Advice for a Beginner please!

[Loopytropez]

I am extremely new to the veggie growing game! Learning steadily and really enjoying it so far. Just built my raised beds and have planted some hardy lettuces and spring onions - just to try it out and see what happens! Hopefully come Spring, I'll have a bit more knowledge and can really get stuck in.

The thing I am struggling to get my head around at the moment are all the methods for protection: polytunnels, cloches, permafleece, netting etc....

How on earth do you know what to use and when? Am I right in thinking netting is for the Summer months to protect from pests/insects but still allowing ventilation? And, polytunnels/cloches etc are for the Winter months to protect from frosts? If so, what's the difference between polytunnels, cloches, fleece and which should you use??????

I'd really appreciate some clarification and guidance.

Thanks!

[paulsherwin]

They do two different things, though with some overlap. Things like polytunnels and cloches are there to keep the plants warm and protected from the weather, though they do discourage some pests too. Netting is to discourage birds and, in the case of the fine stuff, butterflies. Fleeces keep plants warm but also deter pests.

Domestic grade polytunnels are quite vulnerable to stormy weather. Polytunnels are a bit like greenhouses and contain the plants right through the growing season, so you will need to provide irrigation, even if it's just lots of trips from the water butt with a watering can. Cloches are used to start seedlings outside so they are nicely fattened up for the cabbage white butterflies, but the plants are planted out in the open when they're established.

Having lost *all* my calabrese broccoli this year to cabbage white butterfly caterpillars I can confirm that fine netting is a very good idea if you're growing any sort of brassica, such as cabbage or broccoli. I'm not going to try to grow these again without lots of netting to keep the little b*ggers out

Lettuces are mostly eaten by birds and slugs.

Paul

[Loopytropez]

That's really helpful - thanks very much.

So, in a nutshell, if I'm growing any kind of brassica, I should always protect with netting.

Once my seedlings/young plants go outside to my raised beds, they should be covered with cloches to protect them until they get bigger and stronger (and throughout Winter to protect from the elements).

And, some kind of Polytunnel or similar protection throughout the year will help provide optimum growing conditions?

Think I've got it! Thanks very much for explaining it!

By the way, I saw my first seedlings break through the earth in my propogators today! Very exciting! How long should I wait before transplanting them outside - when they are a few inches high? I've started off simple with Spring onions, lettuce and Winter Cabbage.

Thank you.

[Doctor Stu]

Just to "champion" the polytunnel, they are not vulnerable to stormy weather as long as they are bought from a reputable supplier and built correctly.

I think the same applies to greenhouses aswell.

No disrespect Paul.

[paulsherwin]

Originally Posted by Doctor Stu

No disrespect Paul.

No offence taken of course.

The quality of domestic polytunnels varies a lot and to a large extent you get what you pay for. The very cheap ones are really just thin plastic sheeting over a basic frame and these are very vulnerable to stormy weather, especially if assembled by inexpert people like me. The more expensive ones are a lot more robust and will survive most winter weather if erected properly.

The cheap ones are OK if you don't mind dismantling them during the winter and are prepared to risk losses if there is unseasonal stormy weather in the growing season.

Paul