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New polytunnel

Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 7:19 pm
by Conrad
I put up a 36x16ft polytunnel in November last year, with the aim of eventually having a small mail order nursery along side my 'real job'. The tunnel was heated over the winter by a 11kw gas heater (not that it was needed much), with the aim of keeping the tunnel above 1.5c. I have a couple of thousand seedlings I've been growing on over the past couple of years, and will probably begin selling plants next spring once I've built the website (with a discount for BCSS members!). It's all looking frankly a bit of a mess in the photos below as my real job is keeping me extremely busy at the moment, and I can only manage to visit the tunnel 1/2 days a week (it's built on land at my parents farm - I'm 29 and don't have any real estate to my name, yet).

So here's the tunnel:

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Various seedlings, mostly Acanthocalycium, Astros and Neochilenia in the top left. A bit of a mess as I say - when I get an opportunity they'll be arranged more logically:

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More seedlings, 1 yr olds, each tray holds 112. A mix of stuff, lobivia, turbs, astros, coryphantha etc. etc.

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A handful of 2ish yr old Lobivia famatimensis, coming into flower for the first time:

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The above, repotted, with various Lophs in need of the same treatment!

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A days work right here....

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A sea of seedlings!

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I'll update this thread with better pics as the year in the tunnel progresses.

Cheers,

Re: New polytunnel

Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 8:27 pm
by Liz M
Great stuff, keep up the good work. There are less and less people selling as nurserymen get older. There will always be a market for good quality, well grown and interesting plants.

Re: New polytunnel

Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2016 8:46 am
by Keith H
Hi Conrad, I agree with Liz's comments above ^^^^^ . Returning to cacti after my thirty year break I was stunned, how could all those cacti nurseries that I read about in my youth have dissapeared whilst I was not looking?
It looks like you have made a good start setting up your business, well growing some stock, I expect running the business will be very hard work and wish you all the best of luck with your venture.

Re: New polytunnel

Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2016 10:52 am
by Cactipod
Conrad, that is an amazing polytunnel.

You have a massive collection of seedlings. I wish you all the best in setting up your little mart. I'm sure I don't just speak for myself when I say -I believe you will get a lot of interest in your plants. Very excited for you. :razz:

Re: New polytunnel

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 8:08 pm
by gtyang
(tu) Really really really amazing! I like this polytunnel a lot.

Re: New polytunnel

Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 7:53 pm
by mistyhiss
Oooh wow, you're doing exactly what I'd love to do eventually. Well done, looks great. :smile:

Re: New polytunnel

Posted: Mon May 09, 2016 6:41 pm
by Conrad
Thanks for the replies all, very encouraging! Shan't be too long now until I start selling plants, likely autumn or next spring.

A few photos from today - was about to start taking picture of all the flowering mother plants when my phone ran out of battery, so only seedlings.

Matucana ritteri first - surprisingly happy with the tunnel only being heated to 1-2C over winter.
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Similarly - Melocactus interpositus - sulked for a while after the winter but almost all of them seem very happy now, though a few are still in a red sulk. I never normally grow Melos, and I'll probably try to get rid of these before next winter for fear of them not making it through.
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The above unpotted, pretty decent roots on all of them, the few reddish ones had clearly lost a few over winter but all were showing lots of new root growth.
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Mediolobivia steinmanii - a good example of why I ought to sow more thinly.
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Good fat roots on them though, at least 1/2 the mass of these is underground.
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A couple of Mamm. guelzowiana, only 20 or so of these to repot.
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Why re-potting hook-spined cacti ends up with me effing and blinding. You pick up one and get 5 instead.
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Avoiding further hook-spined repotting; the reason these poor Mamm bocasana are all crammed in together still.
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More next week if I remember!

Re: New polytunnel

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 1:16 pm
by dalesmatt
It would be great to see an update on this (tu)

Re: New polytunnel

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 8:33 pm
by Cactusgirl
When you putting up your sales list on the site?!

Re: New polytunnel

Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 9:19 pm
by gerald
Bump!