Polytunnel – May – Another Year

G’s Polytunnel looks good. Very productive and organised.

He has taken it over this year, and I’m quite happy to not be responsible for the vegetables. We had a big tidy up earlier in the spring because we were having a party. I must admit, with all the extra work elsewhere, we cheated somewhat by putting in some neat rows of BOUGHT veg plants! An impressive start with less effort.

Amongst other things, we have three types of beans; runner, french and broad, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, one Courgette and some red Brussels sprouts. As well as all these there is lettuce, celery, and leaf beet. Yellow courgettes that we’ve grown from seed are ready to go will be found a spot outside.

Three large pots of Delphiniums which were overwintered here are now hardened off and full of buds. They will be planted in the big railway trolley that was another auction leftover. I hope they’ll do well here, 3 feet off the ground and above slug level. The flower spikes will fill the view from the kitchen window.

There is also a pretty bowl of small rock plants rescued from G’s Mum’s garden. A lovely reminder. All the tiny plants she cared for and treasured in one place so they don’t get lost or overlooked amongst the more rampant garden plants. We’ll find a place for it on the deck near the house. At present it looks beautiful, with pink Saxifrage and blue Bugle in flower.

Everything is doing well, which is gratifying, but it has got a bit mixed up so there needs to be a sort out.

We tied in the Runner Beans and the Sweet Peas and added more support for the Broad Beans. All looking very promising.
The Globe Artichokes were getting got so huge we had to trim the lower leaves and tie the plants in so they didn’t flop across the path. We usually enjoy a small crop each year, which is a real treat.

A friend gave us a Jalapeño chilli pepper, and it’s looking very promising, as are all the herbs, cabbages and chard. The mangetout were all over the place, so a framework of sorts has been constructed with netting attached, so hopefully they’ll get the idea.

We have just one Courgette plant this year because they haven’t ever thrived in the damp atmosphere of the Polytunnel, and inevitably developed what anther friend referred to as ‘knob end rot’

Year’s later, and with our friend sadly gone, I have discovered that the name for this disease, commonly found in courgettes, was most probably invented by him for a laugh. I shudder to think of how many people I have (in a knowledgeable and superior way) passed this horticultural gem on to. I now believe it is known as ‘blossom end rot’: a much more refined term – but not as funny.
I should have had my doubts at the time. This is the man who referred to any shrubs that he didn’t know the name of, as “Namboleus”. He would casually announce this with great authority. “Oh, that would be Namboleus” he would say.