Actually that should be the Sweet Potato Suite! Yes, I am building a suite for the Sweet potatoes, to go with the Brassica Bedroom! Sounds like a Hotel for Vegetables doesn't it!! haha.
So I read the instructions and did what it said to have more of a chance of getting a good crop.
First of all I dug in a couple of bags fo manure.....
Instead of buying an expensive polytunnel, I decided I would do it in true allotment style, beg & swap! I managed to get the plastic sheeting from Ron for the main body and George gave me another odd piece he had left over for the ends (these are still to be done - it was toooooo hot over the weekend so the ends will be done today now that it's cooler) I then duck taped the two pieces together so that I had the body well covered with a bit of overlap each side.
Derek our allotment angel lent me 4 hoops that are made from plumbing pipes - I just had to simply push them into the ground - simply she says - some went in like a hot knife cutting through butter and others were like trying to push a square peg in a round hole! As Gertie & her family walked up the path from their plot, I asked if I could borrow her husband for a bit of brut strength!
Then I covered the dug in manure with black plastic. Again these were free, as I used manure and compost bags that I had saved and I had some galvinsed pegs to keep them in place! FREE!!!
I then had the task of covering the hoops and using little cable ties that Arthur gave me, I eventually got there in the end! So just the ends to go now!
I have just realised that to plant the 10 Sweet Potato Slips I will have to climb into the Sweet Potato Suite to do so!! I am also wondering if I could interplant with Aubergines and Sweet Peppers as the Sweet Potatoes will grow down and they grow upwards, and also like the heat that the Suite will provide - I wonder?????
Update!
As promised I have been back to the allotment to finish of the ends of the Sweet Potato Suite....
This is the Front End - I made this in 2 pieces so I have a "door" so that I can water - you can just make out the duck tape to keep it together in the middle
I also had the idea of adding a backbone to make it all more stable so I used bamboo and cable ties and it did the trick!
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To finish it off I put bottles on the sticking out bamboo ends so I wouldn't have an accident &
I made a sign
"The Sweet Potato Suite"
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4 comments:
Ali you are such a hard worker and so enthusiastic, I still want to know how you manage two plots. M x
I wouldn't plant anything with the sweet potatoes because the top foliage will sprawl like a vine.They are a relative of bindweed and when they get going they become a tangled mess. ;0)
I'll be interested to see how you get on with the sweet potatoes. I've heard they're very difficult, but the whole family love them so I might try them next year if you have success. :)
Thanks for the detail, Ali. My plot is not as far on as yours up here in Scotland, but I really like the idea of a diy polytunnel using plumbing pipe! Think I might try it for some basil and tomatoes.
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