Kitchen Garden Forum

(Huge smile)

Aesthetics Westi. Rather than a greenhouse, I think a polytunnel is more likely to survive our weather if it's installed correctly and will possibly look better if installed correctly and maintained.

But "Cool" ?

I have this vision, a polytunnel surrounded by hedging. The hedging alone would cost as much as the polytunnel. That might look "Cool".

I had some tomatoes yesterday delivered by a neighbour who has a regular veg-box type delivery. They were lovely so I think it's about time I considered a regular order of stuff I can't grow or am not currently growing. I'll still throw away as much as I use, supplying and cooking for one isn't easy unless you have an unimaginative diet.

The PFA greenery is now two foot high, by the time the potatoes are big enough it'll be like a hedge.

My row of carrots sown ages ago has shown for about two weeks but there is a 60% failure to germinate so I won't have to do any thinning-out. How about I sow new seed in the gaps ?

Broccoli looks good, both types of kale are doing well but the outdoor tomatoes look very sad along with the French beans. It's too cold here, I'm quite high up so that north or easterly wind means you wouldn't be walking around in shorts and t-shirt here even on a lovely sunny day unless you have shelter.

Hi Richard

One of the polytunnels I snooped a look at was in a windy position on the Purbecks, probably no where near as windy as your patch though. We bought our dog off them so it was an invited snoop. They buried pallets on their side up the prevailing windy side, a few feet from the tunnel as you could walk between the tunnel & them like a path. They filled the pallets with rocks off their land & soil and planted through the gaps with that purple flowering pretty hanging plant you see in rock walls.

They told me it directed the wind up to the curved part of the tunnel where it rolled over the top causing no damage whereas before they did that they had tears where it hit the straight wall part of the tunnel.

An idea maybe? Or just a row of your PFA??

Westi

Thanks for sharing that Westi, I have all sorts of plans that would work though I would either use hedging or wooden fencing covered in windbreak fabric. The advise I had before planting my Sea Buckthorne hedging was never to try stopping the wind, just to slow it down. When you try to stop the wind it starts a turbulent vacuum situation that I have witnessed in action. The danger with you described is that the redirected wind could lift the poly tunnel rather than blow it inwards.

Sea Buckthorne is really good though would take five years to get to five foot high, a windbreak fence would be five foot within a week and look in-place in a farming area.

I have two hurdles, her agreement and the agreement of the planning department, don't you think it's daft that I need planning approval.for a poly tunnel because the land is agricultural.