Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Gardening with Ben. You'll go to
a podcast for all things green and growing. I'm Ben,
your allotment guide and here to help you cultivate your
garden and your passion for plants. Whether you're a seasoned
gardener or just starting out, this podcast is for you.
Each episode will dig into tips, tricks, and techniques to
make your garden and allotment thrive from planting, sewing, and growing.
Speaker 2: We will share all the tips and add advice.
Speaker 1: We will also have regular episodes talking about what we
have been up to on the allotment. So sit back,
grab a brew and enjoy today's episode. Hey everyone, and
welcome back to Gardening with Ben for another brand new episode.
We're keeping these podcasts running again. Obviously, we had a
short little break while we were moving property, but they're
now back up and running again, and I hope we've
all found them interesting as Obviously, the last couple of
episodes we've been talking about what you can plant in
December and also the jobs which need doing in the
fruit garden, the vegetable garden, and the flower garden. Well,
today's podcast episode we're going to be talking about all
the jobs which need doing in the polytunnel, the shed
and the greenhouse. This is a new section what we've
started adding in and hopefully you find it useful and
hopefully you can tick off those jobs in the polytunnel
and greenhouse and shed that need doing. But first, we're
going to start off with a little Christmas joke. If
you've not been following our Instagram and Facebook pages and YouTube,
you won't have seen the Christmas joke that we post
every single day. So today's Christmas joke is why do
you never see Christmas trees arguing? Why do Christmas trees
never argue? Because they pine for peace on earth?
Speaker 2: There we are.
Speaker 1: That's a cracker. I hope you enjoy that one. You
can share that with everybody else. But yeah, we'll keep
these jokes running on a daily basis. Like I said,
you can see them also on Instagram and YouTube and
Facebook as well, and obviously TikTok as well. We're on
every platform going well, we're trying to be. But yeah,
today's podcast, we're going to be talking about everything that
you can do in your shed, your greenhouse and your
polytunnel to get them all prepared ready for next year
ahead of the gardening season. And obviously you know that
I've also got a polytunnel. I've got a shed come greenhouse,
what I made myself. It's a shed, but it's got
perspect sides and perspective move so that it lets lots
of warm thing as well. So that is our shed
come greenhouse where we start everything off for growing.
Speaker 2: In the new year.
Speaker 1: So the jobs what you're doing in the polytunnel, if
you've got one, and if you are thinking about getting
a polytunnel, I have to let you know that you
should never try and grow for these cheap varieties that
are about ninety nine pounds. Yes you may say that's
not cheap, but it is a cheap variety of polytunnel.
Don't try and buy any in like the January sales
or anything like that. Stick to buying a proper polytunnel
from a bigger company like First Polytunnels, Northern Polytunnels, all
them sort of companies, as they are made to last.
The ones that are like ninety nine pound there, you
often see them like square mesh material type thing and
they'll just disintegrate and rip when there's a first bit
of strong wind as well. So save your money and
invest in a proper one. I've had mine up about
sixteen years now, and yes the plastic has split after
about ten years, but I'm holding it together and we're
keeping it on and it's still going strong, will last
another year.
Speaker 2: I say this every single year. Every year.
Speaker 1: I keep thinking, I'm we'll have to replace that skin
if it blows off, but nope, we managed to repair it.
Speaker 2: And get it back on again.
Speaker 1: So the jobs which need to do it in the
polytonel for December this month are you need to insulate
them if you're growing inside them. To keep the temperature
stable inside of polytonel during the cold December days and nights,
consider adding insulation. You can use bubble wrap on the
inside walls to help retain the heat while still allowing
light to enter and sure the bubble wrap is secured
and covers the most vulnerable areas, such as around the
doors and the edges where cold drafts might enter. Ventilate
on milder days, yes, we do get some mild days
in December. Proper ventilation is crucial even in winter when
the weather is mild, open the doors or ventilation flaps
to allow fresh air to circulate. This reduces humidity and
helps prevent fungal de such as mold or mildew, which
can develop in stagnant air. Bit sure to close the
events before temperatures drop in the evening to retain warmth
inside the polytonol.
Speaker 2: If you're using heating.
Speaker 1: In your polytunnels, such as electric heaters or gas heaters
or powerffin heaters, check that they're working properly and safely.
Ensure that the heater is thermostatically controlled. To maintain constant
temperatures inside the polytoel. You can also add water containers
to absorb the heat during the day and release it
at night to keep temperatures more stable. Now, I don't
have heating in my polytomoel because obviously I'm not there
all the time, so I don't really want to keep
it down heaters on in there, so I do have
water butts in there are filled with water throughout the winter,
so that any heat that comes into the polytunnel, it'll
warm the water up and it'll absorb it and let
it out at night. Harvest any winter crops. If you're
grow in winter vegetables in your polytonel like kale, spinach,
winter lettuce, or leaks. December is a great time to
harvest them. These crops thrive in cooler temperatures of a
polytonol and require regular harvesting, encouraging further growth.
Speaker 2: Make sure you check.
Speaker 1: Your crops regularly to pick them as they reach maturity.
So hardy annuals and winter vegetables. December is ideal times
so hardy annuals such as sweet peas, colundula cornflowers in
the polytonel. You can also plant fast growing winter salads
and greens like rockets, lambs, lettuce and mustard greens, which
will grow well in the protection of the polytunnel. Use
train or modules to start seeds and place them in
a well lit part of the tunnel for optimal growth.
Speaker 2: Weed control. Even though weed.
Speaker 1: Growth slows down in the winter, weed can still appear
in the polytonel. Regularly inspect the soil and beds remove
any weeds that sprout up to prevent them from competing
with your crops and nutrients and space. Removing weeds now
will also reduce the problem of weed seeds spreading in
the spring. Now I've got black membrane down on my
flooring in my polytop because I don't actually grow in
the ground in the polytonel, but weed still do manage
to pop up and around everywhere, especially in the bind weed.
Inspect and repair the polytonol structure. Now that is what
I was just talking about. Check the entire polytonol structure
for any signs of damage. Look for tears or holes
in the polypen cover and repair them using special polytonel tape.
Ensure the framework doors ventilation systems are in good working system.
Tighten any loose fittings. Keeping the structure in good shape
ensures it remains effective at protecting your plants throughout the winter.
Monitor for pests while growth slows down in winter. Pestla
aphid slugs and red spider excuse me, red spider mites
can thrive in the warmer environment of the pointonnel. Inspect
the plants regularly for any signs of pest infections and
treat them with organic pest control methods such as nam
oil or insectical soap if needed. Remove any effected leaves
or plants to prevent pests from spreading. Plan for next year.
December is the perfect time to reflect on past growing
season and plan for the year ahead. Take notes on
what crops work well and what didn't and start planning
your crop rotations and garden layout for the spring. Begin
ordering seeds and supplies early so you're ready to sow
and plant when the warmer months arrive. Will soon be
starting to sow them seeds. I'm so excited. I love
sowting seeds. That's the best part of the year. I
do absolutely love doing that. So next up, we're going
to talk about what needs to be done in the shed.
Deep clean your shed. Now, this is what I do
every single year. I'll literally ship it back and tidy
it all back and everything. Begin by giving your shed
a further clean. Remove any clutter, all pant pots and
tools that I've been sitting idle. Sweep the floor to
remove dirt, cob webs and plant, depress and wipe down
any structures. A clean shed not only looks better, but
it reduces the challenge of pests a home inside over
the winter months. Now I use disinfectant and everything, and
I spray everything down. Just give it that extra protection
and make it nice and clean for the next year.
Organize and declutter. December is a great time to declutter
your shed and organize your tools, equipment and supplies. So
through all pots, broken tools, unused gardening items, and decide
what you want to keep, repair or discard. Now I
always that's why I always like to get my allotment
sorted as fast as possible after the summer of the
big tidy up and clear all the beds and everything,
because then I can concentrate on doing all the shard work,
all the polytonel work, and tidying it up and getting.
Speaker 2: It all ready for the march so in time.
Speaker 1: Inspect to repair the shed structure a bit like your polytonnel.
Check around and see if if any repairs need doing.
Check for fell check for leaks in the roof, cracks
in the walls, or gaps around the doors. Now I
I my ship shed come crean out leaks everywhere, but
it waters the plants while it's leaking.
Speaker 2: Organize your seeds.
Speaker 1: Go through your collection of seeds and check the expiration date.
Discard any old expired seeds, or organize the ones you
want to keep. Store them in a cool, dry place
inside seal containers or seed storage boxers protect from moisture
and pests, especially squirrels. Make a list of seeds you
need to order in the up and coming plant season
and start planning your garden in for next year. Okay,
so is there any other things that need doing in
the shed? Set up bird feeders and nesting boxes. Now
this is not particularly in the shed, but obviously in
your shed. Filling your bird feeders up and sorting your
nesting boxes out. If you store bird feeders or nesting
boxes in your shed, December is a perfect time to
clean and set them up in your garden. Clean out
bird feeders, fill and fill them with fresh seeds or
fat balls, and position them in sheltered areas. Providing food
and shelter for birds during the winter months encourage us
natural pest control. When the growing season returns, prepare for
early spring planting. I can't wait. Start thinking ahead to
the spring planting season. Prepare seed trays, pots, propagators, sew
the clean and ready for sewing early crops like tomatoes, chilies,
and sweet peas. Consider setting up a designator area in
your shed for early seeds starting. Make sure you have
the tools and supplies you need in place. I need
to start writing all my seed list down of what
I need to start planting pretty soon, because we're going
to get started and I'm thinking about actually starting all.
Speaker 2: My all my onion seeds as well.
Speaker 1: We're going to start sowing some onion seeds this month,
so hopefully we get some fantastic onions growing next month.
So that is all the jobs which need doing in
the shed and the polytomol. We haven't actually got anything
any jobs for the greenhouse, but the greenhouse is basically
the same as the shed in the polytonnel. Make sure
like everything's disinfected, clean down, Clean down all the glass,
clean down any surfaces, tidy up and make sure there's
no cracks in the glasses. And also make sure there's
enough clips holding in the glass sheets because during the
winter months you obviously get a lot of wind than storms,
which can actually damage the structure and once it starts
to bend or anything like that, that is when you
could possibly lose your greenhouse. So make sure everything is
secured and fastened down. So that is all the jobs
which need doing in December. If you didn't listen to
yesterday's episode, yesterday's episode, we will talking about all the
jobs which you need doing in the fruit garden, the
vegetable garden and the flower garden, So make sure you
go back and listen to that episode. If you do
enjoy these episodes, please please please do share them out
to friends and family or in Facebook groups and stuff
like that for people to listen to. The more people
that listen to them, and the bigger reach that we
get out to, the better and yeah, I hope that
you all enjoy them, so we'll be back with an
episode tomorrow for you all to enjoy. So remember, keep smiling,
keep shining, and keep gardening with everyone. Thank you for
joining me on.
Speaker 2: This episode of Gardening with Ben.
Speaker 1: I hope you have found some useful tips and instegiration
for your own gardening and a lotment journey. If you
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until next time, remember, keep smiling, keep shining, and keep
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