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Hopefully I haven't asked this before! as the thought does occur to me periodically ...
I have a large greenhouse - 30' x 10' - for cropping. Tomatoes, Peppers, Melons, Aubergines, Cucumbers and some early crops - Sweetcorn and Dwarf French Beans
I struggle with some parts of the outdoor plot - wind rock on brassicas, enough heat for Squash ... probably a bunch of other things if I put my mind to it.
The solution I fancy is covering the whole plot. Either a multi span polytunnel, or a multipsan glass house.
(The glass house probably seems incredibly expensive on the face of it, but they come up on eBay for a £grand or less, the problem is taking it down and re-erecting it, and the price reflects the cost to the owner of clearing the site - anything that anyone will pay, if they will take it away, is bunce!)
I've had a chat with a couple of people who grow all / nearly all their veg under cover and it looks extremely promising. A few look like they need to be outside:
Runner Beans - pollination issues. They are happy to grow on same spot each year, no crop rotation, so that's not a problem.
Courgetttes - get stressed from heat (which surprised me)
Lettuce - struggle in the hot months, maybe there is a longer "hot period" under cover?
A synopsis of the discussion I have had with chums that already grow predominantly under cover is:
Upside is that there won't be any direct damp on foliage, so less / no? rust type fungal diseases. However there are issues from condensation dripping from roof in colder months (maybe that can be engineered out)
No carrot fly, could probably net Door and Vents to keep Cabbage White etc. out too, should be no issue with Pigeons.
A downside is that everything will need irrigation. I figure to lay leaky hose and run that off my irrigation system (we harvest rainwater from house & sheds, and the outfall from the cesspit-digester thingie, so don't actually need to "buy" water to put on the garden). Add rainwater collection from the tunnel roof to that store.
I currently plant everything (more or less) through woven weed-suppressing membrane (Mypex) so that reduces water evaporation, which should help under cover.
I'd love to hear of anyone's experiences, and any Gotchas folk can think of. Thanks
I have a large greenhouse - 30' x 10' - for cropping. Tomatoes, Peppers, Melons, Aubergines, Cucumbers and some early crops - Sweetcorn and Dwarf French Beans
I struggle with some parts of the outdoor plot - wind rock on brassicas, enough heat for Squash ... probably a bunch of other things if I put my mind to it.
The solution I fancy is covering the whole plot. Either a multi span polytunnel, or a multipsan glass house.
(The glass house probably seems incredibly expensive on the face of it, but they come up on eBay for a £grand or less, the problem is taking it down and re-erecting it, and the price reflects the cost to the owner of clearing the site - anything that anyone will pay, if they will take it away, is bunce!)
I've had a chat with a couple of people who grow all / nearly all their veg under cover and it looks extremely promising. A few look like they need to be outside:
Runner Beans - pollination issues. They are happy to grow on same spot each year, no crop rotation, so that's not a problem.
Courgetttes - get stressed from heat (which surprised me)
Lettuce - struggle in the hot months, maybe there is a longer "hot period" under cover?
A synopsis of the discussion I have had with chums that already grow predominantly under cover is:
Upside is that there won't be any direct damp on foliage, so less / no? rust type fungal diseases. However there are issues from condensation dripping from roof in colder months (maybe that can be engineered out)
No carrot fly, could probably net Door and Vents to keep Cabbage White etc. out too, should be no issue with Pigeons.
A downside is that everything will need irrigation. I figure to lay leaky hose and run that off my irrigation system (we harvest rainwater from house & sheds, and the outfall from the cesspit-digester thingie, so don't actually need to "buy" water to put on the garden). Add rainwater collection from the tunnel roof to that store.
I currently plant everything (more or less) through woven weed-suppressing membrane (Mypex) so that reduces water evaporation, which should help under cover.
I'd love to hear of anyone's experiences, and any Gotchas folk can think of. Thanks
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