love the research approach you take and your methodology, it is very valuable. I live in central Canada Zone 3 and would love to eventually move to a maritime climate. Growing in zone 3 helps you develop ingenuity and consistency in order to success. I wish you the best in Ireland for this growing season and the years to come.
Thanks. Glad you enjoy my videos. Zone 3 is a tough place to grow in, but at least you have the heat in the summer.
Quite amazing! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks.
🌸Wow, I am so amazed and inspired at your work. 🌸
Thanks.
What a fabulous crop you have there. I've only just put up a polytunnel, mid-March here in East Anglia, and its very sparse at the moment. Can't wait to get it looking like yours👍
Thanks! Good luck with your polytunnel.
This is probably about the size of my whole garden and I am facing similar issues right now with when to switch over to the warm weather crops, whether to intercrop, etc. Beautiful.
It is a tough decision.
One of the best things that I love about poly tunnels is the continuation of the growing season to allow more produce early on in the year.
I agree!
Great ideas with micro greens I'll be trying that 👍. I love Ireland and would like to check out your work there one day.
The microgreens are pretty interesting.
Beautiful garden beds!
Thanks. I love how they all look this year!
Great video, looks fantastic in that tunnel. I'm definitely interested to see more information about the green manure test, and look forward to any information on it. If nothing else, it looked kind of beautiful.... or maybe I'm just strange. Thanks for the video!
Thanks. That green manure was beautiful, and really abundant!
Can’t wait for the garden to start growing. From northern Ontario
Hi there in Northern Ontario - I know your climate is quite a bit behind ours here in Ireland. Where about are you based - part of my family is from New Liskeard.
We are in Sault Ste Marie, my wife’s folks are from New Liskeard. My Spanish onions are out, hard to, their roots were starting to dry out a bit. Tomatoes are under the gro lights as well as the zucchini and peppers. They should be planted around in the middle of May. All the best, I enjoy your videos. Thanks
@@Tomhohenadel I haven't been to Sault Ste Marie since I was a child.
Hope the weather warms up for you soon.
What a gorgeous poly tunnel garden you have! Here in southern BC Canada it's been a very cold spring so far. I specialize in hot peppers and I'm still having to bring all of my plants back into the house every night and then back to the greenhouse every morning. I have 2 greenhouses, 1 netted berry house and we plan on building 1 more greenhouse. I've only planted peas and onions in the outdoor garden so far. Hoping it warms up soon. It froze again last night. Thanks for sharing what you do!
I have heard there is some cold weather over there. Sounds like you have quite the operation, with 2 greenhouses - how big are they?
@@REDGardens...Not that big...about 25 x 12. They only have to feed two of us. I manage a food bank and I always have enough to donate there as well. My main outdoor garden is about 60 x 25. Plenty of food for two.
@@doodah9561 Sounds like a nice setup.
Can you do a video about storing the vegetables after harvest?
Good idea, I'll have a think about doing one in the autumn.
I’ve been binge watching this channel and am wondering the same thing.
@@tombombadil6390 A brief summary of storage. Most of the veg is eaten fresh (by myself and neighbours), I make a lot of pickles, freeze some, store some in my cellar, and parts of our house gets full of hanging onions and garlic in the autumn. The squash are stored on the stairs - one per step!
Yup i'm in a tropical country and i'm also thinking on how you store the veges. as you stated in some of your videos. -A Viewer fr. Philippines
@@clarenzedulawan6113 I've heard of people putting money together and buying a freeze drier to store food for decades without losing nutrition.
Very impressive and inspiring video thanks.
Glad you liked it.
Awesome thank you
Thanks.
lovely
:)
Thnaks men for video and information. Very good
Thanks.
Lovely!
:-)
As a ps: the soil in your polytunnel is now looking fabulous - looking back to the start and how bad it really was. A tribute to all the hard work.
Thanks. It is in pretty good shape these days, and I think the real reason why everything grows so well.
A fascinating set of data and your insightful observations Bruce. My immediate thought was to get another polytunnel, but you reveal that you already have one.
Gardening has parallels with cooking - it may take little skill to scrap a hole and dump a plant in the ground, the real skills extends beyond nurturing, to organising and nuancing the whole process and optimising the entirety. Like creating dishes that make use of the whole animal (for carnivores) and not just cutting a few prime cuts. Or taking what can be fairly subtle flavours of vegetables and making them interesting in as many ways as possible.
The difference between a cook and a chef running a restaurant, and a simple hobby gardener like us and a grower/market gargener
Planning the planting and growing on is of course doubly difficult because as gardeners we have to deal with heat and cold, too much or not enough water, and all those difficult and inconvenient to quantify factors like general nutrition not to mention, trace elements.
We always have the growers conundrum of leave to grow on for maximum yield now, or forsake some bulk to enable a further crop. For us that question becomes most difficult around August. If we leave it much later, new sowing will not be able to reach usable size or maybe survive winter.
Thanks again for the fascinating topic.
Nick
Thanks for the comment, and the very interesting comparison between growing and cooking. i think I agree. and as you have identified, the big difference is that in growing You have to deal with the nuances of fertility and weather, whereas with cooking you have to deal with the diversity of quality of ingredients.
Your point about getting another tunnel is spot on. My ideal situation would be to have one tunnel growing summer crops and another one growing spring and fall crops, and to work the rotation in other times of the year to have 2 year rotation, with summer crops changing to the other tunnel in alternate years.
That tunnel is so incredibly productive. I wonder how many people could live of the food provided in that amount of space. This is so interesting.
Thanks, yes it is very productive. I can generally get about a ton of mixed vegetables out of it in a full year. I would estimate it could provide most/all of the vegetables for a family of 4 for the full year (with preservation of course) but that depends on how many vegetables they eat!
Love that micro green idea: direct into soil under tunnel.
Yeah, it seems to work pretty well, apart from the issue with the mice!
For your parsley, you can delay bolting by using shade cloth.
I will have to give that a try next year.
I enjoy your videos, very inspiring and practical. Do you have a video on how you built your poly tunnel. I'd like one that would take an Eastern Ontario winter. It just occurred to me how much you look like Gord Downie.
Thanks. I don't have a video specifically about building the polytunnel, sorry. I should have done one a few years ago when I put my latest polytunnel up, but I didn't get good footage. If I put up another polytunnel, I'll be sure to record the process better.
Gord Dowie eh, well that is something.
Great Video and very informative. I wonder if you use a spreadsheet to track all of the crops and timings or if you do it in your head. I could never keep track of all that.
I used a low tunnel this spring and the result was that crops like pok choy bolted from small plants.
I definitely use a spreadsheet to keep track of everything - the only way I can manage it all.
I found that in the 2nd year, the emerging stalk of the parsley plant can be quite tasty and tender if caught soon enough before it becomes too fibrous and hollow, and can be a significant amount of food per plant - a nice reward for having the plant in the ground for so long. If it's too tall, you might still find the stem portion towards the tips in fairly good condition. And if it's partly fibrous and you don't mind some fiber, then you can slice the stem thinly. I've had some stem portions from 1 -2 inches (2.5 - 5 cm) in diameter and about 8 - 12 inches (20-30 cm) long.that were very juicy, tasty, and tender.
I have found the same - and tend to harvest the young flowering stalks for soup stock and flavouring. I'll have to give the stems a try, as I haven't eaten them straight.
It is very encouraging to hear all this gardening knowledge. Are there any resources you can recommend to a beginner like me, whether it is books, online courses, or something else. I would like to learn about growing vegtables but there is so much information and a plethora of various books to choose from, which makes it difficult to start somewhere.
So neat and organized your project, I am enjoying your videos very much from Germany 🇩🇪 I‘v been to Ireland and envy the rain and the green landscape. Last year‘s drought made it very hard to harvest anything without constant watering. Can you recommend crops/plants that would do well once established in continental dry weather?
It is great having the rain we get here - though sometimes it can be too much. We had a bit of a drought here last year, but I can only imagine how tough it was on the continent! I don't have a lot of experience with growing in a dry climate, so don't have any recommendations for plants - sorry.
Sunflowers and purslane are both drought tolerant.
Have you ever heard of the Hügelkultur method? The channel "self sustaining me" makes use of this technique and has some videos talking about it.
I have used a variation of that method in another garden, but don't live in a place with enough wood to do it large scale. I have seen some of the Self Sufficient Me videos, but not the ones on Hugelkultur yet - will have a look.
Just started using this method this year! We have clay soil from 6 inches on down in most of my land.
Can you specifically speak as to how to plan out succession planting? And your starts look amazing. Do you have a video on how you grow your starts?
I don't have a video specifically about how I start my plants - apart from my latest one about the soil blocker.
A succession planting video would be a good one to do. I was going to add more of that kind of info to this video, but it was making it too long.
It seems there is a lot of vertical space available. You could put some of the shorter plants, particularly microgreens, on shelves thus increasing your yield.
I used to do a lot more with the vertical space, including hanging flats of seedlings and bags of strawberries, but have stopped doing that in recent years. I found that it was getting in the way. Also, because we are so far north, we have quite lower light levels for the colder part of the season, and didn't want to be overshadowing things. It would be interesting to start exploring the possibilities some more, especially in the summer.
Ooo, I want a polytunnel so much!!
They are great!
@@REDGardens - I recently bought a small farm in Norway, and I'm currently blowing my mind with all the information I need to accumulate. So far ut seems a polytunnel should be one of my first investments :-)
Qgal5kap123 They can be a very useful first (big) step!
@@REDGardens - yea, that's what I'm thinking too. I'm looking to get a Honda two-wheel tractor for various purposes as well. From what I've learnt I am leaning toward no-dig, but I would like to do a roto-till field for experimentation purposes. Compare it to the no dig. My efforts going forwards is going to be in compost. I am building a setup much like yours, and I'll get some input of fertility from my neighbours. I gotta say, every day is exciting and I'm loving not sitting on my ass in an office typing on a keyboard anymore. Btw. thanks for the videos you do. They are a big inspiration.
Qgal5kap123 Good luck with all your gardening explorations!
Awesomeness 🎶❤️🎶🌱🎶❤️🎶
Good nutritious soil is the basis of all health, starting with the plant and ending up in our bodies.
Congratulations on your beautiful produce. Do you sell the excess? It look to be quite a lot!
If you grow organic I can imagine there is a lot of demand. What's the square footage of the small polytunnel?
Thank you! Yes, i do sell my surplus to my neighbours, through an honesty system where I put my surplus into a fridge in my back yard. it works for me, and seems to work for them.
This garden is about 1000 square feet - 100 m2
What warm-weather plants would you normally grow in a poly tunnel if you didn’t make room for the other crops? Great video as always!
I woful fill it with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, aubergines, climbing beans. And if I had the space I would also grow some melons, squash, and even some sweetcorn.
Your videos are really great! What type of turnip were you pulling in the video with the white root balls? Do you eat the tops on those too?
They were a Tokyo Cross F1 variety - my first time growing them, but I was really impressed with the speed of the crop and the flavour. Yes, I eat the leaves too.
Cauliflower leaves taste sweeter than the cauliflower and is one of the sweetest veggies ive enjoyed, if you want to interrupt the cauliflower, those leaves are a delacacy
I'll have to try one.
Could you possibly do a short episode or segment on the weather variations you have noticed this year, last & or the last couple years as well as how its effected You. I notice the wind and the heat are more intense and come in very immense weekly fronts almost unpredictable not too mention so many other variables that accompany climate change in my region of the southwest like humidity increase, more rain, ( a good thing) etc.
That sounds like it could be an interesting video. I'll think about it.
Great video thank you for uploading it. What dimensions are this polytunnel ?
It is 20 x 5 meters or 66 x 16 foot
Great, interesting video. Are you still eating last year’s pumpkins, onions or potatoes 🥔 ?? Or have they long gone??
I just cut into my last squash, and there are a few sad looking onions left, but the potatoes are gone.
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 wow , you’ve come a long way since the beginning , I’d love to take the leap , what’s your biggest market for sales , cheers j
Thanks! All of the surplus vegetables that I produce are sold direct to my neighbours through an honesty 'farm gate stand' - or in my case a fridge - where people can come and help themselves whenever they want.
Hi Bruce, I've only recently discovered your channel but would just like to say thanks. They've all been very informative and a pleasure to watch. I was about to try and build a rotary sieve when I came across your various composting videos, and as a result I will try your approach instead and see how I get on, as it seems a lot simpler to build.
In the polytunnel, what watering systems do you use? I've seen clips of you with a couple of watering cans, and I wonder whether you think that approach would suffice for a tunnel that size or if more irrigation is worth it...if so drip, soaker or overhead?
I'm based in SW Scotland, so also wet and windy and so am planning on investing in a large polytunnel to greatly expand the growing space, with the added bonus of keeping deer out.
Keep up the great work.
Glad you found my channel!
I have been hand watering the one polytunnel by hand with watering cans for heaters, but only last week I finally installed a sprinkler system! It makes a nice change in reducing the amount of work, though I’m not sure what problematic issues will arise.
In the other polytunnel I have been using dripline watering system directly in the beds and have found this to be quite good. I do some hand watering for a while after sowing seeds to make sure there is better germination, but this stops when the plant roots are deep enough.
@@REDGardens Thanks for the response :)
very interesting video thanks. have you managed to close the hungry gap using your tunnel.?
Yes, definitely. I was going mention the whole issue of a hunger gap in this video, but it was getting too long, and I am planning to do another video on the Hunger Gap later in the spring, or early summer.
@@REDGardens excellent looking forward to that video. year round production is one of my goals that I have not achieved yet. all the best.
Year round production is a big goal, and one I share.
Talk about being on top of your game. With little or no waste of time and space , you appear to be just as productive if not more so in winter as summer. Do you ever have open days?. And we'll done.
Thanks. I haven't had any open days recently, but perhaps this summer - I will let you know.
How did you decide to start experimenting with family gardens? Who benefits from the information you gain besides RUclips? Just curious. I really enjoy your style of video.
Very good question. The original spark for the project was when I was starting to take food growing seriously, and bought a load of books and was confused that thy all told me to do different things. So I thought I'd try them out, rather than choosing. The project has evolved and grown since then, and I have become very interested in helping other people grow food for themselves, and to encourage the development of more critical evaluation, comparison and understanding of what is happening in the gardens. I had thought I'd write a book, or two, but then came to realise that RUclips was a far better medium. So RUclips is my main focus, but I also do some local teaching.
Hi, very good videos you got! Just a question, how do you keep the mineralcontent in your beds? Is compost enough?
In this garden I add a fair amount of compost, but I also add concentrated (organic) fertility, generally in the form of chicken manure pellets. i also take soil tests and add specific things to amend the soil mineral balance.
Great video as usual. What swiss chard cultivar do you grow?
It is called ‘White Silver 2’
Your turnips look great, do you sow them at that spacing or are they transplanted always have trouble with them. Ricky
I direct sowed them at that spacing.
RED Gardens
Thanks for the reply I obviously I plant too close
We're all jealous. You have such a huge operation too. What do you do with all that food?
I sell a lot of it to neighbours, through my own version a 'farm gate stand', which is an old fridge. it is an honesty system where neighbours can come and collect what they want, whenever the want. Works for me, and seems to work for them.
if NASA or spacex need someone to experiment on growing food on mars i would vote you
Lol! Thanks!
@@duke7803 thank you. i will check them out
I wonder why you do not use roll up sides for ventilation ?
Good question. That type of polytunnel is not really common around here, I think because it is so windy that most people prefer the extra strength of burying the plastic all around the edges. Also, most of the time here ventilation is not really an issue, just open the doors and the wind blows through.
You would have an easier time harvesting and cause less ripping damage if your paring knife were thinner and sharper, like a basic victorinox paring knife
You are right. I have been using my handy utility knife as it is always handy, and works for the small amount that I actually harvest. It would be nice to have a better knife.
very similar climate to Wellington, New Zealand
That is interesting. How do you find it as a climate to grow in?
RED Gardens I find I have to have my pumpkin ready to go or the season is bit short, I’ve got a green house for tomatoes, chilli and capsicum. Winter things grow but slowly. I can get two crops of corn over the spring summer period.
@@Daniel-qj3tp Yeah, pumpkin and squash need some help here as well.
I just like to listen You :)
:)
Did you say you overwintered your potatoes? I didn't even know that was possible. Can you tell us any more about how that works?
Yes, overwintered. the seed potatoes went in the ground very late last year, and the bed was covered with fleece to keep it a bit warmer. The plants didn't actually start to grow above the surface until the weather started warming up again, but I think the roots had started to be established before then. I have planted them even earlier, and had a few leaves over winter, but they can get scorched by frost. Planting them even in January works also. It really depends on the climate. I like that they are just sitting there waiting, and seem to get a significant head start over potato seeds that I plant in February or March.
@@REDGardens brilliant, thanks!
What is the string on the tomato plants?
The string is to support the tomato plants as they grow, they get wound up the string.
Have you considered investing in a seeder to get more uniform broadcasts of certain seeds like carrots and turnips? It certainly would save on time spent pulling up on plants that are too close.
I have been thinking of getting a seeder, but have been holding out. I think I'd prefer to still over sow, and thin the young plants, just to ensure that there is a full crop - I don't always get full germination.
Which seeder catches your eye Bruce? I have looked at many on the Internet
@@What..a..shambles For larger scale stuff I have been eyeing the Jang seeder - but they are seriously expensive. I haven't seen a cheaper one, suitable for smaller scale operations, that seems like the one for me - yet.
@@REDGardens yes I am of the same opinion, the jang looks the winner, the earthway looks like a compromise too far and the problems of bed prep of the six row german silver seeder, the name escapes me at the mo, please note that I got no notification of your response, a Thumbs up sometimes get through but the hearts always come through, maybe a group buy organised through Richard perkins or direct shipping if it could be sourced?
I also saw a green plastic copy seeder on done deal but it could turn out to be a duff
Can I come help you harvest?
Hey sir, I think you should became an Amazon affiliate and put Amazon links in the description. If you are talking for example about growing carrots, you should put there a link to buy carrot seeds at Amazon. If you are talking about soil blocker, you should put there a link to buy soil blocker. If you are talking about your polytunnel, you should put there a link to buy the exact type of plastic cover for your polytunnel etc. If you are talking about all of these, you should put there a link to buy all of these. You can also put the links in the separate comment at the each video - that way even more people see the links. You can get as much as 8 % in the „Lawn & Garden" category at Amazon.
Many RUclipsrs do it that way and I think it would help you to get more money to create even more amazing videos! :D
Thanks for the suggestion. That approach seems to work for a lot of people, but it is something I am going to stay away from. I am not keen on the promotion particular products, especially I haven't tested many, and can't vouch for them. There is also an issue of credibility, and integrity, as I know that some of the people who watch my channel really appreciate that I am not trying to sell anything. And Amazon is not nearly as big in the European market, much more of a North American thing. Not a great fit for me, unfortunately.
Can you do a video where you just silently eat greens with your hands while looking directly into the camera?
That would be a strange one - just me eating!
What kind of fetish is this?
Great channel, your accent is a bit confusing. Where were you raised?
Thanks. I am originally from near Toronto, Canada, but have been living in Ireland for a while.
@@REDGardens Cool thanks for info, really interesting stuff!
Hi can you help me please
I have been looking at polytunnels and I am in doubt about the thickness of the steel. I hope to build mine in Ireland in the fall. www.firsttunnels.co.uk/ was recommended to me which has 2" tubes (no spec of wall thickness) and Ireland has a couple of polytunnel producers of which I do not know which have strong hoops. Do you have a recommendation?
I have only got my polytunnels from polysome.ie, so I don't have anything to compare them too, but they seem to be quite strong.
@@REDGardens Thanks for the reply, but ... polysome.ie is not (anymore?) an existing website. Do you have any idea if "polysome" is the correct name? Thanks
@@mhkoo1 Sorry - typo that I didn't spot - www.polydome.ie
Were those Tokyo Market turnips in the beginning?
Well spotted - they are a Tokyo Cross F1 variety - first time I have grown them, and I am very impressed.
@@REDGardens grow them once and you won't forget that look. Grow so very quick. Surprised yours are so big and not mulched in, but are not showing any green on it's shoulders. Getting a compost delivery today and can't wait to get stuff in the ground.
They are very quick! I was amazed. I hadn't heard about the mulching and green shoulder issue - mine were pure white.
@@REDGardens Maybe mine were a little long in the tooth? Have any favorite uses or dishes for them?
@@robertm4050 I love them braised, with the greens, and I am also experimenting with having them raw as a salad.
This is a the less realistic of your family gardens experiments in my humble opinion. If a family of 4 had a 100sqm garden, they wouldn’t cover it all with a tunnel, I think. They would probably divide the garden in two halves, keeping outside of the tunnel everything that doesn’t really need to be inside. This would reduce the cost of installation and would solve the issue you highlighted which finds you using almost half of the poly tunnel for relatively cold loving crops, just because you want to still provide those crops to your hypothetical family. Also a real family would probably designate part of the tunnel to wooden or metal structure to hold the seedlings and to maximize space by creating a “second raised bed” for salads, micro greens, and those things that need less soil, I think. What do you think?
You make some very interesting points.
I thin if I had only limited space - like only about 100m2 - I would want to cover the whole thing in a polytunnel if I could, and absorb the costs. That way I could be certain of providing all our vegetable needs throughout the year, and more than enough of the heat loving crops. Half covered and half outside, could work, and makes a lot of sense, but it might not be enough in some seasons - we eat a lot of vegetables! If I had larger space, I am not sure I would go any bigger than a 100m2 polytunnel if I was only growing for my family.
I have experimented a bit with using staging or raised areas, and especially with hanging seedlings from the structure, but I have moved away from all that, partially as I find I want maximise the light to the soil in the spring, and not have anything shading.
But these are all interesting possibilities, and discussions - as there is no right answer.
Amazing content, however you head is shaped a little bit like a tictac.
Well, that is an interesting thing to know ...