A tale of two tunnels
I think I’ve mentioned this in previous posts, but of the two tunnels we have, one is only really good soil. The other is on top a thick clay layer and very nutrient poor. And poor drainage. At the height of summer, the effect of that difference is obvious looking at the plants in each one.
In tunnel #1, the tomatoes were planted almost a month later, but they are taller thicker plants and yielding even bigger tomatoes. Tunnel #2 has spindly tomato plants which are producing smaller and less tomatoes total. The squash plants are also stunted and tiny, with leaves barely off the ground. While the squash plants in tunnel #1 are massive.
Below is a picture of tunnel #2. The first tomato transplants were put out here. The cold got them a little bit, but you can see only a couple plants are very tall. There are weeds everywhere, and the cucumbers are barely doing anything.
Meanwhile – tunnel #1 is visually cleaner, with lots of prospering tomato plants. The downside here is I didn’t plant nearly enough so there are some gaps in the tunnel being filled in. The core group of plants looks great.
Now the squash have stopped producing in tunnel #2, so I made the decision to cut everything down and prep it for fall. I have extra compost/manure I can add in and let it sit for a few weeks in the heat of August and breakdown under tarps.
Now its empty!
