Inspiring the green fingers of the next generation is always appealing and for many hobby growers, it is one of the reasons they started their first vegetable patch. It is the fond memories we have in family gardens that often foster a love of green things in later life, so it is important to get little ones into the garden early.

Growing in a polytunnel is an intense experience for the soil, with every scrap of land in your tunnel utilised for growing, real estate is at a premium and in the height of summer, it should very much be a one in one out policy. This doesn’t give the soil in your polytunnel much opportunity to recuperate, replenish or regain any nutrients that ensure your crops grow big, strong and flavourful.

When we think of British farming, we traditionally think of carrots and cabbages and other allotment staples. While soft fruit can thrive, even flourish (especially with a polytunnel to help them on their way), there are huge swathes of crops that feel unattainable to the British grower. 

There are so many positives to growing plants undercover, but one of the downsides is maintaining moisture inside your tunnel. There are many different irrigation solutions depending on technical capabilities, tunnel size and the types of crops you grow. Some people have looked further afield than overhead sprinklers or soaker hoses and are choosing to look into the past at ancient farming techniques, while others are keeping it simple and are letting gravity do its work. 

If you have any space left in your polytunnel, you have two choices; you can either choose crops to overwinter, keeping you well-stocked in the colder months, or you can choose to sow for a quick harvest. This is where spinach comes to the fore

If you are new to polytunnel ownership or looking to buy a bigger tunnel than you are used to, then ventilating is something you need to consider. Ventilating your tunnel is important for a couple of reasons; maintaining a climate will help crops thrive and promoting good air circulation will reduce diseases. 

Often people begin growing their own fruit and veg due to disappointment at what is available from local supermarkets. Never is this more true than with the humble salad green. Supermarket salad is often overly packaged (and occasionally a bit sweaty), it has a poor shelf life and is less flavourful than one would hope. This leaves people looking longingly to their outdoor spaces, drawn in by the idea of fresh greens all summer long.

There are so many positives to growing in a polytunnel, however, being undercover does cause some problems to overcome. Maintaining temperature, humidity and irrigation can all be solved with engineering solutions, but pollination is a different matter. 

Strawberries have long been synonymous with British summer, whether as a layer of a fancy victoria sponge cake, as jam in a scone, or simply with cream on a lawn watching Wimbledon. While these ruby gems carry the weight of an icon, they can also be tricky to grow. Many novice gardeners become disenfranchised with the strawberry after they lose a crop to aphids, birds or poor weather conditions. 

A polytunnel is a useful piece of kit when it comes to working in unpredictable British weather. It offers shelter for the gardener and precious plants of a more delicate constitution, it keeps off frost, warms up soil and generally makes the entire experience a little more productive (except for all the watering). But how does that actually translate into time - how many more material weeks of growing time are available to you?

Early Carrots can be ready for harvest as soon as mid-April - depending on variety and the conditions. Sowing in containers in a polytunnel can be the perfect start to kickstart the year’s crop, as it allows flexibility of conditions (moving containers outside when the world warms up) and warmer soil to start with. 

So if you are looking around your empty polytunnel with nothing in it but visions of spring, consider an early carrot to kick start the season.

 Sustainable living has been a growing trend in the past few years and as individuals focus on what they can do to go greener, we are all turning a speculative eye on our back gardens, imagining rows of neat rows of produce. If we want to do more than just dabble, or give up tomatoes for good, an outdoor growing structure becomes an inevitable purchase. Extending the growing season is key to success and a greenhouse or polytunnel offers shelter, warmth and a bit of cover through the cooler months or for plants from warmer climes. 

March is the time of year when keen gardeners are looking at getting their seeds sown and their new crops under way, but one thing you need to bear in mind is how to protect your plants from pests especially in their more vulnerable early stages. 

With spring fast approaching, the new growing season is getting underway with gardeners looking forward and planning what they can grow in their polytunnels this year. We’ve put together some top tips to get your growing season off to a flying start this month.

The start of a new year is usually the time for a lot of us to look at making lifestyle changes, be that going to the gym, a diet plan, or just simply vowing to eat healthier from now on. Everyone knows that fruit and vegetables are the key to eating a healthier diet, but you can go a step further by growing your own produce. 

When talking about growing seasons, no-one would expect you to be planting crops in the midst of winter. This is where polytunnels come in handy as there are so many things you can be doing now to help towards a flourishing garden throughout the year.

With the temperatures dropping every day at this time of year, it is important to make sure that your plants are still getting the warmth they need to grow. Propagators and heaters for your polytunnels are excellent ways of helping your plants along at various stages of their lives.

In Northdown Park in Margate a small community garden project is starting to make a real difference to peoples’ lives.

In an ideal world we would all spend every minute of the day in our polytunnels, trying to get the most out of our crops. However, if this isn’t an option, you need to know that your plants are taken care of when you are not around. This is why a proper irrigation and ventilation system is important.

It is undeniable that more and more people are combatting the large supermarket chains and becoming more self-sufficient; Raised beds are the perfect solution, allowing even a concrete yard to be turned into a flourishing vegetable patch.