[Ash Field Farm]

hi i was reading the forum in the coffe room about what r u doing today well i had the hard task of trying to work out what do i plant in my polly tunnle when i put it up  it would probly going up in may june as have lots of other things to do around the farm  well theres a few things
i have a large plot marked out got to put the fencing up for it though  i dont know what to plant in the ploytunnle  i havent got a clue does any one have any ideas  the poly tunnle is 30ft wide 96ft long  it was bigger than i hoped  but it was a bargin
 the other thing is the veg plot i know what i want to plant roughly
 i want to plant some fodder for my livestock but again unsure how much to plant  does any one know where i can get mangle seeds or the mangle wurzle seeds like on victorian farm  which has me fasinated lol  i had thought about getting a load of topsoil to mix in to get a good seed bed  i have serched the net had lo luck yet  i would normaly askt he guru rusty but i have asked him alot over the past few months  another thing would be what would u say is a good veg plot size for a family and for growing fodder any ideas all welcomed

[HappyHippy]

Wow that's quite a big tunnel !
You should be able to grow loads of stuff. I'm no expert (my tunnel's still lying in the shed til I can save up for a cover!)
But what I'm hoping to do is section off 4 big beds for working in a crop rotation plan for tatties, onions, roots & brassicas etc as well as a large dedicated asparagus bed (mmmmmmm can taste it already!) And a few other bits for tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and more 'tropical' stuff that wouldn't survive outside up here (it's quite an open site and at 1000ft above sea level gets the worst of the weather)
I'm afraid I'm no help for the fodder seeds - but ebay seems to sell whatever you can think of so I'd check there.
When I looked for topsoil for laying my turf I found http://www.rolawndirect.co.uk/?url=products-topsoil&tck=Adwords&gclid=CLaznO7jqZgCFQUWGgod51momw but they were expensive so I opted for a local guy (who was about half the price)- but there's no way it would have been good for veggies, full of stones and quite heavy clay soil. So can assume that you get what you pay for and good dirt costs a lot of money.
Depending on how quickly / cheaply you want to do it you could pen it off, put a couple of pigs in for 6 months and get composting in the meantime - more work but less cash than buying it in.
Good luck with it and let us know how you get on !
Karen 

[MrRee]

Try http://www.thomasetty.co.uk/ for the seeds. Think it was the only place swmbo could find them in small enough amounts (ie. not in acre packs) ..... Ree

[rustyme]

http://www.earthlypursuits.com/AllotGuide/DigforVictory1/DigForVictory1_2-3.htm

Hello Kristian,
               The link gives a cropping plan for an allotment of 30'x 90' ,and will grow enough food for a family of 4 or so. It is what the MOA worked out during the war, and stills holds up now days. The only thing is nowdays people may want to grow things like peppers and such like , so that has to be added to the list . You can get mangel seeds from chase organics or off ebay . I got a box off ebay , enough for an acre or so . As for buying top soil to add to a seed bed, well it would be ok on a small one , but god would it be dear for a big area. Unless you have really useless soil you won't need to add top soil. Just dig it , or plough it if it's big enough !!, and then grow some green manure on it ie: alfalfa , annual rye grass , mustard etc etc. and dig that in after a few weeks. Also get as much farmyard manure as possible and put that on areas that will be growing leaf type crops, not on carrot growing areas. Dig that in too , if you get that done now you will be ready when it's time to sow. My email is working ok again now mate ( not dumping everything into the spam section , and deleting it as I go in to see whats there....).
  Don't forget those old farming book links I put on mate , some of them have complete feeding plans for pigs, sheep and cows, how much feed they need and how much to grow and how to grow it ....very handy books ....

Cheers

Russ
           

[sabrina]

Well we took the plunge over the weekend and ordered our polytunnel but just 10ftx20ft which we feel is big enough for our needs.My husband seems to think that once he has put it together that's his job finished, I informed him last night that if I am going to have a job, look after the animals, house etc then he will need to learn the art of weeding the veg patch. His face was a picture. 

[Guy]

congrarulations- dont worry , when hes put it up it will become like a second home to him - i know ours has!!

[Rosemary]

We visted a local organic veg producer and he had two huge polytunnels (we all had polytunnel envy) - and it was sooo nice insde. Although it was grim outside, it was warm, green and lovely inside, with teh radio going and salad leaves to pick at. Yes, I could see it as a second home! Fridge, few beers...

[Guy]

we do actually  have two fridges in our alas thay are old and broken and only used as for storage so no beers

[sabrina]

I won't mention the beers, I can see him sneaking off in an evening saying he is going to weed and having a nice relaxing time to himself.

[Guy]

as long as he does some weeding!