A small example of worthwhile forward planning

[Joeboy]

And so it begins!

[Bugtownboy]

Joe, you don’t think SWMBO is setting you up for a naughty boy cave ?

Seriously, love to see how much your polytunnel extends your growing season. We’ve found down here we can get salad (mustard/mizuna type) if we start it off in Autumn.

Also supplement it with brassica leaves thinly sliced.

We like salad, but it would be nice to be growing stuff ‘outside’ from January onwards.

Perhaps a separate thread on polytunnel cultivation as there do seem to be a few with experience ?

[Joeboy]

Joe, you don’t think SWMBO is setting you up for a naughty boy cave ?

Seriously, love to see how much your polytunnel extends your growing season. We’ve found down here we can get salad (mustard/mizuna type) if we start it off in Autumn.

Also supplement it with brassica leaves thinly sliced.

We like salad, but it would be nice to be growing stuff ‘outside’ from January onwards.

Perhaps a separate thread on polytunnel cultivation as there do seem to be a few with experience ?

That would be brilliant if someone wants to begin? Would be great to read all the team polytunnel experience. Gus got off to a good start t'other day.

SWMBO is wonderful and I told her the story of Wee Joe as a lad with no money and I thought chest freezers were a sign of real wealth (along with soda streams and carton fruit juice). I have coveted one for decades but denied myself it as we have two other freezers. She ran with the ball and bought me this excellent unit for £30.

Amazing how the very simple inexpensive things can mean so much.

[AE-NMidlands]

My dad used to grow lettuce "Winter Density" in the ground through the winter in an unheated greenhouse in Bradford - actually a lot higher up on the outskirts!
I don't know when he started it off or planted it on though.

[Bugtownboy]

Think the polytunnel/extending growing season is your shout, Joe. Don’t want to steal your thunder, so to speak.

Know what you mean about childhood impressions of wealth then before you know it, there you go. Importantly, never lose that journey.

[Oldgreybeard]

I'd love to hear a polytunnel adventure. We don't have room for one, we just have a small lean-to greenhouse (that I need to move as it's in the wrong place). We also don't have enough space for a conventional veg patch, but we do have a few odd corners where I think I could have a go at growing something. Rather stupidly we decided to only have a very small garden, thinking that as we got older we'd not want the hassle of having to maintain something larger. Also, my wife was insistent that a fair part of the garden be allowed to grow wild, to encourage wildlife and biodiversity.

Can't argue with that, as we have everything from hedgehogs and otters to ducks, geese and egrets that seem at home here (or at least they visit regularly). I do wish that the hedgehogs and otters didn't make such a mess, though, and also wish that the hedgehogs weren't so damned aggressive. They are feisty little creatures, forever fighting with each other.

On the freezer front I bought a small chest freezer the year before last, really as a standby if we have a long power cut (before the batteries were installed). It's invaluable, and costs a great deal less to run than the main fridge freezer. It also stays cold a lot longer with the power off. This got tested during a fairly long power cut last winter (the freezer isn't yet on the automatic emergency supply) and the temperature in it only rose by around 2°C over about 18 hours, whereas the fridge freezer was dripping water after about 10 hours (had to shift everything into the chest freezer).

[Joeboy]

Think the polytunnel/extending growing season is your shout, Joe. Don’t want to steal your thunder, so to speak.

Know what you mean about childhood impressions of wealth then before you know it, there you go. Importantly, never lose that journey.

Steal away mate, honestly. I am clueless, reading through Gus's post made me realise how outdoor vegging skills don't necessarily transfer across. I'll give it a few days but if any Hyborean wanderers want to start and share, please go ahead. I am on here too much anyway!

If you go down to the woods today...

BTB, Observe the Z bed....

[Fintray]

BTB, Observe the Z bed....

BYOM?

[Bugtownboy]

Told you - ‘naughty boy’ man cave. Naughty boys don’t get a mattress

[Joeboy]

Told you - ‘naughty boy’ man cave. Naughty boys don’t get a mattress

Funny you mention that, SWMBO spotted a cool retro futon last night for £20 and we have just come back with it!