Grow Dome

I’ve never really managed to make the most of the Grow Dome. It’s an amazing structure, with plenty of space inside, and yet much of the time it’s not being productive. In the summer it needs a lot of watering (despite the ponds that help to raise the humidity and buffer temperature changes) and that’s one thing I’m not good at. I’ve tried growing watermelons and luffas, kiwano and mouse melons. Peppers and aubergines. Probably the most successful crop was tomatoes, which we don’t really like and I was growing for an experiment.

In the winter I plant out over-wintering greens that should be productive in cold weather and into the spring. Oriental veg, kale, perpetual spinach and chard, land cress and lamb’s lettuce. I use it to help overwinter plants as well, although this time there have been some losses as the Grow Dome is unheated and I couldn’t bring everything indoors.

And so this year I have to come up with a better plan (and also find a new home for the bicycles, but that’s another story). I understand the theory – summer crops of sun-loving tomatoes and cucumbers (neither of them popular here), winter crops of hardy vegetables that are more tender and productive with some cover, and perhaps early crops of carrots, strawberries or French beans. And, of course, protection for early sowings.

I will have to keep good records of sowing and harvest dates, keep on top of the watering and see what works and what doesn’t.

But if you have a greenhouse, or a polytunnel, what are your secrets for undercover success? What grows well for you? How do you ensure your protected growing space is productive?