Growing in a Polytunnel in the Winter

October is the month for clearing and tidying.  Your cucumbers and courgettes are likely to be finished and many other plants are getting exhausted and diseased, but    hopefully you have a batch of new salad crops ready to plant out now.  I always enjoy this time of year becomes the tunnel or greenhouse becomes completely transformed and rejuvenated again.

Sowing in the Polytunnel

Direct sowing into beds

There is now plenty of space again for sowing directly into the beds.  Any salad crop can be sown directly into the ground now or sown into modules for planting out later.   The decision is yours.

 Planting into beds

I always look forward to planting out the garlic cloves into the beds in October.  If you plant them in early October they will be ready and harvested in May just in time before your tomatoes need to be planted.  You can also plant    overwintering onion sets.

Sowing into modules/pots (18-20˚C)

The best time for your overwintering salads was really in September, but if you have missed that date you can still sow them now.  They may not be ready before the end of the year but will produce well in late winter until early spring.

• Claytonia (or Winter Purslane) – 5 seeds per cell
• Chervil, Coriander, Dill – 5 seeds per cell each
• Oriental brassica salads (all types) – 5 seeds per cell
• Scallions (Ishikura Bunching) – 10 seeds per cell
• Spinach (annual) – 4 seeds per cell

Harvesting from the Polytunnel

In October the summer crops are fizzling out and their quality declines. You may still harvest some:

Aubergines, basil, calabrese, coriander, Chinese cabbage, courgette, cucumber, dill, Florence fennel, French beans, lettuce,   melons, oriental brassica salads, pak choi, parsley, peppers, salads, scallions, spinach and tomatoes.

General Polytunnel maintenance 

• Hardly water at all - once a week at the most.
• Ventilate as much as possible.
• Clear all remaining summer crops.  Don’t leave any of their crop  residues in your polytunnel or  greenhouse otherwise their relevant pests and diseases will be carried over to the new crops.
• Start chitting your first early  potatoes indoors.
• Continue harvesting your winter salads.
•  Prepare the soil for the early spring crops by incorporating compost or composted manure into the soil.
•  Tidy and clean the tunnel or greenhouse: wash the plastic or glass, clean and tidy away the pots and trays.
•  Clean your tools and rub boiled linseed oil onto the handles and a mixture of old oil and diesel to get rid of rust on metal blades.
•  Order your seeds, seed potatoes, onion sets and garlic bulbs