Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In one affordable polytunnel, kitchen-garden guru Joyce Russell shows you how to grow vegetables easily, organically and abundantly so that you have something to eat every month of the year.



Whether you are a beginner or more experienced , this comprehensive, practical, month-by-month guide to polytunnel gardening has got everything you need, telling you exactly what to do and when to do it, in order to grow the best fruit and vegetables all-year-round .



From preparing the site to making a hotbed, from composts and organic feeds to identifying and coping with pests, plus information on how to get the best from each crop and month-to-month planting plans for year-round growing, The Polytunnel Book provides a wealth of practical tips and techniques as well as celebrating what can be achieved.



Illustrated with 300 stunning colour photographs, this practical guide to polytunnels hand guides you through each month of the year, ensuring the best results all year round.

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

INTRODUCTION I bought a polytunnel about sixteen years ago. It seemed like a major investment at the time and, with a large garden already growing a wide range of crops, I wasn't sure how much use it would be. By the first summer I was so passionate about polytunnel growing that when winter came along I simply couldn't stop. Boundaries have to be pushed, and I wanted to see if it would be possible to keep the polytunnel cropping all year round. In the years since then, I have lost none of that passion. I've learned more and more about how to make an ordinary-sized polytunnel provide enough food to keep a family eating through winter and summer alike; and I've enjoyed, every day, excellent fruit and vegetables that have to travel only a few strides from the plant to the plate. A polytunnel is a wonderful thing! It costs a fraction of the price of a traditional glass greenhouse and it's put up quickly to cover a large space. It provides a warmer environment than the great outdoors; it blocks wind and shelters from rain. Tender crops that would have difficulty growing outside thrive in it and the gardener thrives too when working in, and reaping the rewards of, such a protected space.Maybe enthusiasts tend to go on about their passions, but at least I found an outlet for mine over the years in writing features for garden magazines. Gardeners are inventive people. They are people who like to do the best they can with whatever resources come to hand. But most of all they like to share their tips (and their problems) and to encourage new growers to become part of the gardening clan. This book is born of a need to share. It's born of readers asking when I'm going to put a book together to save them time hunting through back issues of magazines. It's also born of the questions of my gardening friends, who phone or email at regular intervals to ask: 'Is it time to sow basil?' 'My cucumber plants have flopped. What can I do?' Or, most of all: 'What should I be doing in the polytunnel now?'That last question was my starting point. This book is designed to provide some answers as it guides the reader through the growing year in an unheated polytunnel. I hope it also inspires people to experiment and to continue the tradition of sharing their tips, troubles and triumphs with other gardeners. But most of all, I hope this book helps readers to develop a passion for growing great polytunnel crops. HOW TO USE THIS BOOKThere's a lot of information contained within these pages. Some of this will be more suited to the beginner grower and some will be more appropriate for the experienced gardener. Flick through the pages and get a feel for things. Learn how to use the book, so that it gives you what you want. And don't worry if it gets a little grubby from constant use.Part 1 explains how to choose, put up and lay out a polytunnel. It also tackles the issue of planning permission. In all cases, this section is only a guide. It's always best to ask the experts if you can. Each individual manufacturer will give the best instructions for their own particular structure and some of these will put it up for you if you want.Part 2 lists some tools and supplies that you might find useful.Part 3 is a month-by-month guide to polytunnel growing. Each month has a list of jobs that can be done. There's also a list of fruit, vegetables or herbs that can be sown. These are suggestions and the text for each month gives more detail and a scattering of interesting tips. It's probably best to read the bit about sowing carrots in January if it's the first time you've considered making such an early sowing. If you've made similar sowings in previous years, however, the list might be enough to act as a memory prod. Part 4 gives an 'at a glance' overview of each of the main fruits and vegetables that can be grown in a polytunnel. If you want a quick reminder of the planting distance for aubergines, or when to reduce watering for pepper plants, this is the place to look. If you want to know more, this section will refer you to the relevant month. Part 5 deals with pests and diseases. If there's a problem in the polytunnel, look here to find out what it might be. Don't despair! There are always solutions to problems and this section can help you negotiate the worst pitfalls. Part 6 goes a little beyond the immediacy of month-by-month growing and looks at the overall plan. Get crop rotations organized, look after the soil and look after the structure of the polytunnel, and you should grow great crops for years to come.Part 7 is for those who like to 'make their own' if they possibly can. There are recipes for potting compost, as well as how to set up a hotbed and how to make liquid feeds.The list of suppliers shows just how easy it is to find someone to sell you a polytunnel, or seeds, or the pots, feeds and biological pest controls that can make it all come together as a perfectly functioning system.The best tip: get sowing, get growing, but most of all enjoy the delights of producing fruit and vegetables in a polytunnel all year round. Excerpted from The Polytunnel Book: Fruit and Vegetables All Year Round by Joyce Russell All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Joyce Russell (Kitchen Garden magazine), with her husband, garden photographer Ben Russell, has lived in southern Ireland for many years. Now she shares her experience with unheated hoop greenhouses, or polytunnels, for growing fruits and vegetables. After an introduction to the polytunnel gardening concept, she provides a month-by-month guide to sowing and growing vegetables and some fruits, along with related gardening tasks. Next she includes a guide to each mentioned vegetable or fruit, with detailed cultural instructions. She also covers pests and diseases and how to control them. Her text is illustrated by her husband's color photographs, both beautiful and useful. Unfortunately, other than including metric and Celsius equivalents, this British import is not adapted to U.S. gardeners regarding climate (everything is assumed to be in one temperate climate), plant names ("aubergine" for eggplant; "courgette" for zucchini), or suppliers. VERDICT While it's an informative, well-done book, it will suit only U.S. gardeners living in temperate climates who are OK with UK terminology and schedules.-Sue O'Brien, Downers Grove P.L., IL (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Joyce Russell has thirty years of practical experience of fruit and vegetable growing, while feeding a family from the garden. She writes each month for Kitchen Garden Magazine, as well as regular contributions to other magazines and newspapers. She wrote for Organic Gardening magazine for ten years. Ben Russell is a skilled craftsman, photographer and journalist. He has written more than a 100 step-by-step making articles for woodworking magazines and had over 6,000 photographs published in books and magazines.