This year we’ve decided to really go for it with the vegetable garden and try and extend our growing season as much as possible to provide lots of amazing produce for the supper club. Previously we’ve always seemed to get to the autumn with a load of stuff not quite as ripe as we’d like, so hopefully with a few tricks we can improve on this.
One of the first things we’ve done it install heating to the polytunnel and greenhouse. Not to create a sub tropical paradise, but as a frost guard, we tend to a few late frosts here so hopefully being able to protect against them will remove some of the worry once the seedlings have to move out of the house to start hardening off. We have opted for gas to provide the heat as our garden is off grid and it’s very efficient at raising the temperature in a larger area such as the polytunnel. There’s some great little gas heaters available online, and ours seems to be very fuel efficient.
So seeing as we have somewhere safe for our plants to grow on, we thought we’d have a go at starting things a bit earlier. With the aid of heated propagator the tomatoes, chillies, peppers and aubergines all went in beginning of January. Something we’d not thought about though was daylight hours, or lack of, which would make our seedlings straggly and weak. After a bit of investigation we’d found the solution, a grow light. Wow what a difference this makes the seedlings are growing on beautifully, looking strong and healthy, even if the neighbours do think we’re grown cannabis! Currently we’ve got it running on a timer for 12 hours a day, to bring them on nicely but not get them too carried away as it wont be long before they’ll have to manage with real sunlight in the polytunnel.
So for the time being things seem to be coming along well at the moment and it’ll soon be time to start popping some more bits in, and get the early bits used to some real temperatures and day light. Keep your eyes peeled for how things progress.
J&O
Secret Passage Supper Club 