New polly tunnel

[helenspain]

I bought my first tunnel and it is up and looking fantastic. I am new living in Spain and in my area half way up a mountain with the wind and frost gushing by, I hope it will still be here after the winter.
I wanted it primarily for protecting my tropical plants (which are in pots) from the frost, I am horrified my Elephant's ears are getting black spots from the moist condition. I have some Agapanthus should they go inside as well?

However, I now find myself thinking about sowing something, I have never grown vegs only flowers, advice will be appreciated.

[Nature's Babe]

Hi Helen. Beware - you will get hooked when you taste your first produce. Welcome to the forum and good luck with your polly tunnel and veggie project . I grow what I like to eat, if space is limited, what is expensive to buy, and to suit my lifestyle, and the climate here. What kind of soil do you have, or are you planning to use containers ? Maybe think what your personal priorities are, and then we will have more information to help you with.

[helenspain]

I am renting a house, so for now I am gardening in tubs and big bags. I have sandbags around my tunnel to keep it down and is hoping for the best.

[alan refail]

¡Hola, Helen, y bienvenida!

As a polytunnel enthusiast I'd love to help. But this must be the hardest question there's been on the forum for a long time!

A lot of questions for you. How big is the polytunnel? Where in Spain are you? How high is half-way up a mountain? How cold does it get in winter?

In most parts of Spain it will be too hot in summer for polytunnel crops, but great for early vegetables - and late ones too. All depends on your answers to the questions.

[Nature's Babe]

Meantime Helen, you could check out a few local gardens and see what they are succeeding with, or your local veg market. Many seed companies offer some vegetable varieties that are especially suited to containers.
Are you on the southern or northen side of the mountains?

[helenspain]

My tunnel is 4.5 meters x 2 meters not huge but, so far I have packed it with my tropical plants to protect them from frost. I live East of Spain between Gandia and Valencia. It got very cold last winter about 2 degrees and is well known by the locals for it's frost (we had snow as well). I am about 50 meters up the mountain. One of the biggest problems can be the wind howling threw the valley.
I am sure it will be toooo hot in the summer to use it. I am trying to post some pictures, need a bit of practice to make them a bit smaller first.
Thanks for helping

[Nature's Babe]

Just a few thoughts. As anywhere in Spain improving the soil is even more important than watering as a good vegetable soil needs to be moisture retentive especially in hot summers, and you could consider mulching the soil with whatever comes to hand to further help water retention. I would imagine salads will feature when it is hot, lettuce go to seed quickly in hot sunny weather so try and create a shady spot for them to grow. Maybe in the shade of a fig, they are leafy and will grow quite well in pots. I found this link which you might find helpful -
http://gardeningspain.blogspot.com/2009 ... spain.html