Crops are growing, seeds are still being sown, the temperature is rising and you are busy, busy, busy.

June will see the last of your asparagus and the first of your beetroot, runner beans, strawberries and courgettes. You and your family will soon have a daily supply of fresh fruit, vegetables and salad. But you will have to work hard at it!

One of the most popular and easy to grow polytunnel crops is the tomato. The tomato will thrive in a polytunnel environment and provide you with a bumper crop all through the summer right up until October.

When choosing where to plant your tomatoes consider having chives and nasturtiums as neighbours, they will enhance the flavor of your fruit.

Northern Polytunnels are one of the UK’s leading suppliers of high quality Water Storage Tanks, designed to provide a cost effective solution for the permanent or temporary storage of bulk water.

15th - 26th May is Be Nice to nettles week. The Nettle (Urtica dioica) is not the first thing we all think of when we are planning our planting for the year. They sting our legs and leave us looking around for a dock leaf. So why would you want this weed the polytunnel?

In February 2013, Kate Redpath contacted Northern Polytunnels for help with her unique and edible dream - The Tarland Community Garden. The project, which is based in Aberdeenshire, leases gardening space to its members and its aim is to bring the gardening community together and to encourage local production of food.

For Polytunnel gardeners, March is the most anticipated month of the year. After having your face up-to the cold windows for the past few months itching to get outside you can finally begin work again. Spring is when the majority of our seeds are planted, the doors on our polytunnels are open again and the sun pops out to warm our backs (although you shouldn’t forget the nights are still cold).

From September 2014 Horticulture could be part of the national curriculum. Will you be ready? The National curriculum can be delivered in many ways through school gardening and there are many online resources are available...

For more than 40 years, Northern Polytunnels has been supplying their customers with high-quality polytunnels, greenhouses and other commercial structures. Our reputation has not only been built upon providing expert services throughout the design and construction process - it has also been enhanced by the levels of after-sales support that we offer. One way that we have achieved this is to offer insights about maintaining optimal conditions within our structures, and our new Dehumidification Unit allows growers to get the maximum value from their investment.

Cucumbers grown in a polytunnel don’t need to be pollinated. Sow seeds in late February and move to your polytunnel in late May. Transplant the seedlings into your raised beds keeping them 60cm apart.

Female cucumbers can be trained up a length of string attached to your crop bar or double ridge (if you have them). These will...

January is a great time for getting your polytunnel ready for spring. Start with the outside by removing any dead leaves from the polytunnel this can be done with a soft brush.

You can clean your polytunnel cover with a solution called Polytex pro. Polytex pro is a unique high energy cleaning fluid, which gently removes green slime, soot, traffic film, grease, pesticide and chemical residues from polytunnel covers.

While you’re pretty much locked away for winter, with few gardening jobs to be done you should begin your polytunnel plan for the following year. When planning your planting, one thing to consider is companion planting. Companion plants are plants that grow well together and work harmoniously with nature. Some plants naturally repel insects / pests. Here are some ideas...

Largely used in horticulture and agriculture, commercial polytunnels are the ultimate solution for growing crops and housing livestock. Recent advancements in technology and structural design now mean that polytunnels are fast becoming the preferred form of shelter in the farming sector, due in part to the affordability and excellent cover provided

On a very hot day in July this year, Northern Polytunnels, along with the River Cottage team visited the LOL Foundation. The Lol Foundation is situated in maclesfield and supports ex servicemen and women, who are struggling with

Polytunnels offer the commercial grower a suitable environment for many varieties of fruit, flowers and vegetables, with the advantage of being able to cover a large area of ground relatively inexpensively compared to glasshouse cultivation and its high maintenance costs. The correct siting of a polytunnel, whether domestic or commercial, is critical in order to achieve the highest possible yields from produce whilst keeping the polytunnel in good condition.

Following on from the two week family holiday to Crete in August, we came home to a polytunnel bursting with ripe toms, chillies (which Yasmin – aged two, thinks are sweets because of all the bright colours – she’ll learn!), aubergines, basil, sweetcorn , figs and grapes – however, the later two are still very young at this stage… and the plot outside – covered with an abundance of weeds.

BPI Visqueen have recently made some changes to the horticultural polythene they produce. Working closely with The University of Lancaster and The University of Reading they have produced two new polythenes Lumisol Clear and lumisol Diffused.

Last month, we sponsored one of our constructors Kevin Robinson along with two friends David Pye and Brian Clarke, embarked on a 27 day adventure. Setting off in a Red Vauxhall Corsa that would visit 13 countries covering over 8,000 miles all to raise money for charity.

The outcome of the adventure (apart from some fun) is the guys raised money for charities Blue Marine Foundation and Cool Earth

An increasingly relevant structure type in commercial growing, horticultural polytunnels are unmatched in their ability to provide secure and cost effective covering for vast areas of land being used for cultivation.

Following a terrible tragedy at the weekend, Northern Polytunnels would like to express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of our colleague, Matthew Polanski. He will be sadly missed.

Sad News from Knockhill

If you have children and are not retired, it’s almost a given; that of a ‘two week summer vacation’, which has been marked on the calendar and pinned to the back of the kitchen door. The very fact that it’s highlighted in red - the letters are in bold black marker, should give you some idea to the significance to what this event holds to most in the family household. Sound familiar?