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Fight Against Blight 2010

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

Do you grow potatoes on your Allotment, in your Polytunnel or Garden? If so, The Potato Council are offering a blight incident reporting service where you can recieve blight alerts FREE!Potato Council - Fight Against Blight

You can find information on when and where blight has been spotted on the ground and weather derived data on infection risk as indicated by Smith Periods.  In-depth blight information and research can also be found including Blight Forums, research and reviews.

Read a comprehensive range of best practice advice on blight control and the blightwatch infection risk reporting service.

http://www.potato.org.uk/

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Southport Flower Show

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

19 – 22 August 2010
Southport Flower Show
The Southport Flower Show combines a seaside atmosphere with a celebration of all that is best from the gardening world. It is the largest independent flower show in the country and attracts up to 100,000 visitors over 4 days each year.
Location: The Lady Pilkington Centre, Victoria Park, Rotten Row, Southport Merseyside, PR8 2BZ

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Heres an innovative way of collecting Rainwater from your Polytunnel

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Regular trough and downpipe is attached to a timber siderailRegular trough and down pipe is attached to timber side railsTrough is fixed along the length of the PolytunnelRain is collected in the troughThe heavens open and the water butt fills up with rain waterSimple robust fixing

This simple system can be secured to a timber side rail along with battens at approximately 1 metre off the ground.
First, fix guttering brackets to the timber side rail and secure the trough in place using screws & drill. A timber batten maybe required to close off any gap between the gutter and side rail. This will ensure rainwater runs directly into the gutter. Rainwater is then collected from the Polytunnel roof, and brought to a water butt by regular guttering and a down-pipe.
You should now have a Good strong, robust alternative for harvesting rainwater off your Polytunnel. The guttering collects the rain which falls onto the roof of your polytunnel then it is stored in a water butt until the rainwater is required for use.

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Mark Gatter visits First Tunnels Polytunnel.

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Mark gatter sat in a PolytunnelFirst Tunnels were absolutely delighted to have a special visit from one of the authors  from the new book  ” How to Grow  Food in your Polytunnel - All Year Round” Both Mark Gatter & Andy Mckee have an absolute passion for polytunnels and this is certainly portrayed in their books. They previously wrote the very succesfull ”Polytunnel Handbook” which covers various aspects of polytunnel use from planning your purchase to harvesting the rewards.

Mark Gatter & paul Peacock at in a Polytunnel

Available to pre order ”How to Grow Food in your Polytunnel – All Year Round” gives an overview of activity through the seasons and includes a chapter written specifically for newcomers to polytunnel growing. The book provides a detailed season-by-season growing guide including plants for the polytunnel, helping you plan for the hungry gap and dealing with pests.

Release date 13th September 2010. First Tunnels have been fortunate enough to have a sneak preview…They say “It’s BRILLIANT and that’s nothing to do with one of our Polytunnels being featured on the front cover” .

Mark says ” I had a great time and it was also a pleasure for me to meet everyone at First Tunnels”.  My wife says this is a picture of me ‘in my natural habitat’.

Why not order your copy today http://www.firsttunnels.co.uk/subcategory.asp?catid=2

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Do you want to use and store rainwater for Polytunnel irrigation?

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Harvesting Rainwater from a Polytunnel

An innovative way of collecting rainwater from your Polytunnel which can provide an off-mains supply for remote areas or allotments. Rainwater is collected from the Polytunnel roof, and brought to a water butt by regular guttering and a down-pipe. This simple system can be secured to a timber side rail along with battens at approximately 1 metre off the ground. The guttering collects the rain which falls onto the roof of your polytunnel, then it is stored in a water butt until the rainwater is required for use.

Rainwater Harvesting, Rain Recycling or even Rain Recovery – Call it what you will, these are all essentially different names for the same thing.

An innovative way of collecting rainwater from your Polytunnel

The perfect solution, for those who live in some parts of Britain who currently have a hosepipe ban.