One week to go / polytunnel planning

To say that I'm counting down the days until our house arrives (I still can't get used to the fact that it just turns up on a lorry one day) is a massive understatement. I have been counting down for quite a while - and getting very excited at the 'two months to go', 'one month to go', 'two weeks to go' phases.
So, this is the final countdown, the final week of waiting. I'm trying my best at distraction tactics, as somehow I'm getting nervous rather than excited - even though it seems that we'll have friends and relations there to witness the great event (it is the thought of seeing walls flying through the air that really causes a stir - hopefully it will all be very controlled and serene!)

Anyway, we had a great time visiting the Sally Gardens Smallholding near us last week and it was a great help to my polytunnel quest to get to see theirs. Many thanks to Rebecca and Dan for answering my near endless questions (and subtly getting me hooked on the idea of ducks .. well their ducks managed that all by themselves - cute, big eggs and great slug eaters).

I've been trying to plan what to grow in our tunnel and then trying to work out the size. The bigger the better seems the golden rule - and we do have a lot of space, so it is very tempting to go mad - especially with the poor summers we've had lately. I'd originally thought of 4x8 m (25x14ft?) but I'm now getting tempted towards 6x12m (nearer 21x40ft?). We're not on site, so it is hard to make the decision without marking it on the ground - but I really would like to get an order in this week - so we can put it up in early March (just after the house goes up) and thus make use of it asap.
Funny enough nerves are setting in even about the tunnel - size, cost, ventilation etc. Silly me. I've already convinced some friends to help put it up, so really all should go well.

Here, there is some progress on the fruit and veg (despite not sowing yet).

The garlics in pots are putting on some growth (we'll plant them out later as they are too close together to stay in the pots).
Our bare root raspberries (autumn bliss) have arrived and have been heeled into a large pot - to take down to site.
and we bought some summer ones in a garden centre to give us a longer season


We now have a small Blueberry (Sunshine Blue), which will go in a pot - probably on the veranda (once we have one).
.. and we have a goji plant! I love the berries so much I think I'd need an acre of them to be self sufficient, but it's a good start.

There are some strawberries on the way - Sophie, Alice and Honeoye to give a long season.

We also have some potatoes chitting away
Despite my plans of waiting to sow until MarchI'm getting very tempted to get the leeks and broad beans started this week - even though it will mean transporting them as frgaile seedlings. We shall see.