Grow Your Own Magazine

Fully Constructed Polytunnel

Improve your plot, increase your crop and appear in GYO with this exciting competition to win a polytunnel.

GYO has teamed up with Haygrove to give away a 3m x 6m polytunnel. The lucky winner will be featured in a future issue of GYO – the magazine will follow the story, describing your tunnel’s construction and your plans for the new growing space. You won’t even need to erect the Garden Tunnel yourself – Haygrove will visit your plot to do the job.

The 3m x 6m structure has been designed by experts in the field of food production. Haygrove supplies Waitrose and M&S with organic berries from its Herefordshire farms. In the mid-1990s its staff became exasperated with spoilt fruit crops and set out to improve upon traditional polytunnel and greenhouse designs. A year ago they made the results available to home-growers with a range of polytunnels sized to fit allotments and gardens. This method of growing is a great way to get an early start on sowing or planting fruit and veg. Keeping crops under cover extends the growing season and lets you grow delicious plants that would usually struggle to survive in the UK’s cool climate. The 3m x 6m Garden Tunnel gives you an amazing 18m2 of growing space. Melons, cucumbers and other climbing plants will take full advantage of the extra room by twining their way up the trellis cables. These steel cross wires can be hooked up to any hoop within the tunnel; move them to a new spot each year to practice cr op rotation. The vegetables will benefit from a fresh patch of soil and the shift will help your borders stay in great shape.

A 3m x 6m polytunnel is worth £838. Delivery and construction costs vary from £150 to £500, depending on your location in the UK. You don’t have to be an individual grower to enter – schools, clubs and allotment societies are all welcome to apply.

To order, call Haygrove’s local rate number on 0845 269 6395 or go to gardentunnels.co.uk.

Alternatively, tick the box under the image, then fill in the form below.

Step It Up

Want an easy way to display your most attractive fruit and veg plants? The Freestanding Ladder Allotment uses a series of flat shelves to hold containers and even small grow bags. Just place pots of your most colourful crops on each tier to show them to their best advantage. The structure works well on small plots, too. The 1m x 20cm shelves are a real bonus for gardeners without much planting room. With a width and height of just 1.05m, you could even position a Ladder Allotment on a patio or large balcony. The sturdy kick stand won’t take up much space either – even when it’s fully extended, the rack only has a depth of 63cm. Made from attractive, unstained timber, the ladders will look at home on any plot. If you’d rather go for a bolder, brighter hue, the wood is easy to paint or stain in a colour of your choice.

A free-standing three tier Ladder Allotment costs £49.99, plus a delivery charge of £10. For more information phone 01252 675 054 or visit ladderallotments.com.

Alternatively, tick the box under the image, then fill the form below for your chance to win one of the four Ladder Allotments that we have to give away.

To Serve And Protect

Whether you grow your own in a garden, allotment or a few patio pots, Agriframe’s range will help to boost the size of your harvest. Its fruit cages offer an easy way to keep your crops safe from hungry birds. Made from strong, hi-tensile steel tubing that’s been galvanised inside and out to resist corrosion, the structure comes with the option of a long-life, UV-treated polymer coating. The budget fruit cage kit includes everything you need to keep your edible plants covered – a frame, netting, ties, clips and a door for easy access to your crop.

Gardeners with tender plants can keep them well protected using a Long Grow Super Cloche. Its tall roof system and a generous width leaves ample room for plants of varying heights. The circular end panels turn at a touch for adjustable ventilation. With a rugged steel frame and corrugated PVC, the cloche will withstand anything from blazing sun to freezing snow.

To order call 0845 260 4450 or go to agriframes.co.uk. (Please quote GYO410).

Alternatively, tick the box under the image, then fill the form below for your chance to win the Budget Fruit Cage Kit (worth £199) or the Long Grow Super Cloche (worth £51.95) we have to give away.

Pick Of The Crop

Spring is the best time of year to start growing a wide range of veg. From crisp salads to brassicas and tasty garden peas, you’ll find that PlantsByPost has plenty of edible crops to get in the ground this month. Its April Veg Plant Pack contains 124 plants and two packets of seeds – all selected for taste and ease of growth. Varieties include lettuces ‘Little Gem’ and ‘Lollo Rosso’, cabbage ‘Castello’ and cauliflower ‘Freedom’, plus mixed tomato plants, chillies, aubergines and more.

Gardeners who enjoy soft fruit will love the Strawberry Collection Pack. Featuring six plants each of six different, delicious cultivars, it will offer several years of tasty crops. The varieties are supplied as bare root runners and need to be potted on or planted out following arrival.

The April Veg Plant Pack costs £37.99 and the Strawberry Collection is £15.99. To buy, or for a full description of both selections, go to plantsbypost.com. Alternatively, tick the box under the image, then fill the form below for your chance to win one of the five Veg Pack and Strawberry Collections we have to give away.