May 16, 2025 • 42 mins
Summer has arrived with its warm embrace, transforming gardens seemingly overnight from soggy spring plots to sun-drenched growing spaces. With this dramatic shift comes the perfect opportunity to maximize your greenhouse or polytunnel, turning it into a powerhouse of production.
Your greenhouse crops demand a counterintuitive approach to thrive. Rather than daily watering, which creates dependency and weak root systems, a calculated "miserly" approach with water forces plants to develop resilience. For tomatoes—arguably the most rewarding greenhouse crop—success lies in deep watering with seaweed-based feed every two weeks, complemented by weekly foliar sprays that create naturally disease-resistant foliage. The visible difference in leaf color and toughness becomes apparent within days of this treatment.
Proper planting technique matters tremendously. Adding mycorrhizal fungi and dried seaweed to planting holes anchors plants quickly, while strategic placement allowing maximum airflow prevents the humidity-related diseases that plague many greenhouse growers. Creating a "corridor" of flowers from outside to inside your greenhouse draws beneficial insects for natural pest control and pollination—particularly important for cucumbers and courgettes.
Each crop requires subtle adjustments to this approach: cucumbers appreciate occasional misting, courgettes need attention to pollination, and peppers prefer the warmest, driest corner. By understanding these nuances, you'll produce vegetables with incomparable flavor. The difference between homegrown and store-bought tomatoes becomes so stark that many gardeners refuse to eat supermarket varieties during the off-season.
Try these methods this season and experience the satisfaction of greenhouse growing that truly maximizes your space and rewards your efforts with months of exceptional harvests. Share your successes by tagging photos of your thriving crops—I'd love to see how these techniques transform your growing results!
If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email: info@mastermygarden.com
Master My Garden Courses:
https://mastermygarden.com/courses/
Check out Master My Garden on the following channels
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/
Until next week
Happy gardening
John
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
how's it going everybody?
And welcome to episode 276 ofmaster, my garden podcast.
Now for any irish listeners.
Here we're still basking in insunshine and I was just thinking
, before I hit record, how Isuppose dramatic the change has
been.
I think only two or three weeksago I was speaking about, you
(00:34):
know, poor weather, cold and wetand or kind of bits of shocks.
And yeah, all of a sudden thenwe have this, this spell of
really really dry and warmweather and, you know, really
weather that's sort of morefamiliar with later on in the
summertime, so lovely and dryand lots of blue skies, and it's
(00:58):
certainly welcome, reallyreally welcome, and hopefully,
hopefully now it doesn't uh,sort of fizzle out and that we
get all of this good weatherearly and that we do get sort of
some continuity.
But strangely enough, asregularly happens, we've gone
from a situation where we'reyou're talking about having a
lot of rain, a lot of moisture,and then now, very quickly,
(01:22):
we're looking at conditionswhere we actually could do it a
little bit of rain.
So we're never quite happy, buttemperatures are so good now.
Temperatures are really warm,everything is growing well, but
there is a lot of work inwatering at the moment and I
suppose that's one of the one ofthe key jobs at the moment is
keep keeping your plants watered, whether that's your, your veg
(01:44):
plants, your young, your youngseedlings that have gone out,
your bare root hedging, or yourtrees that you've planted, or
any new plantings that you'vedone, maybe your bedding plants,
your hanging baskets, your pots, whatever it is.
You know, there's a bit ofwatering at the moment and we'll
give you some tips maybe onthat in this, this episode, on
how maximize that, how to getthe most from your watering and
(02:09):
how to sort of reduce yourwatering, if it's at all
possible.
Because funny, the other dayspeaking to two people and they
said it's not like doing it.
You know, planting or there'sno kind of obvious outcome at
(02:32):
the end of your hour's work.
Say so, you know, if you plantup a bed or you mow your lawn or
you do your vegetables, sowyour seeds, whatever it is,
there's a kind of an obviousoutcome at the end.
But watering is a bit, there'sno end to it.
You know it's just there's noobvious end to it.
Let's say so.
It doesn't doesn't feel like avery I suppose you know a very
(02:56):
productive job, but it is anessential job because if you
don't do it, especially at, youknow, times like this, then
you're not going to see the fullbenefit of what you've sown,
what you've grown.
So it is important this week'sepisode we're going to kind of
center mostly around maximizingyour greenhouse.
So whether that's a polytunnelor a glasshouse, I suppose it's
(03:21):
a time where everything isgetting planted or is already
planted in there.
So, like, see your tomatoes,cucumbers, peppers, chilies,
squash, you know, melons, allthose sort of things.
A lot of people in variousparts of the country will will
be well advanced with those.
And for me here tomatoes arehalf in.
(03:43):
I started them today.
I have more to do tomorrow,hopefully.
And yeah, they'll, they'll bein then, still a few weeks ahead
of last year.
And for any of you thinking thatI am late, I am quite late, you
know, versus other parts of thecountry, but again, where I am
here, we had frost in the middleof the middle of last week.
(04:03):
So quite a strong frost,actually quite a hard frost.
It did some damage on potatoes,did some damage on the likes of
beach hedging that had put outthat really soft new growth.
So it was quite a severe frostand that was only last week, so
my tunnel again has open sides.
(04:24):
And that was only last week, somy tunnel again has open sides.
So you can, you can imaginethat you know there was a level
of coolness there that youmightn't get in other parts of
the country or you wouldn't getin a greenhouse with completely
covered up sides.
I, you know, opt for that.
So that, okay, I'm a little bitlater, but tends to just mean
that from and we'll talk talkabout in a minute from a
ventilation perspective, getvery little issues.
(04:45):
So that's what from, and we'lltalk about in a minute.
From a ventilation perspective,get very little issues.
So that's what we're going totalk about was kind of
maximizing and we're going totalk about the main kind of
greenhouse crops and giving mytips for success with all of
those.
And I suppose no better place tostart than tomatoes.
This year I have quite a lot ofvarieties grown.
Last year I said I had too,said I had too many plants and
(05:07):
definitely going to reduce.
That was my famous words tomyself, and I think I actually
have at least as many again, ifnot slightly more.
I definitely have morevarieties anyway and, yeah, some
of them are.
They're all doing really welland they're a lot more advanced.
So I'm probably three or fourweeks ahead of last year and if
(05:27):
you remember, back to lastspring, it was quite you know,
quite overcast for a lot of itand definitely temperatures
didn't hit anything like whatthey have over the last week, 10
days, two weeks, and because ofthat then I'm quite a bit
further on here.
And but to talk about?
I'm going to talk abouttomatoes, going to talk about
cucumbers, going to talk aboutcourgettes and peppers, and
(05:52):
chilies as well fall under that,and you know those, those,
those crops, and how to reallyensure that you have success in
your greenhouse with those.
And, as I say, no better placeto start than tomatoes.
So I have the tomatoes halfplanted in, as I said, and a
couple of tips if you haven'tgot yours planted in already.
(06:14):
I always, always plant and Ialways use mycorrhizal fungi
under the base of it, and that'smy starting point and the
reason.
The reason I do that is I findthat it really really increases
that root zone of the plant.
It anchors them in reallyquickly.
So when I put my stringunderneath which is what I do I
(06:35):
run the string directlyunderneath into the bottom of
the planting hole, I stick thetomato plant down into it.
I see all of these videosonline where people are planting
them sideways, burying the bitsof the stem.
They're planting them deep.
To be honest, I find all ofthat a little bit of faff.
To be honest, just dig yourhole the depth of the plant are
(06:57):
slightly deeper Put yourmycorrhizal fungi in, put your
string right into the bottom ofthe hole and then put your pot
straight down on top of that andthen fill it in and give it a
good water.
I also add a little bit ofdried seaweed into the planting
hole.
I just find that seaweed isvery, very good for plant
(07:18):
resilience and I'll chat aboutthat a little bit later on.
And then I leave that string,plant out all all the tomatoes
and then, as soon as I've allthe planting done, I tie those
strings up to the, to the roofof the tunnel.
Now the string that I use isjust a standard builder's twine.
I have used jute twine in thepast and I find that the jute
(07:40):
twine sometimes different oneshave different levels.
They're all natural.
So when you, when you put themonto your plants some of them
they have different levels thatthey break down at, and
sometimes you're mid-season, youhave all the weight of the
tomato on it and it just startsto break down at ground level
and then it snaps off.
So as a result of that, then Iuse this synthetic builder's
(08:03):
lime.
Basically, I hear a lot ofpeople saying that that's too
hard for tomatoes.
I've never found it to be thecase.
I'm using it for years now andI just find it a good, strong
twine, one that never breaks,and it just, it's just a really
simple and good way of doing it.
I find the jute twine, as I say, breaks down.
So basically, you put your,your string underneath the,
(08:27):
underneath the planter,underneath the pot, you plant it
in and then you cover over andyou water straight away and then
, when you've all your plantingdone, you tie up your, your
string, to a crop wire up on topor you tie it up high on top or
onto a bamboo cane.
If you don't have, you know, ifyou don't have a way of of
tying it up high, you get abamboo cane, bamboo cane.
If you don't have, you know, ifyou don't have a way of of
tying it up high, you get abamboo cane or something like
(08:48):
that something that can carrythe weight of that plant as it
goes along.
The the key with tomatoes?
Uh, there's a couple, a coupleof really useful points, and the
first one I mentioned ismycorrhizal.
The second one is seaweed, andseaweed is I put it into the
planting hole.
I will also liquid feed with atomato feed, but a seaweed-based
(09:11):
tomato food, and I would dothat every two weeks and that's
the only watering I do.
In between I don't water.
So the way I do it is I do whatthey call a deep water every
two weeks, which includes thefeed, and then I don't water in
between.
And I know one of the biggestchallenges that people have is
they.
They talk about tomatoesneeding a lot of water, and they
(09:36):
do need quite a bit of water,but if you keep watering them
every day, every second day,you'll end up with a really
shallow root system and a plantthat's going to just crave that
water all the time.
And, of course, as that plantgets bigger, the requirement for
water, as it starts to producefruit, the requirement for water
is more and more and more, andthen you're just going to be in
(09:58):
that cycle of having to do it sooften because the root zone is
quite shallow.
So I it the other way.
I kind of a little bit miserlywith the water.
I give it enough to keep itsurviving and to keep it
reasonably vibrant.
I do not over water and I forceit to put down its roots deep.
And that pushing down its rootsdeeps allows it to access water
(10:21):
.
You know know under the ground,elsewhere in the tunnel, that
you know it's not depending onon me being there every day,
every two days, to water.
Now, the exception to that is,like I'm doing that in when I'm
growing into the ground.
If you are in a pot or growingin a grow bag, then that's
(10:42):
obviously slightly differentbecause you know the plant
doesn't have access.
You know it's obviouslyslightly different because you
know the plant doesn't haveaccess.
You know it's not able to getout into the ground and access
water anywhere else.
So that is the exception tothat.
But just be careful not to overwater, that's.
That's the first thing.
And from my perspective inground planting, I'm quite
miserly with it and I allowthose roots to really really go
(11:04):
searching for water.
What ends up happening then isyou end up with a really solid
anchored plant, firstly, but youend up with a more resilient
plant as well, because the plantis is, as I say, anchored in
well, but it becomes strong.
It becomes resilient as asopposed to because it's not
(11:26):
pushing out soft growth all thetime.
It's, it's, it's not underpressure, but it is working hard
and that's that's what I findjust produces a better plant, a
stronger plant, more resilientplant.
So every two weeks I'll feedwith tomato base or seaweed
based tomato feed, but inbetween I do mist.
(11:47):
I mist all the leaves or Ispray all the leaves with just a
plain seaweed liquid and that'scold pressed seaweed liquid.
I do that once a week or sorryin between.
So every two weeks I'll do that.
So one week I'm doing the feedonto the ground and then the
second week I'm misting theleaves with a sprayer.
(12:08):
And what I find that seaweeddoes and we talked about seaweed
in relation to other crops aswell I find that seaweed
basically creates a plant thatis really, really resilient.
So you end up with darkerleaves and it's very noticeable.
Actually, you know if you are,if you have a few tomato plants,
it's worth doing a little trialon it.
So spray the leaves of one ortwo of them and leave one or two
(12:31):
not sprayed and just leave itfor a couple of days and you
will see an unbelievabledifference in leaf color.
But there's also a kind oftoughness that the leaf produces
off the back of this seaweedand that's what I feel is really
beneficial in terms of pestcontrol.
It's also really beneficial interms of disease control.
(12:53):
So you just end up with atougher plant.
So there's two things you'reallowing it, you're forcing it
to search for water and you'respraying it kind of once every
two weeks on the leaves, foliarfeed of seaweed and you're
getting a really, reallyresilient plant.
Then the, the spacing is quiteimportant.
So I'll put two foot orthereabouts between the, the
(13:16):
tomato plants, allow them to goup the string, and then I'm
making sure that I always putthem right down the center
between the two doors, so I'llopen the doors on either end.
I also mentioned I have netsides on the tunnel lot, so
that's open all the time.
So I'm looking for the maximumairflow and there's a couple of
reasons for that.
So with with tomatoes, the, thekind of diseases that you can
(13:39):
get, mildew is one.
Then you're looking at blight.
That's quite a big one and it'sparticularly prevalent if
people are over watering and youend up with a really humid
house, especially in smallergreenhouses or on ventilated
greenhouses.
So once you get your tomatoesgrowing, it's so important to
ventilate.
We need airflow through thathouse.
(13:59):
So opening a door just on oneend is probably not enough.
What we really need is airflow.
So, whether you've louver ventsor two doors, you know,
whatever, whatever option youhave, if you have a way of
getting airflow through thathouse in one side or in one end
and out the other, that's whatyou're looking for, because that
airflow is is really importantin terms of disease prevention.
(14:22):
The other thing, obviously, isto, you know, pruning lower
leaves that are not, that are nolonger beneficial to the plant.
Now I don't go, you know, Idon't go too harsh on the
pruning early days.
I allow that plant to build upits energy, to build up its
resilience, and then, as itstarts to fill out its trusses,
its fruit trusses, then I willtake away lower leaves once
(14:46):
they've served their purpose,and their purpose is to draw in
energy into that plant up to thepoint where it forms its fruit
just above it, and then thatleaf has done its job and I'll
take that off.
That allows for the plant tohave, you know, those leaves to
have done its job, as I say, butthen it allows that airflow
through the plant and that'sreally important.
So you're spacing and thenpruning as you go up along
(15:09):
center center it.
If you can, between vents anddoors, allow again that airflow
through, then obviously you'reI'm sure you're all aware of it.
But the the side, taking off theside trusses, that's quite
important.
It's also useful as well.
I do it every year just on oneor two of them.
I don't take off, I leave onquite a few of those and I just
(15:33):
train them off in this differentdirections, just as a kind of a
just to see how.
So we all, we all take off theside shoots, we wrap it around
the string and you know that'swidely regarded as the best way
of of growing tomatoes and themost productive way of growing
tomatoes.
But every year I, as I say Iwill allow, maybe two or three
(15:56):
of those from lower on the plantbecome full, full tomato plants
.
So you'll end up with three orfour strings on one plant going
in different directions and it'sjust interesting to see.
It's quite productive.
I generally find it's quiteproductive.
It is a little bit messy in thatyou know you're bringing a
couple of stems in eachdirection, so you might need a
(16:17):
lot of space.
But if you're in a really smallgreenhouse you could do this
with one or two plants and have,you know, direct them onto, you
know, along the sides or over,up and over onto a roof, and you
could get, you know, a lot oftomatoes from a couple of plants
.
So you'll save your space insome ways.
You'll bring trusses from fromdifferent directions.
(16:40):
So there's a few ways of doingit.
I do that every year, as I say,as a bit of a trial.
I can't say it's any moreproductive or any less
productive.
It's a little bit messier inthat it takes a, you know, a bit
more space for me in the way Ido it, because you're not in
your line.
But if you were in a bit morespace for me in the way I do it,
because you're not in your line, but if you were in a small
greenhouse, you could put one inthe corner and bring a side
shoot in each direction sidewaysand then bring a couple up as
(17:04):
well.
So there's, you know there'sbenefits in it and, as I say, I
do that on probably one or twoplants every year, just as a
kind of trial.
If you're doing it the standardway, I do that on probably one
or two plants every year, justas a kind of trial.
If you're doing it the standardway, you know, keep that
spacing correct.
Then wrap them around, takingoff your side shoots as you go
up along and once the leaveshave served their function, take
(17:26):
those off.
Make sure you're feeding everytwo weeks.
Whether you're feeding orwatering, you're doing that onto
the ground, onto the soil oronto the.
You know the growing media.
If you're in a, if you're in apot or a grow bag, it's really
important that you're trying notto get any splash.
So you want that watering to bejust really localized around
(17:48):
the root zone of the plant withno splash back up on the leaves,
because if you can keep all ofthe growth up top dry, then that
really means that you're notgetting any build-up disease.
So your ventilation, dry plantsI know I said I I spray with
with seaweed every second weekand that's really important.
(18:10):
I do that, I'll always do thatin the morning time because that
gives the plant a chance to dryoff during the sunlight of the
day and then it goes into thenighttime and it's completely
dry.
The other thing that I do and Ithink again it's important,
especially if you're in asmaller house is do any of your
(18:31):
side shooting in the morningtime.
So again, that gives the thewound where you break off that
side shoot.
It gives that a chance tocallus up during the day.
So again you're taking a dryplant into the night time and
then you have less access orless buildup of diseases in a
scenario like that.
So that's kind of tomatoes andyou know they should be grown
(18:54):
really well.
Now mine are flying in the pots.
They're going to fly.
Once they hit the ground theyalways take a little bit of a
check straight away, just for aweek or so.
They kind of you know they'refeeling out their surroundings
and then they go.
But the plants are strong goingin this year.
So I'm hoping that I'm going tohave tomatoes quite a bit
earlier this year.
So tomatoes, brilliant one.
(19:15):
I do plant some basil inbetween them.
I'll also stick a few marigoldsin here and there.
Through them it can help withwhite fly and green fly and
things like that.
The other thing that I do isdefinitely have flowers planted
on the mouth of the tunnel, sobasically on the outside of the
tunnel and on the entrance tothe tunnel.
(19:35):
That's going to draw inbeneficial insects, so they're
going to come in.
As I say, you're giving themsomething outside, something to
attract them outside the door,the tunnels are being kept open
as much as possible and thenyou're getting those flowers
planted just inside the front ofthe tunnel and those beneficial
(19:56):
insects are going to get drawnin through a sort of a for what
of a better word a corridor offlowers, take them into the
tunnel, something to draw themup into the tunnel, and then
they're going to be available topollinate these plants and also
to help with.
You know, the beneficialinsects are going to be there to
help with pest control in thein the polytunnel, and that's
that's really important.
(20:16):
I have nettles, a couple ofnettles, in a pot.
The reason for that is they doattract ladybirds and they're
going to be inside in the tunneland so the ladybirds are there.
I actually haven't seen anyrecently, but they are there, I
know they're there somewhere.
And then what's going to happen?
At some point in time, you know, a few green fly will come in a
few aphids or whatever, andthen all of a sudden, your green
flies are there, ready to go,ready to take action and help
(20:40):
you out.
So that's a really important.
It's also really important froma pollination perspective to,
you know, have have thesebenefits coming through your
greenhouse.
If you can, then just inrelation to tomatoes and
pollination as well, a reallyuseful thing is to, if you have
a lot of tomatoes and you havethem stringed up and they're
(21:01):
starting to grow strong, asthey've put out their flowers,
as they're getting flowers, justwalk along and just tap the
strings, and that tapping of thestrings will just will help
pollinate them as well.
And again, that's somethingthat is really worthwhile doing.
The beneficial insects will bethere, obviously, and they'll
(21:21):
help.
But if you don't have that,just make sure that you're
giving that and it really willhelp with the pollination.
So then that's kind of yourtomatoes, keep on top of it and
set your watch, set yourcalendar on your phone or
whatever it is, and do thatfeeding sort of every second
friday or whatever it is, andthen your spray of seaweed, and
(21:43):
that will really you, you willhave really, really good
tomatoes this year.
So then on to the next one thatI grow in the polytone, and a
bit of a love-hate relationshipwith it is courgettes.
Like them a little bit, don'tlove them, so I'll only grow one
plant, and one plant for mostpeople is probably plenty
(22:03):
sufficient.
They grow huge.
Number one if you are growing afew of them you're going to
have to give them a big spacing.
You know, roughly speaking ameter, a meter in both
directions spacing.
But for me I'll just grow, growas I say, grow one of them, and
that's definitely enough.
I'll like them for a while,then I'll get fed up of them.
The hens will love them.
(22:23):
I'll allow some of them go tomarrow and the hens will get
those.
But the the key with those, acouple of keys with it, again, a
lot of the same principles thatyou know spoke about with the
tomato, with the tomatoes.
So these are going to be quitethirsty, quite hungry, so I
would give them a deep wateringon a weekly basis.
So I'm doing a deep water onthe tomatoes on a fortnightly
(22:46):
basis.
I'll do deep watering on theseon a weekly basis.
So give them one good wateringand then make them work after
that for for the rest of therest of the week.
In the initial stages I'll justkeep an eye and if I feel that
they're struggling a little bit,they'll get a little bit more.
But generally speaking, I makethem work.
A couple of things that canhappen is pollination can be a
(23:07):
big issue.
Here and again, you're talkingabout getting your insects
through the tunnel and they willhelp with pollination.
If not, then you can handpollinate and you will just look
it up, you will see distinctlythere's male flowers and female
flowers and they're very, verydifferent, and you will.
You will know them by the look.
If you're not sure, just googlethem and you'll see which is
(23:28):
which.
But what you need to do is youneed to pollinate one to the
other and that can can be donewith a little.
You know, little kidspaintbrush, tiny little
paintbrush.
You rub the male flower andthen you rub it onto the female
flower and that that will do.
You can also break off the maleflower and, you know, tip it
off two or three of the of thefemale ones and that's.
(23:50):
You know, that's how you getthe pollination.
And when you see, when you see,sometimes you'll see courgettes
that are forming and then, asthey're starting to form, you
get this rot on the end of them.
That can be a pollination issue.
There's also some other factorsas well, but typically that can
be a pollination issue and sothat's why it's really important
to do that.
You have to do that.
(24:11):
Give the pollination a need,basically.
But again, the beneficialinsects, if you have them
through your tunnel, will bewill be really helpful.
Again, feeding quite important.
So every time you're feedingyour tomatoes, I would feed your
courgette as well, that's.
You know they're.
They're so such vigorousgrowers they're going to need
food.
They're going to need a goodbit of food to sustain them.
(24:32):
And once you see leaves thatare starting to turn, so again,
a little bit like the tomatoplants, the the stem will grow
out.
They'll carry along the groundor, if you are training them up,
along something, once they have, once those leaves have served
their function, they'll discolor, they'll start to go a little
(24:52):
bit yellow and they'll start todrop down.
Get them off the plant, becausethey're only just going to,
they're going to inhibit airflowand they're going to possibly
cause a little bit of rot if youallow them to rot down and it
just allows the plant tocontinue to produce a lot.
More.
So for me one courgette plant,feeding it every every week or
(25:12):
so or watering it every week,feeding it every time I feed the
tomatoes, taking off thoseleaves and ensuring that I'm
getting that pollination.
And if I need to help, I'mdoing a little bit of
pollination with a paintbrush orby breaking off the male
flowers.
Next one is cucumbers, andcucumbers are, you know, again
(25:33):
very similar to courgettes andtomatoes.
The kind of care that we'regoing to do again with the
courgettes and again with thewith the cucumber, I am putting
micro micro-isol underneath themas I plant them, I'm also
putting dried seaweed underneaththem and straight away I'm
training that cucumber.
Same same things apply.
(26:01):
So I give it a really goodwater after I plant it and then
I try not to water it again forabout a week or so, so again
forcing it to work a little bitharder.
Now the.
The slight variant between itand tomatoes is that tomatoes,
their leaves are better to bedry nearly all the time.
Cucumbers, they like a littlebit of a mist and a little bit
(26:23):
of a mist regularly.
You know they.
They will benefit from that.
They like a small bit ofhumidity.
Now you're, you're not going tobe able to have both.
You know you'll either have ahouse that's humid and not
suitable for your tomatoes, oryou'll have a house that's dry
and not overly suitable for yourcucumbers.
So the best way for me to do itis I'll make sure I'm dry,
(26:44):
growing the tomatoes really dry,have an airy house, but I will
mist those cucumbers a bit moreregular.
So I'll give it the seaweedspray every time I'm doing the
tomatoes, but in between as well, I might give it just a mist on
the leaves.
Again the same.
Once leaves have served theirfunction and they start to
discolor or die off, I'll takeoff those leaves.
(27:07):
I will feed at the sameregularity that I'm feeding, say
, the tomatoes.
So every two weeks I'm going togive that a really good feed.
I use the same feed.
It's seaweed-based tomato foodand as the plant goes up along,
we're training it and againwe're watching out for
pollination and so on.
And yeah, again, one cucumberplant is going to be loads for
(27:34):
most families.
That's all I'll be planting isone, and they're going to give
you two crops that are going togive you a nice steady harvest
of cucumbers and courgettes.
Tomatoes, as I say say, have toomany of.
But the beauty with tomatoes.
Is that you can, you can do.
Doesn't do so much and createyour sauces.
Just freeze them whole as wellactually, only used the last of
(27:56):
of last year's beef tomatoesjust frozen whole, just drop
them into a stew.
Uh, even at this stage they'reperfect.
They're, you know, brilliant.
So you just pull them off theplant, stick them into a stew.
Even at this stage they'reperfect, they're brilliant.
So you just pull them off theplant, stick them into a freezer
bag and into the freezer andthat's it.
And so it's easier to, Isuppose, maximize your crops
there.
And then peppers.
(28:17):
So peppers are one that theyreally want that warm
temperature, but they have itnow.
Sometimes it's airy-ish forpeppers, but now, given that
it's so warm at the moment, getthem in Again.
You won't need a lot of plants.
So, for example, chilies oneplant is going to be loads.
You'll get loads of chilies offa good plant, good, strong
(28:40):
plant.
All the same things apply.
They like to be as dry aspossible, again the leaves, as
dry as possible.
Feed them once, once every twoweeks.
Give them a good feed every twoweeks, but don't over water
them.
They again, they.
You.
I grow them slightly dry, andnow not not bone dry, but
(29:00):
slightly dry.
So allow them to allow themharder.
Again, I'm saying this, but theexception to that is if you're
in a pot or in a grow bag.
You have to make sure thatyou're keeping adequate water in
there then, but for me, in theopen ground, I allow them to
work a little bit harder.
Peppers, again, feed.
Every time you're feeding yourtomatoes, give them a good feed.
(29:21):
Make sure they're in kind ofthe warmest part of your house.
So, for example, when I'msaying that I'll plant the
tomatoes right down the centerand allow the airflow from the
back door to the front door, Iwill put the put the peppers
into sort of a side corner wherethey're going to get maximum
heat because we want them to bereally, really warm and growing
(29:43):
really really strongly.
Again, for me, one chili plant,maybe two or three pepper
plants, is going to be enough.
I struggle a little bit as theyear goes on, depending on the
summer, to get peppers to, youknow, to develop into fully
fledged big, big peppers.
Just because of the length ofseason.
(30:03):
I typically, because of theopen sides, can be very cold,
late, so you're not getting inearly enough, but I still have
loads of green, good qualitygreen peppers, but just they
don't.
You know you don't end up withyour yellows or your reds
typically in my tongue butthey're looking for heat and
again, from feeding perspective,just feed them.
(30:23):
The same way they jar with thetomatoes and the other crops and
they're the.
They're the big, they're thebig crops.
The tomatoes, I would say, isthe is the one that people, a
lot of people, just strugglewith disease.
And those little tips ofkeeping the airflow, you know
(30:44):
them relatively dry, doing yourpruning in the morning time, all
those things are hugelybeneficial.
The seaweed, for me, is thething that makes the difference.
It really makes a resilientplant and I think that's hugely
important when it comes todisease control.
Then what else have I got inthe tunnel or what else is
happening in the polytunnel?
I've strawberries in fruit, nowalmost ripe, just watching them
(31:10):
day by day.
They're almost there.
Basil, some sown doing reallywell, get planted out along with
the tomatoes over the next day,or two tomatoes over the next
day, or two, and I'll do anothersowing of basil later on.
So just two sowings of basil.
I'll do another sowing,probably in June time, and
that'll be two sowings of basiland that'll hopefully give you
(31:32):
know I'll have harvest thereright right up until until until
it starts to get cold, wheneverthat's going to be, and so,
yeah, basil is another onethat's going really well there,
but it's in.
There's loads of opportunity,you know, in your polytunnel to
maximize your space.
So make sure you're fillingthat space.
Things like radish should becomfortably grow in your
(31:53):
polytunnel at the moment.
They will grow quite quickly,but use them up.
Spinach, lettuce, all of thoseare going to grow really really
well in your polytunnel at themoment to grow really really
well in your in your polytunnelat the moment.
So, yeah, there's loads ofopportunities to capture crops,
you know, and and maximize,really maximize your, your
greenhouse space.
It's, um, you know, when youhave a greenhouse space that
(32:15):
allows you to to grow the likesof tomatoes so well.
Again, talking to someone theother day and they have their
tomatoes gone outside and theydo it every year and if I, you
know, I ask them how they go andsome years they have some
tomatoes, as in maybe a bowl oftomatoes, and other years they
get some tomatoes but they don'tturn red, and I would find that
(32:38):
really frustrating.
I'm, you know, not a patientperson, so I'd hate to kind of
put that work in and just get abowl or one bowl or get some
green tomatoes.
Just that wouldn't, wouldn'tsatisfy me.
So when you do have apolytunnel or a greenhouse, then
maximize it to the last.
Make sure you're getting all ofthose you know, getting the max
(33:00):
out of your tomatoes, gettingthe max out of your peppers,
your courgettes and yourcucumbers.
Make sure you're getting themax out of all those your basil
you know, which won't do welloutside either.
So all of those crops that youknow you have the ability to
grow in your greenhouse,maximize that now.
And, yeah, take full advantageof this warm, groaty weather
(33:22):
that we have.
So I hope those tips help.
It's quite early in the year,you know, in terms of tomatoes
and all that.
So just bear that in mind.
You know those tips.
You know, week by week,continue to do that, the feeding
, the seaweed, and that willreally benefit.
And I'd be very surprised, youknow, if you get to the end of
(33:44):
the season and you haven't hadif you follow those tips that
I've just given you, that youwon't have your kind of best
year with your tomatoes.
I really think that's if you.
They're the.
They're the sort ofcornerstones of having really
successful crops over a longtime.
In a greenhouse there's so muchelse you can be grown, and
melons, you know.
(34:04):
I know a lot of people growmelons.
I don't have huge success withit.
Again, my polytons are a littlebit cool for them.
They do okay, but I don'treally have very good success so
I don't do it anymore.
I've had melons in the past.
I've got some fruit for them,but don't bother.
Squashes is one that does quitewell, but last year was poor
(34:29):
for them, so I just didn'tbother.
This year with squash I might.
Maybe I'll buy a couple ofplants.
If I see any decent onessomewhere, I might butter them
in squash or whatever.
I might grow a few of them, butonly if I see them, and I can't
so on seed of seed of them atthis stage.
Um, but yeah, there's loads ofpeople that will be successful
with those, just because they're, you know, in a quite in a
(34:51):
warmer greenhouse than than whatI am.
But on those few crops that wespoke about, particularly
tomatoes being the main one,being the one that's, you know,
I spoke about it before.
I think tomatoes is probablyone of the vegetables.
That is just a million timesnicer when you grow your own.
The flavor, the, the taste, thesweetness it's, it's
(35:14):
uncomparable to what you wouldbuy in a supermarket and, as a
result, I'll hardly eat a tomato, like last year.
We had tomatoes right up untiloctober, maybe early november,
and from then on I'd hardly eata tomato until they come back in
the next year very, very rarely, because it just don't.
Just don't cut it when you'rewhen you're used to having your
(35:36):
own ones.
So, yeah, it's, it's one of theones that that people really,
really get success with.
But follow those tips and Ithink they'll.
They'll set you on the rightpath.
There's lots going on over thecoming weeks in terms of irish
gardening.
Loads of festivals coming up,loads of gardening festivals.
Uh, this sunday, which is, Ithink, sunday the 18th, the rhsi
(35:58):
and rustbread have their annualgarden show up there.
Some brilliant speakers.
So I think paul smith isspeaking, kitty scully is
speaking, jimmy blake isspeaking and that's in in
rustborough house on sunday the18th.
As far as I know, that's alwaysa great, it's a nice.
Um, there's a lovely plant fairthere, so all the specialist
(36:19):
plants plant people are there.
There's expert speakers,there's lovely walks around the
garden.
It's a nice place for childrenas well.
There's some lovely playgroundsand and nice, nice walks in the
sort of woodland areas and soon, lovely walled gardens there.
So it's a brilliant day out,brilliant family day out and, as
(36:40):
I said, great speakers therethis year.
Not sure of the if there's kindof subjects of their talks or
whatever, but, as I said, kittyScully, jimmy Blake, paul Smith
and there's others as well.
Then on Sunday, the 8th of JuneI think, is Leash Garden
Festival Buds and Blossoms.
Some speakers, good speakersthere again this year.
(37:03):
I'll tell you a little bit moreabout that in the coming weeks.
I'm actually back there myselfthis year speaking again, and
then obviously we have bloom atthe end of may and again we'll
probably chat a bit more aboutthat as we come through this.
An excellent lineup of speakers, some some kind of new faces,
and back in bloom this year.
So there's, you know, there'sloads, loads, loads on the
(37:25):
horizon in terms of gardening.
There's loads of plant fairscoming up.
So yeah, we might delve deeperinto some or all of those over
the coming weeks, but for thisweek anyway, hopefully that
gives you some tips formaximising your greenhouse over
the coming months.
It really is.
To have a greenhouse is reallya blessing and gives you that
(37:47):
ability to really have cropsthat it's just sometimes
possible, but not always and notvery successful outside, the
likes of tomatoes and cucumber.
So to be able to have them andhave them successful, grow them
successfully in a greenhouse isa huge benefit.
Follow those tips that I gaveyou, you'll definitely.
(38:08):
They'll definitely stand to youand, yeah, for sure, during the
year, send me any pictures, tagme on any of your successes and
, yeah, let's see how you all gothis year.
Definitely off to a great start.
As I said, this weather isfantastic, nice and warm.
Everything's grown so well.
Those polytunnel crops arereally loving that heat that we
(38:32):
have at the moment.
For me, as I said, potatoesjumping out of the ground.
They're doing really well.
They got hit with frost lastweek but they're completely
earthed back up now again andthey're growing really well.
Carrots are all and they'regrowing really well.
Carrots are all.
They're so, but they'vegerminated so quickly and big
thing with carrots is to keepthem watered in those first two
(38:52):
to three weeks until you seethose, those seedlings coming up
, because if they dry out at allduring that time they can.
They can fail and you wonderwhere they've gone, but that's
really important.
So I sowed carrots two weeksago now and they're doing really
well.
It's really you can seedefinitively where they are and
they're growing really well.
Beet root, the same parsnips nosign yet.
(39:16):
But no panic, they'll come.
They're just a little bitslower.
All the beds are pretty muchfull now at this stage.
A little bit of of sewing stillgoing on and but yeah, lots
going on, lots of watering.
Brilliant time for you know,for for you know, tipping up, uh
, your little bit of weeding,because that really dry warm
(39:36):
weather, if you do a small bitof hoeing with your oscillating
hoe, anything that you, your hoewill just die on the ground
straight away.
So it's really good to easilyclean beds at this stage of the
year if you do have any weeds.
And just another point on on nodig.
So no dig.
We're in this kind of a periodnow where, strangely enough,
(39:58):
we're we're kind of in a in adrought.
As such, we're having to do alot of watering, but you'll find
in your no-dig beds thatthere's less of a need for that.
They they really do retain themoisture.
So the top, you know, the toplittle layer, might be dry and
dusty even at this stage.
But if you scratch back alittle bit and go down a small
bit, you will find that moistureis retained in the no dig beds
(40:22):
a lot better than in in the thebeds that have been, you know,
used in our dug, dug androtavated, maybe in the standard
way.
So no dig is hugely beneficialwhen we get drought periods and
and again, on the flip side ofthat, hugely beneficial if we
got a wet period.
So yeah, it just becomes reallyobvious when there is something
(40:42):
happening like there is at themoment, like a drought, plants
that are in the no-dig beds arejust growing on fine, they're
not even batting an eyelid tothe fact that it's gotten very
dry on top.
Those, for me, I just give themwater with a watering can, kind
of once a week, not a lot ofwater, just enough to kind of
(41:04):
keep things tipping along again,a little bit like the tomatoes
in the tunnel, making them workquite hard, that, making them
send down their roots, andthey'll just, they just become
more resilient that way and so,yeah, it's a, so it's a
brilliant, brilliant spell ofweather.
We've had hope those tips aregoing to help you in your
polytunnel.
Hope you you're going to bereally successful this summer
(41:26):
with it and some reallyinteresting episodes coming up
over the next couple of weeks.
Couple of guest interviews and,uh, yeah, there's some good
ones on the way.
We'll definitely chat about someof those shows, some of those
garden festivals that are comingup, because there's some
excellent speakers at those.
There's, you know, great daysout.
You know, as I mentioned, russbread on this coming this coming
(41:49):
sunday.
That's a brilliant day out.
You know, even for familiesit's a great day out.
You can go with kids.
There's things to do there forchildren.
There's the plant fair foryourself you can pick up, you
know, nice plants.
I think there's be like bulbsuppliers there at the end of
the season as well, so you canget some nice stuff there.
But a lot of the, a lot of theplant suppliers are going to be
there and a lot of specialistnurseries, so brilliant speakers
(42:12):
as well on top of that.
So loads, loads there and, yeah, all the other ones coming up,
but we will cover those in moredepth.
But that's been this week'sepisode.
Thanks for listening and untilthe next time, happy gardening.
how's it going everybody?
And welcome to episode 276 ofmaster, my garden podcast.
Now for any irish listeners.
Here we're still basking in insunshine and I was just thinking
, before I hit record, how Isuppose dramatic the change has
been.
I think only two or three weeksago I was speaking about, you
(00:34):
know, poor weather, cold and wetand or kind of bits of shocks.
And yeah, all of a sudden thenwe have this, this spell of
really really dry and warmweather and, you know, really
weather that's sort of morefamiliar with later on in the
summertime, so lovely and dryand lots of blue skies, and it's
(00:58):
certainly welcome, reallyreally welcome, and hopefully,
hopefully now it doesn't uh,sort of fizzle out and that we
get all of this good weatherearly and that we do get sort of
some continuity.
But strangely enough, asregularly happens, we've gone
from a situation where we'reyou're talking about having a
lot of rain, a lot of moisture,and then now, very quickly,
(01:22):
we're looking at conditionswhere we actually could do it a
little bit of rain.
So we're never quite happy, buttemperatures are so good now.
Temperatures are really warm,everything is growing well, but
there is a lot of work inwatering at the moment and I
suppose that's one of the one ofthe key jobs at the moment is
keep keeping your plants watered, whether that's your, your veg
(01:44):
plants, your young, your youngseedlings that have gone out,
your bare root hedging, or yourtrees that you've planted, or
any new plantings that you'vedone, maybe your bedding plants,
your hanging baskets, your pots, whatever it is.
You know, there's a bit ofwatering at the moment and we'll
give you some tips maybe onthat in this, this episode, on
how maximize that, how to getthe most from your watering and
(02:09):
how to sort of reduce yourwatering, if it's at all
possible.
Because funny, the other dayspeaking to two people and they
said it's not like doing it.
You know, planting or there'sno kind of obvious outcome at
(02:32):
the end of your hour's work.
Say so, you know, if you plantup a bed or you mow your lawn or
you do your vegetables, sowyour seeds, whatever it is,
there's a kind of an obviousoutcome at the end.
But watering is a bit, there'sno end to it.
You know it's just there's noobvious end to it.
Let's say so.
It doesn't doesn't feel like avery I suppose you know a very
(02:56):
productive job, but it is anessential job because if you
don't do it, especially at, youknow, times like this, then
you're not going to see the fullbenefit of what you've sown,
what you've grown.
So it is important this week'sepisode we're going to kind of
center mostly around maximizingyour greenhouse.
So whether that's a polytunnelor a glasshouse, I suppose it's
(03:21):
a time where everything isgetting planted or is already
planted in there.
So, like, see your tomatoes,cucumbers, peppers, chilies,
squash, you know, melons, allthose sort of things.
A lot of people in variousparts of the country will will
be well advanced with those.
And for me here tomatoes arehalf in.
(03:43):
I started them today.
I have more to do tomorrow,hopefully.
And yeah, they'll, they'll bein then, still a few weeks ahead
of last year.
And for any of you thinking thatI am late, I am quite late, you
know, versus other parts of thecountry, but again, where I am
here, we had frost in the middleof the middle of last week.
(04:03):
So quite a strong frost,actually quite a hard frost.
It did some damage on potatoes,did some damage on the likes of
beach hedging that had put outthat really soft new growth.
So it was quite a severe frostand that was only last week, so
my tunnel again has open sides.
(04:24):
And that was only last week, somy tunnel again has open sides.
So you can, you can imaginethat you know there was a level
of coolness there that youmightn't get in other parts of
the country or you wouldn't getin a greenhouse with completely
covered up sides.
I, you know, opt for that.
So that, okay, I'm a little bitlater, but tends to just mean
that from and we'll talk talkabout in a minute from a
ventilation perspective, getvery little issues.
(04:45):
So that's what from, and we'lltalk about in a minute.
From a ventilation perspective,get very little issues.
So that's what we're going totalk about was kind of
maximizing and we're going totalk about the main kind of
greenhouse crops and giving mytips for success with all of
those.
And I suppose no better place tostart than tomatoes.
This year I have quite a lot ofvarieties grown.
Last year I said I had too,said I had too many plants and
(05:07):
definitely going to reduce.
That was my famous words tomyself, and I think I actually
have at least as many again, ifnot slightly more.
I definitely have morevarieties anyway and, yeah, some
of them are.
They're all doing really welland they're a lot more advanced.
So I'm probably three or fourweeks ahead of last year and if
(05:27):
you remember, back to lastspring, it was quite you know,
quite overcast for a lot of itand definitely temperatures
didn't hit anything like whatthey have over the last week, 10
days, two weeks, and because ofthat then I'm quite a bit
further on here.
And but to talk about?
I'm going to talk abouttomatoes, going to talk about
cucumbers, going to talk aboutcourgettes and peppers, and
(05:52):
chilies as well fall under that,and you know those, those,
those crops, and how to reallyensure that you have success in
your greenhouse with those.
And, as I say, no better placeto start than tomatoes.
So I have the tomatoes halfplanted in, as I said, and a
couple of tips if you haven'tgot yours planted in already.
(06:14):
I always, always plant and Ialways use mycorrhizal fungi
under the base of it, and that'smy starting point and the
reason.
The reason I do that is I findthat it really really increases
that root zone of the plant.
It anchors them in reallyquickly.
So when I put my stringunderneath which is what I do I
(06:35):
run the string directlyunderneath into the bottom of
the planting hole, I stick thetomato plant down into it.
I see all of these videosonline where people are planting
them sideways, burying the bitsof the stem.
They're planting them deep.
To be honest, I find all ofthat a little bit of faff.
To be honest, just dig yourhole the depth of the plant are
(06:57):
slightly deeper Put yourmycorrhizal fungi in, put your
string right into the bottom ofthe hole and then put your pot
straight down on top of that andthen fill it in and give it a
good water.
I also add a little bit ofdried seaweed into the planting
hole.
I just find that seaweed isvery, very good for plant
(07:18):
resilience and I'll chat aboutthat a little bit later on.
And then I leave that string,plant out all all the tomatoes
and then, as soon as I've allthe planting done, I tie those
strings up to the, to the roofof the tunnel.
Now the string that I use isjust a standard builder's twine.
I have used jute twine in thepast and I find that the jute
(07:40):
twine sometimes different oneshave different levels.
They're all natural.
So when you, when you put themonto your plants some of them
they have different levels thatthey break down at, and
sometimes you're mid-season, youhave all the weight of the
tomato on it and it just startsto break down at ground level
and then it snaps off.
So as a result of that, then Iuse this synthetic builder's
(08:03):
lime.
Basically, I hear a lot ofpeople saying that that's too
hard for tomatoes.
I've never found it to be thecase.
I'm using it for years now andI just find it a good, strong
twine, one that never breaks,and it just, it's just a really
simple and good way of doing it.
I find the jute twine, as I say, breaks down.
So basically, you put your,your string underneath the,
(08:27):
underneath the planter,underneath the pot, you plant it
in and then you cover over andyou water straight away and then
, when you've all your plantingdone, you tie up your, your
string, to a crop wire up on topor you tie it up high on top or
onto a bamboo cane.
If you don't have, you know, ifyou don't have a way of of
tying it up high, you get abamboo cane, bamboo cane.
If you don't have, you know, ifyou don't have a way of of
tying it up high, you get abamboo cane or something like
(08:48):
that something that can carrythe weight of that plant as it
goes along.
The the key with tomatoes?
Uh, there's a couple, a coupleof really useful points, and the
first one I mentioned ismycorrhizal.
The second one is seaweed, andseaweed is I put it into the
planting hole.
I will also liquid feed with atomato feed, but a seaweed-based
(09:11):
tomato food, and I would dothat every two weeks and that's
the only watering I do.
In between I don't water.
So the way I do it is I do whatthey call a deep water every
two weeks, which includes thefeed, and then I don't water in
between.
And I know one of the biggestchallenges that people have is
they.
They talk about tomatoesneeding a lot of water, and they
(09:36):
do need quite a bit of water,but if you keep watering them
every day, every second day,you'll end up with a really
shallow root system and a plantthat's going to just crave that
water all the time.
And, of course, as that plantgets bigger, the requirement for
water, as it starts to producefruit, the requirement for water
is more and more and more, andthen you're just going to be in
(09:58):
that cycle of having to do it sooften because the root zone is
quite shallow.
So I it the other way.
I kind of a little bit miserlywith the water.
I give it enough to keep itsurviving and to keep it
reasonably vibrant.
I do not over water and I forceit to put down its roots deep.
And that pushing down its rootsdeeps allows it to access water
(10:21):
.
You know know under the ground,elsewhere in the tunnel, that
you know it's not depending onon me being there every day,
every two days, to water.
Now, the exception to that is,like I'm doing that in when I'm
growing into the ground.
If you are in a pot or growingin a grow bag, then that's
(10:42):
obviously slightly differentbecause you know the plant
doesn't have access.
You know it's obviouslyslightly different because you
know the plant doesn't haveaccess.
You know it's not able to getout into the ground and access
water anywhere else.
So that is the exception tothat.
But just be careful not to overwater, that's.
That's the first thing.
And from my perspective inground planting, I'm quite
miserly with it and I allowthose roots to really really go
(11:04):
searching for water.
What ends up happening then isyou end up with a really solid
anchored plant, firstly, but youend up with a more resilient
plant as well, because the plantis is, as I say, anchored in
well, but it becomes strong.
It becomes resilient as asopposed to because it's not
(11:26):
pushing out soft growth all thetime.
It's, it's, it's not underpressure, but it is working hard
and that's that's what I findjust produces a better plant, a
stronger plant, more resilientplant.
So every two weeks I'll feedwith tomato base or seaweed
based tomato feed, but inbetween I do mist.
(11:47):
I mist all the leaves or Ispray all the leaves with just a
plain seaweed liquid and that'scold pressed seaweed liquid.
I do that once a week or sorryin between.
So every two weeks I'll do that.
So one week I'm doing the feedonto the ground and then the
second week I'm misting theleaves with a sprayer.
(12:08):
And what I find that seaweeddoes and we talked about seaweed
in relation to other crops aswell I find that seaweed
basically creates a plant thatis really, really resilient.
So you end up with darkerleaves and it's very noticeable.
Actually, you know if you are,if you have a few tomato plants,
it's worth doing a little trialon it.
So spray the leaves of one ortwo of them and leave one or two
(12:31):
not sprayed and just leave itfor a couple of days and you
will see an unbelievabledifference in leaf color.
But there's also a kind oftoughness that the leaf produces
off the back of this seaweedand that's what I feel is really
beneficial in terms of pestcontrol.
It's also really beneficial interms of disease control.
(12:53):
So you just end up with atougher plant.
So there's two things you'reallowing it, you're forcing it
to search for water and you'respraying it kind of once every
two weeks on the leaves, foliarfeed of seaweed and you're
getting a really, reallyresilient plant.
Then the, the spacing is quiteimportant.
So I'll put two foot orthereabouts between the, the
(13:16):
tomato plants, allow them to goup the string, and then I'm
making sure that I always putthem right down the center
between the two doors, so I'llopen the doors on either end.
I also mentioned I have netsides on the tunnel lot, so
that's open all the time.
So I'm looking for the maximumairflow and there's a couple of
reasons for that.
So with with tomatoes, the, thekind of diseases that you can
(13:39):
get, mildew is one.
Then you're looking at blight.
That's quite a big one and it'sparticularly prevalent if
people are over watering and youend up with a really humid
house, especially in smallergreenhouses or on ventilated
greenhouses.
So once you get your tomatoesgrowing, it's so important to
ventilate.
We need airflow through thathouse.
(13:59):
So opening a door just on oneend is probably not enough.
What we really need is airflow.
So, whether you've louver ventsor two doors, you know,
whatever, whatever option youhave, if you have a way of
getting airflow through thathouse in one side or in one end
and out the other, that's whatyou're looking for, because that
airflow is is really importantin terms of disease prevention.
(14:22):
The other thing, obviously, isto, you know, pruning lower
leaves that are not, that are nolonger beneficial to the plant.
Now I don't go, you know, Idon't go too harsh on the
pruning early days.
I allow that plant to build upits energy, to build up its
resilience, and then, as itstarts to fill out its trusses,
its fruit trusses, then I willtake away lower leaves once
(14:46):
they've served their purpose,and their purpose is to draw in
energy into that plant up to thepoint where it forms its fruit
just above it, and then thatleaf has done its job and I'll
take that off.
That allows for the plant tohave, you know, those leaves to
have done its job, as I say, butthen it allows that airflow
through the plant and that'sreally important.
So you're spacing and thenpruning as you go up along
(15:09):
center center it.
If you can, between vents anddoors, allow again that airflow
through, then obviously you'reI'm sure you're all aware of it.
But the the side, taking off theside trusses, that's quite
important.
It's also useful as well.
I do it every year just on oneor two of them.
I don't take off, I leave onquite a few of those and I just
(15:33):
train them off in this differentdirections, just as a kind of a
just to see how.
So we all, we all take off theside shoots, we wrap it around
the string and you know that'swidely regarded as the best way
of of growing tomatoes and themost productive way of growing
tomatoes.
But every year I, as I say Iwill allow, maybe two or three
(15:56):
of those from lower on the plantbecome full, full tomato plants
.
So you'll end up with three orfour strings on one plant going
in different directions and it'sjust interesting to see.
It's quite productive.
I generally find it's quiteproductive.
It is a little bit messy in thatyou know you're bringing a
couple of stems in eachdirection, so you might need a
(16:17):
lot of space.
But if you're in a really smallgreenhouse you could do this
with one or two plants and have,you know, direct them onto, you
know, along the sides or over,up and over onto a roof, and you
could get, you know, a lot oftomatoes from a couple of plants
.
So you'll save your space insome ways.
You'll bring trusses from fromdifferent directions.
(16:40):
So there's a few ways of doingit.
I do that every year, as I say,as a bit of a trial.
I can't say it's any moreproductive or any less
productive.
It's a little bit messier inthat it takes a, you know, a bit
more space for me in the way Ido it, because you're not in
your line.
But if you were in a bit morespace for me in the way I do it,
because you're not in your line, but if you were in a small
greenhouse, you could put one inthe corner and bring a side
shoot in each direction sidewaysand then bring a couple up as
(17:04):
well.
So there's, you know there'sbenefits in it and, as I say, I
do that on probably one or twoplants every year, just as a
kind of trial.
If you're doing it the standardway, I do that on probably one
or two plants every year, justas a kind of trial.
If you're doing it the standardway, you know, keep that
spacing correct.
Then wrap them around, takingoff your side shoots as you go
up along and once the leaveshave served their function, take
(17:26):
those off.
Make sure you're feeding everytwo weeks.
Whether you're feeding orwatering, you're doing that onto
the ground, onto the soil oronto the.
You know the growing media.
If you're in a, if you're in apot or a grow bag, it's really
important that you're trying notto get any splash.
So you want that watering to bejust really localized around
(17:48):
the root zone of the plant withno splash back up on the leaves,
because if you can keep all ofthe growth up top dry, then that
really means that you're notgetting any build-up disease.
So your ventilation, dry plantsI know I said I I spray with
with seaweed every second weekand that's really important.
(18:10):
I do that, I'll always do thatin the morning time because that
gives the plant a chance to dryoff during the sunlight of the
day and then it goes into thenighttime and it's completely
dry.
The other thing that I do and Ithink again it's important,
especially if you're in asmaller house is do any of your
(18:31):
side shooting in the morningtime.
So again, that gives the thewound where you break off that
side shoot.
It gives that a chance tocallus up during the day.
So again you're taking a dryplant into the night time and
then you have less access orless buildup of diseases in a
scenario like that.
So that's kind of tomatoes andyou know they should be grown
(18:54):
really well.
Now mine are flying in the pots.
They're going to fly.
Once they hit the ground theyalways take a little bit of a
check straight away, just for aweek or so.
They kind of you know they'refeeling out their surroundings
and then they go.
But the plants are strong goingin this year.
So I'm hoping that I'm going tohave tomatoes quite a bit
earlier this year.
So tomatoes, brilliant one.
(19:15):
I do plant some basil inbetween them.
I'll also stick a few marigoldsin here and there.
Through them it can help withwhite fly and green fly and
things like that.
The other thing that I do isdefinitely have flowers planted
on the mouth of the tunnel, sobasically on the outside of the
tunnel and on the entrance tothe tunnel.
(19:35):
That's going to draw inbeneficial insects, so they're
going to come in.
As I say, you're giving themsomething outside, something to
attract them outside the door,the tunnels are being kept open
as much as possible and thenyou're getting those flowers
planted just inside the front ofthe tunnel and those beneficial
(19:56):
insects are going to get drawnin through a sort of a for what
of a better word a corridor offlowers, take them into the
tunnel, something to draw themup into the tunnel, and then
they're going to be available topollinate these plants and also
to help with.
You know, the beneficialinsects are going to be there to
help with pest control in thein the polytunnel, and that's
that's really important.
(20:16):
I have nettles, a couple ofnettles, in a pot.
The reason for that is they doattract ladybirds and they're
going to be inside in the tunneland so the ladybirds are there.
I actually haven't seen anyrecently, but they are there, I
know they're there somewhere.
And then what's going to happen?
At some point in time, you know, a few green fly will come in a
few aphids or whatever, andthen all of a sudden, your green
flies are there, ready to go,ready to take action and help
(20:40):
you out.
So that's a really important.
It's also really important froma pollination perspective to,
you know, have have thesebenefits coming through your
greenhouse.
If you can, then just inrelation to tomatoes and
pollination as well, a reallyuseful thing is to, if you have
a lot of tomatoes and you havethem stringed up and they're
(21:01):
starting to grow strong, asthey've put out their flowers,
as they're getting flowers, justwalk along and just tap the
strings, and that tapping of thestrings will just will help
pollinate them as well.
And again, that's somethingthat is really worthwhile doing.
The beneficial insects will bethere, obviously, and they'll
(21:21):
help.
But if you don't have that,just make sure that you're
giving that and it really willhelp with the pollination.
So then that's kind of yourtomatoes, keep on top of it and
set your watch, set yourcalendar on your phone or
whatever it is, and do thatfeeding sort of every second
friday or whatever it is, andthen your spray of seaweed, and
(21:43):
that will really you, you willhave really, really good
tomatoes this year.
So then on to the next one thatI grow in the polytone, and a
bit of a love-hate relationshipwith it is courgettes.
Like them a little bit, don'tlove them, so I'll only grow one
plant, and one plant for mostpeople is probably plenty
(22:03):
sufficient.
They grow huge.
Number one if you are growing afew of them you're going to
have to give them a big spacing.
You know, roughly speaking ameter, a meter in both
directions spacing.
But for me I'll just grow, growas I say, grow one of them, and
that's definitely enough.
I'll like them for a while,then I'll get fed up of them.
The hens will love them.
(22:23):
I'll allow some of them go tomarrow and the hens will get
those.
But the the key with those, acouple of keys with it, again, a
lot of the same principles thatyou know spoke about with the
tomato, with the tomatoes.
So these are going to be quitethirsty, quite hungry, so I
would give them a deep wateringon a weekly basis.
So I'm doing a deep water onthe tomatoes on a fortnightly
(22:46):
basis.
I'll do deep watering on theseon a weekly basis.
So give them one good wateringand then make them work after
that for for the rest of therest of the week.
In the initial stages I'll justkeep an eye and if I feel that
they're struggling a little bit,they'll get a little bit more.
But generally speaking, I makethem work.
A couple of things that canhappen is pollination can be a
(23:07):
big issue.
Here and again, you're talkingabout getting your insects
through the tunnel and they willhelp with pollination.
If not, then you can handpollinate and you will just look
it up, you will see distinctlythere's male flowers and female
flowers and they're very, verydifferent, and you will.
You will know them by the look.
If you're not sure, just googlethem and you'll see which is
(23:28):
which.
But what you need to do is youneed to pollinate one to the
other and that can can be donewith a little.
You know, little kidspaintbrush, tiny little
paintbrush.
You rub the male flower andthen you rub it onto the female
flower and that that will do.
You can also break off the maleflower and, you know, tip it
off two or three of the of thefemale ones and that's.
(23:50):
You know, that's how you getthe pollination.
And when you see, when you see,sometimes you'll see courgettes
that are forming and then, asthey're starting to form, you
get this rot on the end of them.
That can be a pollination issue.
There's also some other factorsas well, but typically that can
be a pollination issue and sothat's why it's really important
to do that.
You have to do that.
(24:11):
Give the pollination a need,basically.
But again, the beneficialinsects, if you have them
through your tunnel, will bewill be really helpful.
Again, feeding quite important.
So every time you're feedingyour tomatoes, I would feed your
courgette as well, that's.
You know they're.
They're so such vigorousgrowers they're going to need
food.
They're going to need a goodbit of food to sustain them.
(24:32):
And once you see leaves thatare starting to turn, so again,
a little bit like the tomatoplants, the the stem will grow
out.
They'll carry along the groundor, if you are training them up,
along something, once they have, once those leaves have served
their function, they'll discolor, they'll start to go a little
(24:52):
bit yellow and they'll start todrop down.
Get them off the plant, becausethey're only just going to,
they're going to inhibit airflowand they're going to possibly
cause a little bit of rot if youallow them to rot down and it
just allows the plant tocontinue to produce a lot.
More.
So for me one courgette plant,feeding it every every week or
(25:12):
so or watering it every week,feeding it every time I feed the
tomatoes, taking off thoseleaves and ensuring that I'm
getting that pollination.
And if I need to help, I'mdoing a little bit of
pollination with a paintbrush orby breaking off the male
flowers.
Next one is cucumbers, andcucumbers are, you know, again
(25:33):
very similar to courgettes andtomatoes.
The kind of care that we'regoing to do again with the
courgettes and again with thewith the cucumber, I am putting
micro micro-isol underneath themas I plant them, I'm also
putting dried seaweed underneaththem and straight away I'm
training that cucumber.
Same same things apply.
(26:01):
So I give it a really goodwater after I plant it and then
I try not to water it again forabout a week or so, so again
forcing it to work a little bitharder.
Now the.
The slight variant between itand tomatoes is that tomatoes,
their leaves are better to bedry nearly all the time.
Cucumbers, they like a littlebit of a mist and a little bit
(26:23):
of a mist regularly.
You know they.
They will benefit from that.
They like a small bit ofhumidity.
Now you're, you're not going tobe able to have both.
You know you'll either have ahouse that's humid and not
suitable for your tomatoes, oryou'll have a house that's dry
and not overly suitable for yourcucumbers.
So the best way for me to do itis I'll make sure I'm dry,
(26:44):
growing the tomatoes really dry,have an airy house, but I will
mist those cucumbers a bit moreregular.
So I'll give it the seaweedspray every time I'm doing the
tomatoes, but in between as well, I might give it just a mist on
the leaves.
Again the same.
Once leaves have served theirfunction and they start to
discolor or die off, I'll takeoff those leaves.
(27:07):
I will feed at the sameregularity that I'm feeding, say
, the tomatoes.
So every two weeks I'm going togive that a really good feed.
I use the same feed.
It's seaweed-based tomato foodand as the plant goes up along,
we're training it and againwe're watching out for
pollination and so on.
And yeah, again, one cucumberplant is going to be loads for
(27:34):
most families.
That's all I'll be planting isone, and they're going to give
you two crops that are going togive you a nice steady harvest
of cucumbers and courgettes.
Tomatoes, as I say say, have toomany of.
But the beauty with tomatoes.
Is that you can, you can do.
Doesn't do so much and createyour sauces.
Just freeze them whole as wellactually, only used the last of
(27:56):
of last year's beef tomatoesjust frozen whole, just drop
them into a stew.
Uh, even at this stage they'reperfect.
They're, you know, brilliant.
So you just pull them off theplant, stick them into a stew.
Even at this stage they'reperfect, they're brilliant.
So you just pull them off theplant, stick them into a freezer
bag and into the freezer andthat's it.
And so it's easier to, Isuppose, maximize your crops
there.
And then peppers.
(28:17):
So peppers are one that theyreally want that warm
temperature, but they have itnow.
Sometimes it's airy-ish forpeppers, but now, given that
it's so warm at the moment, getthem in Again.
You won't need a lot of plants.
So, for example, chilies oneplant is going to be loads.
You'll get loads of chilies offa good plant, good, strong
(28:40):
plant.
All the same things apply.
They like to be as dry aspossible, again the leaves, as
dry as possible.
Feed them once, once every twoweeks.
Give them a good feed every twoweeks, but don't over water
them.
They again, they.
You.
I grow them slightly dry, andnow not not bone dry, but
(29:00):
slightly dry.
So allow them to allow themharder.
Again, I'm saying this, but theexception to that is if you're
in a pot or in a grow bag.
You have to make sure thatyou're keeping adequate water in
there then, but for me, in theopen ground, I allow them to
work a little bit harder.
Peppers, again, feed.
Every time you're feeding yourtomatoes, give them a good feed.
(29:21):
Make sure they're in kind ofthe warmest part of your house.
So, for example, when I'msaying that I'll plant the
tomatoes right down the centerand allow the airflow from the
back door to the front door, Iwill put the put the peppers
into sort of a side corner wherethey're going to get maximum
heat because we want them to bereally, really warm and growing
(29:43):
really really strongly.
Again, for me, one chili plant,maybe two or three pepper
plants, is going to be enough.
I struggle a little bit as theyear goes on, depending on the
summer, to get peppers to, youknow, to develop into fully
fledged big, big peppers.
Just because of the length ofseason.
(30:03):
I typically, because of theopen sides, can be very cold,
late, so you're not getting inearly enough, but I still have
loads of green, good qualitygreen peppers, but just they
don't.
You know you don't end up withyour yellows or your reds
typically in my tongue butthey're looking for heat and
again, from feeding perspective,just feed them.
(30:23):
The same way they jar with thetomatoes and the other crops and
they're the.
They're the big, they're thebig crops.
The tomatoes, I would say, isthe is the one that people, a
lot of people, just strugglewith disease.
And those little tips ofkeeping the airflow, you know
(30:44):
them relatively dry, doing yourpruning in the morning time, all
those things are hugelybeneficial.
The seaweed, for me, is thething that makes the difference.
It really makes a resilientplant and I think that's hugely
important when it comes todisease control.
Then what else have I got inthe tunnel or what else is
happening in the polytunnel?
I've strawberries in fruit, nowalmost ripe, just watching them
(31:10):
day by day.
They're almost there.
Basil, some sown doing reallywell, get planted out along with
the tomatoes over the next day,or two tomatoes over the next
day, or two, and I'll do anothersowing of basil later on.
So just two sowings of basil.
I'll do another sowing,probably in June time, and
that'll be two sowings of basiland that'll hopefully give you
(31:32):
know I'll have harvest thereright right up until until until
it starts to get cold, wheneverthat's going to be, and so,
yeah, basil is another onethat's going really well there,
but it's in.
There's loads of opportunity,you know, in your polytunnel to
maximize your space.
So make sure you're fillingthat space.
Things like radish should becomfortably grow in your
(31:53):
polytunnel at the moment.
They will grow quite quickly,but use them up.
Spinach, lettuce, all of thoseare going to grow really really
well in your polytunnel at themoment to grow really really
well in your in your polytunnelat the moment.
So, yeah, there's loads ofopportunities to capture crops,
you know, and and maximize,really maximize your, your
greenhouse space.
It's, um, you know, when youhave a greenhouse space that
(32:15):
allows you to to grow the likesof tomatoes so well.
Again, talking to someone theother day and they have their
tomatoes gone outside and theydo it every year and if I, you
know, I ask them how they go andsome years they have some
tomatoes, as in maybe a bowl oftomatoes, and other years they
get some tomatoes but they don'tturn red, and I would find that
(32:38):
really frustrating.
I'm, you know, not a patientperson, so I'd hate to kind of
put that work in and just get abowl or one bowl or get some
green tomatoes.
Just that wouldn't, wouldn'tsatisfy me.
So when you do have apolytunnel or a greenhouse, then
maximize it to the last.
Make sure you're getting all ofthose you know, getting the max
(33:00):
out of your tomatoes, gettingthe max out of your peppers,
your courgettes and yourcucumbers.
Make sure you're getting themax out of all those your basil
you know, which won't do welloutside either.
So all of those crops that youknow you have the ability to
grow in your greenhouse,maximize that now.
And, yeah, take full advantageof this warm, groaty weather
(33:22):
that we have.
So I hope those tips help.
It's quite early in the year,you know, in terms of tomatoes
and all that.
So just bear that in mind.
You know those tips.
You know, week by week,continue to do that, the feeding
, the seaweed, and that willreally benefit.
And I'd be very surprised, youknow, if you get to the end of
(33:44):
the season and you haven't hadif you follow those tips that
I've just given you, that youwon't have your kind of best
year with your tomatoes.
I really think that's if you.
They're the.
They're the sort ofcornerstones of having really
successful crops over a longtime.
In a greenhouse there's so muchelse you can be grown, and
melons, you know.
(34:04):
I know a lot of people growmelons.
I don't have huge success withit.
Again, my polytons are a littlebit cool for them.
They do okay, but I don'treally have very good success so
I don't do it anymore.
I've had melons in the past.
I've got some fruit for them,but don't bother.
Squashes is one that does quitewell, but last year was poor
(34:29):
for them, so I just didn'tbother.
This year with squash I might.
Maybe I'll buy a couple ofplants.
If I see any decent onessomewhere, I might butter them
in squash or whatever.
I might grow a few of them, butonly if I see them, and I can't
so on seed of seed of them atthis stage.
Um, but yeah, there's loads ofpeople that will be successful
with those, just because they're, you know, in a quite in a
(34:51):
warmer greenhouse than than whatI am.
But on those few crops that wespoke about, particularly
tomatoes being the main one,being the one that's, you know,
I spoke about it before.
I think tomatoes is probablyone of the vegetables.
That is just a million timesnicer when you grow your own.
The flavor, the, the taste, thesweetness it's, it's
(35:14):
uncomparable to what you wouldbuy in a supermarket and, as a
result, I'll hardly eat a tomato, like last year.
We had tomatoes right up untiloctober, maybe early november,
and from then on I'd hardly eata tomato until they come back in
the next year very, very rarely, because it just don't.
Just don't cut it when you'rewhen you're used to having your
(35:36):
own ones.
So, yeah, it's, it's one of theones that that people really,
really get success with.
But follow those tips and Ithink they'll.
They'll set you on the rightpath.
There's lots going on over thecoming weeks in terms of irish
gardening.
Loads of festivals coming up,loads of gardening festivals.
Uh, this sunday, which is, Ithink, sunday the 18th, the rhsi
(35:58):
and rustbread have their annualgarden show up there.
Some brilliant speakers.
So I think paul smith isspeaking, kitty scully is
speaking, jimmy blake isspeaking and that's in in
rustborough house on sunday the18th.
As far as I know, that's alwaysa great, it's a nice.
Um, there's a lovely plant fairthere, so all the specialist
(36:19):
plants plant people are there.
There's expert speakers,there's lovely walks around the
garden.
It's a nice place for childrenas well.
There's some lovely playgroundsand and nice, nice walks in the
sort of woodland areas and soon, lovely walled gardens there.
So it's a brilliant day out,brilliant family day out and, as
(36:40):
I said, great speakers therethis year.
Not sure of the if there's kindof subjects of their talks or
whatever, but, as I said, kittyScully, jimmy Blake, paul Smith
and there's others as well.
Then on Sunday, the 8th of JuneI think, is Leash Garden
Festival Buds and Blossoms.
Some speakers, good speakersthere again this year.
(37:03):
I'll tell you a little bit moreabout that in the coming weeks.
I'm actually back there myselfthis year speaking again, and
then obviously we have bloom atthe end of may and again we'll
probably chat a bit more aboutthat as we come through this.
An excellent lineup of speakers, some some kind of new faces,
and back in bloom this year.
So there's, you know, there'sloads, loads, loads on the
(37:25):
horizon in terms of gardening.
There's loads of plant fairscoming up.
So yeah, we might delve deeperinto some or all of those over
the coming weeks, but for thisweek anyway, hopefully that
gives you some tips formaximising your greenhouse over
the coming months.
It really is.
To have a greenhouse is reallya blessing and gives you that
(37:47):
ability to really have cropsthat it's just sometimes
possible, but not always and notvery successful outside, the
likes of tomatoes and cucumber.
So to be able to have them andhave them successful, grow them
successfully in a greenhouse isa huge benefit.
Follow those tips that I gaveyou, you'll definitely.
(38:08):
They'll definitely stand to youand, yeah, for sure, during the
year, send me any pictures, tagme on any of your successes and
, yeah, let's see how you all gothis year.
Definitely off to a great start.
As I said, this weather isfantastic, nice and warm.
Everything's grown so well.
Those polytunnel crops arereally loving that heat that we
(38:32):
have at the moment.
For me, as I said, potatoesjumping out of the ground.
They're doing really well.
They got hit with frost lastweek but they're completely
earthed back up now again andthey're growing really well.
Carrots are all and they'regrowing really well.
Carrots are all.
They're so, but they'vegerminated so quickly and big
thing with carrots is to keepthem watered in those first two
(38:52):
to three weeks until you seethose, those seedlings coming up
, because if they dry out at allduring that time they can.
They can fail and you wonderwhere they've gone, but that's
really important.
So I sowed carrots two weeksago now and they're doing really
well.
It's really you can seedefinitively where they are and
they're growing really well.
Beet root, the same parsnips nosign yet.
(39:16):
But no panic, they'll come.
They're just a little bitslower.
All the beds are pretty muchfull now at this stage.
A little bit of of sewing stillgoing on and but yeah, lots
going on, lots of watering.
Brilliant time for you know,for for you know, tipping up, uh
, your little bit of weeding,because that really dry warm
(39:36):
weather, if you do a small bitof hoeing with your oscillating
hoe, anything that you, your hoewill just die on the ground
straight away.
So it's really good to easilyclean beds at this stage of the
year if you do have any weeds.
And just another point on on nodig.
So no dig.
We're in this kind of a periodnow where, strangely enough,
(39:58):
we're we're kind of in a in adrought.
As such, we're having to do alot of watering, but you'll find
in your no-dig beds thatthere's less of a need for that.
They they really do retain themoisture.
So the top, you know, the toplittle layer, might be dry and
dusty even at this stage.
But if you scratch back alittle bit and go down a small
bit, you will find that moistureis retained in the no dig beds
(40:22):
a lot better than in in the thebeds that have been, you know,
used in our dug, dug androtavated, maybe in the standard
way.
So no dig is hugely beneficialwhen we get drought periods and
and again, on the flip side ofthat, hugely beneficial if we
got a wet period.
So yeah, it just becomes reallyobvious when there is something
(40:42):
happening like there is at themoment, like a drought, plants
that are in the no-dig beds arejust growing on fine, they're
not even batting an eyelid tothe fact that it's gotten very
dry on top.
Those, for me, I just give themwater with a watering can, kind
of once a week, not a lot ofwater, just enough to kind of
(41:04):
keep things tipping along again,a little bit like the tomatoes
in the tunnel, making them workquite hard, that, making them
send down their roots, andthey'll just, they just become
more resilient that way and so,yeah, it's a, so it's a
brilliant, brilliant spell ofweather.
We've had hope those tips aregoing to help you in your
polytunnel.
Hope you you're going to bereally successful this summer
(41:26):
with it and some reallyinteresting episodes coming up
over the next couple of weeks.
Couple of guest interviews and,uh, yeah, there's some good
ones on the way.
We'll definitely chat about someof those shows, some of those
garden festivals that are comingup, because there's some
excellent speakers at those.
There's, you know, great daysout.
You know, as I mentioned, russbread on this coming this coming
(41:49):
sunday.
That's a brilliant day out.
You know, even for familiesit's a great day out.
You can go with kids.
There's things to do there forchildren.
There's the plant fair foryourself you can pick up, you
know, nice plants.
I think there's be like bulbsuppliers there at the end of
the season as well, so you canget some nice stuff there.
But a lot of the, a lot of theplant suppliers are going to be
there and a lot of specialistnurseries, so brilliant speakers
(42:12):
as well on top of that.
So loads, loads there and, yeah, all the other ones coming up,
but we will cover those in moredepth.
But that's been this week'sepisode.
Thanks for listening and untilthe next time, happy gardening.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.