30th March

Last week I had mentioned that we would be planting five thousand lettuces, in the same tunnel where we had planted the pak choy.

But I have put that of for a week, the week I planted the pak choy we had temperatures around 16 every day one day it was 19 and the tunnels were very cosy.

But this week we were arriving in each morning with temperatures around freezing, and it didn’t really rise above 6 degrees.

So, the lettuces have stayed they same size, and they are better of staying in their trays for another week.

We had also planned to re sheet a tunnel this week, we have it all ready, with new door frames, only the trench round the sides to be dug, this is where the polythene gets earthed in at the sides, plus a foam tape that goes over the hoops, this helps extend the life of the polythene, so it is not rubbing against bare metal.

On Monday we got the tape over the hoops, and Wednesday I had a digger arriving, with plans to sheet the tunnel on Thursday.

But the weather didn’t play ball, and the wind speeds had increased to over 10mph, too windy to be pulling a 70 meter by 15-meter huge bit of polythene over the tunnel, that would be an enormous kite.

So, I cancelled the digger, I didn’t want to have a trench round the whole tunnel filling with water if it rained before we got a calm weather window for sheeting the tunnel.

Fingers crossed we will get that job done next week.

So, with the planned jobs for this week on hold, we got on with tunnel weeding, we have four tunnels full of plants, and the weeds have started, they don’t take a holiday.

Plus, the Siroma engine block has a crack, I was needing to weld up a bracket and get that sorted, a jo I had put of for too long, but now it is done.

And the John deere had a leaky hydraulic hose right under the front of the tractor, these are always a nightmare to get too, and covered in oil, another job I had been putting off.

Now that is sorted and out of the way.

Both these jobs I have been putting off all winter, but they were needing done.

Next week weather permitting our tunnel with have nice new polythene on.