How to grow food in your polytunnel : all year round

Are you using your polytunnel, also known as high tunnel or hoop house, to its full potential? If so you'll be harvesting fresh crops all year round - sweet potatoes and late celery in November; winter radish, baby carrots and celeriac in early February; salads leaves right through the winter. Even in the 'hungry gap' you'll have a choice of new potatoes, pak choi, peas, tender cabbages, beetroot and more. How to Grow Food in Your Polytunnel has all the information you need to make the most of this precious covered space, including: * a detailed crop-by-crop guide to the growing year * dedicated chapters on growing for each season, including the 'hungry gap' * a sowing and harvesting calendar to help with planning. An easy-to-follow, practical guide to growing crops year-round in your polytunnel. Are you using your polytunnel, also known as high tunnel or hoop house, to its full potential? If so you'll be harvesting fresh crops all year round sweet potatoes and late celery in November; winter radish, baby carrots and celeriac in early February; salad leaves right through the winter. Even in the 'hungry gap' you'll have a choice of new potatoes, pak choi, peas, tender cabbages, beetroot and more. How to Grow Food in Your Polytunnel has all the information you need to make the most of this precious covered space, including a detailed crop-by-crop guide to the growing year, dedicated chapters on growing for each season, including the 'hungry gap', and a handy sowing and harvesting calendar to help with planning. With all the information you need to use your polytunnel to its full potential, this book shows make the most of this precious covered space. It includes a detailed crop-by-crop guide to the growing year, dedicated chapters on growing for each season, and a sowing and harvesting calendar to help with planning. You'll be harvesting fresh crops all year round—sweet potatoes and late celery in November; winter radish, baby carrots, and celeriac in early February; and salad leaves right through the winter. Even during the “hungry gap” you'll have a choice of new potatoes, pak choi, peas, tender cabbages, beetroot, and more with the help of this essential guide. Front Cover 1 Contents 6 Dedications 8 Acknowledgements 8 Introduction 10 CHAPTER ONE Through the seasons 13 CHAPTER TWO The tunnel’s first year 18 CHAPTER THREE Winter 27 CHAPTER FOUR Spring 50 CHAPTER FIVE The hungry gap 58 CHAPTER SIX Summer 65 CHAPTER SEVEN Autumn 74 CHAPTER EIGHT Plants for the polytunnel 80 CHAPTER NINE Seed saving 182 CHAPTER TEN Dealing with pests and diseases 192 CHAPTER ELEVEN Looking after the soil 206 RESOURCES 216 Index 219 Use your polytunnel to its full potential and harvest fresh crops all year round. With this book to guide you, you'll have both early crops and an extended growing season.