Due to a lack of diligence and conscientiousness on my part, there are a few essential and important jobs that need to be completed prior to the new season. Some, if not all, of these jobs could have been done at the end of the previous growing season in October/November. Somehow, I seldom find the time to do them in the autumn.
Task #1: Empty all the Quadgrow and Veg/Salad Planters of last year's coir-based compost (Photo 1) ...
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| Photo 1: Last Year's Veg/Salad Planter (Lettuce, Salad Leaves and Radish) |
Task #2: Clear out the polytunnel, wash down all the surfaces with Citrox P and fumigate with garlic candles (Photo 2) ...
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| Photo 2: Polytunnel Before Cleaning (22nd March 2025) |
Task #3: Clean equipment, pots, trays, mats, hosta haloes, insect mesh barriers, Quadgrows, etc with Citrox P
Progress (as of 22nd March)
Task #1: I have emptied about half of the ten Veg/Salad Planters (Photo 3) but haven't started on the four Quadgrow Planters ...
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| Photo 3: Emptied Veg/Salad Planter with Wicks Left to Dry |
Task #2: Will start clearing and cleaning the polytunnel once I've emptied all the Quadgrows and Veg/Salad Planters (see Photo 2).
Task #3: Most of the plant pots, trays, etc have been washed in Citrox P, dried and stored away. The insect mesh used to surround the 'onion patch' was looking a little grubby ...
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| Photo 4: Last Year's Onion Patch and Protective Insect Mesh |
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| Photo 5: Soiled Insect Mesh |
I prepared 30L of a 1:150 dilution of Citrox P in hot water ...
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| Photo 5: Citrox P |
... to part-fill a 75L trug before immersing the insect mesh and leaving for a minimum of 30 minutes ...
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| Photo 6: Insect Mesh Soaking in Citrox P Solution |
... after which it was left to dry on the patio (no need to rinse). The same Citrox P solution was then used to wash some Hosta Haloes (foreground of Photo 4) and plant pots.
Note 1: Old roots and stems recovered from the Veg/Salad Planters were shaken to remove excess soil and plonked straight into the hot composting bins.
Note 2: The hot water used for preparing the Citrox P bath (Photo 6) was carbon neutral and free. It was a bright sunny day and my two rooftop solar water heating units (Photo 8) were producing no-cost carbon-free hot water.
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| Photo 7: Old Roots for Hot Composting |
Note 2: The hot water used for preparing the Citrox P bath (Photo 6) was carbon neutral and free. It was a bright sunny day and my two rooftop solar water heating units (Photo 8) were producing no-cost carbon-free hot water.
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| Photo 8: Rooftop Solar Water Heating Units |
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