Category: How To’s

5 Reasons Why You Should Save Your Seed

~ Katrina ~ 4 Comments

Saving seed has become an important part of my allotment practises this year and I’ve come to realise that It’s something everyone should be doing! Not only are seeds themselves such beautiful things to study close up, but the more you grow and preserve your seed, you are in turn developing the variety to become better adapted to your growing in your soil and micro-climate conditions. Here are my 5 reasons why you should save your seed! Continue reading “5 Reasons Why You Should Save Your Seed” →

Supporting Polytunnel Tomatoes with String

~ Katrina ~ 7 Comments

Polytunnel July 2017

I’ve learnt a few lessons from last year. I grew too many tomato plants in too little space which meant there wasn’t enough airflow and most of the plants succumbed to blight before I could harvest the bulk of the fruit. The plants grew in big plant pots which I sunk into the ground. I watered them from the top of the pots, but since I didn’t remove the base of the pot (I drilled it instead), the roots weren’t spreading or taking up enough water.

I’m doing things differently in the polytunnel this year. Gone are the days of wonky bamboo canes that inevitably poke me in the eyes, head and/or face. The future is string! At least, I hope it is. I planted out all my tomato plants at the weekend, using a new system that I hope will increase my harvest, reduce the risk of diseases, improve watering and take the frustration out of using those bloomin’ bamboo canes. Continue reading “Supporting Polytunnel Tomatoes with String” →

How I built a cucumber support for free

~ Katrina ~ 2 Comments


You know that niggling feeling you get when you know you haven’t finished a job? My three Marketmore cucumber plants have been steadily creeping across the polytunnel table, outgrowing their small pots and dying to go outside in the ground.

I knew I wanted to save space this year and build a trellis for the cucumbers to grow vertically…but with very limited funds and time I was stuck for weeks deciding how to do it. I was watering the polytunnel on Tuesday when I had a brain wave 💡 I still had the frame of a (flyaway) greenhouse that I dismantled early in the year. I also had some scrap plastic netting left over and even a few metres of wire that keeps chicken wire bound together. With these materials I made a trellis without spending a single penny!
Continue reading “How I built a cucumber support for free” →