Chris and Steve's Weblog - City Chickens » tunnel

Build and Repair

Chris — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:26:35 +0000

Rob has been off work this week and though we have had other calls on our time we have still managed to get quite a few hours in on the plot.

The fruit cage has been fixed, the fruit bushes in there pruned and the strawberries tidied up ready for the new season.

The bean trench has been dug and a new frame erected. Seeds should go into individual pots in April.

The brassica tunnel is almost finished being repaired and would be finished if the drill hadn’t run out of steam at the last minute. The brassica seedlings are coming along and some have been repotted already

Rob has started to build a second brassica cage but I haven’t seen it yet as I was at home repotting about fifty seedlings of tomatoes and brassicas.

The lean to is tidy and ready to receive a few rows of lettuce, spring onions and raddish which should be harvested before the tomatoes and cucumbers are ready to go in.

The courgette bin has been repaired, extended and filled with good compost from the ‘daleks’ and the seedlings are looking good and healthy so far.

We have made a start on a raised bed for the melons which we have covered with a metal cloche which we shall cover with polythene once the plants are in.

Sn’oh No

Chris — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:00:18 +0000

Heavy snow followed by freezing temperatures meant that the weight was too much for our poor tunnels and this is the result. Looks like we will have some serious repairs to do soon. It was such hard work to build the tunnels in the first place that I almost feel like giving up all together or at least giving up one of the plots.

The Fruit Cage

Chris — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:49:55 +0000

I spoke too soon when I said there would be no work involved as the fruit cage was up and running. Three of the uprights have snapped off at ground level. My brother Roy has bought some metal rods to strengthen the posts so that will be the first job on our next visit. We have also decided to dismantle the old sprout cage and clear up the bed ready for the rotovator. I am determined to keep all the brassicas in the tunnels next year.

The framework on the bean trench has now been dismantled and all the old plants taken down. We will build the new one in the Spring ready for May planting.

New Fruit Cage

Chris — Sun, 24 May 2009 20:06:30 +0000

Tunnel Mkll

Chris — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:28:42 +0000

It was a beautiful day today and all the plotholders were out in force. We arrived late at 10.30am determined to complete the second tunnel and get the new brassica plants in before we came home. Things were going great and got even better when we were given two sturdy posts by the brothers to use as end strengtheners on the door end of the tunnel. We found a Cabbage White butterfly hiding in the netting and sent her on her way with a warning not to come back and lay her eggs in the new brassica plants. We still have the base boards to put in around the bottom edges but decided to put in the brassica plants as they were getting pot bound. I planted 18 Cauliflower All Year Round, 9 Cabbage Hispi and 9 Cabbage Savoy.

Tunnel one is doing its job and we have harvested some good stuff from there. Roy and Jan paid us a visit and went home with a few goodies including a bunch of carrots from the carrot bin, a cabbage, a courgette, a cauli, a swede and potatoes plus a jar of black currant jam we had taken for Keith but were too late as he is an early starter and had already left when we got there.

Back at home we picked the first of the tomatoes. They were from the Sungold plant which has grown like mad and is now higher than the perimeter fence of the chicken run . We stood the tomato plants in tubs all around the chicken run, outside ofcourse, as last year we couldn’t get to the allotment every day and so couldn’t water regularly. Having them at home as been much easier.

Tunnel of Love

Chris — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:11:14 +0000

This morning Rob went to the plots early to put the net cover on the tunnel. We both went back this afternoon to finish off and plant a few brassicasÂ in there. It is looking very good. We still have to make a better doorway but it is safe from the pigeons for now. Just a few more finishing touches required.

The weather today has been very hot and I risked putting Carmen ll in the lean to.

On the home front Jemima is sitting tight on her eggs at last so we are hoping for new arrivals at the end of the month. We have to hope that Puddles is fertile however as although he seems fit and strong at the moment he was very poorly earlier in the year.

The chicks are growing fast now and areÂ swapping their fluff for feathers already.

The Tunnel is Go

Chris — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 16:01:46 +0000

Well, we were lucky and the weather was good for us to start the tunnel this morning. After a few adjustments to our original plans we have sunk in the base tubes and put up the six plastic tubing arches. So far so good. We came home aching but happy. Its not easy to measure lengths of headstrong plastic tubing when it just wants to coil itself back into the foetal position.

The potatoes that we started in the pop up rubbish bags from the pound shop are doing well and we have moved them out of the lean to and on to the plot.

I have tidied the lean to and dug it over in readyness for the Carmen Cucumber. The plant is already 2′ high now so I will have to take it soon. I have started another one just in case of a disaster but if the first one gets on ok I may keep the second one in the plastic greenhouse in the garden at home.