Polythene mulching to polytunnel beds and borders

I use both porous (woven polypropylene) and impervious (polythene sheet damp proof membrane) mulches to great effect for outdoor crops and they really cut down the amount of watering required, which is important as I have no water supply on my plot.

Because it gets so hot inside, rapidly drying out my borders, I was thinking of trying it out inside my tunnel (on tomatoes), but I've never seen it being used in any pictures showing crops in poly tunnels [1].

Has any one done this or seen it being used under cover?


[1] I have however read of white one side, black other side polythene being used in commercial greenhouse production of tomatoes.

 

[1] I have however read of white one side, black other side polythene being used in commercial greenhouse production of tomatoes.[/QUOTE]
That is to reflect light back to intensify available light.

I would worry about using anything like this as it would make a lovely dark damp area for slugs IMHO.But i might be wrong i often am!

 

I have recently read up on something similar to this in regards to strawberries. It involves mounding up the earth, with a trickle hose inside it, then cover in polythene and plant through that polythene.

http://www.tidec.org/Visuals/Tidetalk/Network%20articles/polytunnels/Strawb%20facts.pdf

I'm hoping to do something similar to this next year with a trickle hose gravity fed from a water butt, maybe this would help dose the water out sparingly to where its needed for you scrungee, so you dont use too much or use just enough even.

Steve...

 

But relatively easily dealt with using beer traps and non-rain proof organic bird/hedgehog friendly bait, being under cover.

I usually use an upturned plastic bottle with the bottom cut off and placed on a stick projecting into the hole through the mulch for bushy plants and a similar bottle fixed at the end of a stick to direct water from a can into holes for the like of cordon tomatoes.

Although there appears to a smaller area of root when lifting the polythene, the plants above ground have always been bigger, healthier and more productive than those planted in bare soil and given much more water.

Some cheap hose, Y junctions and a tap are on my car boot sale wish list for a DIY watering system. Used in conjunction with some upturned bottle reservoirs (5 litre water bottles scavenged from recycling baskets) with electrical wiring grommets (10p each) fitted in the caps with plastic tubing fitted and filled just before going on holiday, the plan is for someone just to having to open up a tap mid week or so to keep everything moist whilst I'm away.

I've just used five 2 gallon cans to water the 2 x 4.5m tunnel, so when the other 2 x 4.5 and the 3 x 6m are in use that'll be 40 galls (a whole water barrel!) of water a day to drive up there in eight 5 gallon containers with on a few galls left for everything else, so I must cut the water consumption down.

My polytunnel book appears to be full of contradictions regarding mulch, recommending it to cut down on watering, also mentioning the need to water to keep humidity up, and then cautioning about the dangers of moulds in high humidity! Think I'll start of with some retrospective mulch mats around my toms, leaving gaps for some inter-cropping.