Moving to a new house in September 1997 provided both advantages
and disadvantages in equal portions, when it came to assessing
the needs and requirements for growing Giant Exhibition Dahlias.
One of the main reasons for moving in the first instance,
was the lack of garden space and in fact for the previous 5 years
I grew at two separate gardens some two miles apart. This proved
difficult and time-consuming and at a crucial time of the season
I was too busy building frames and covers, resulting in the plants
being neglected.
To afford the type and size of the house we were looking
for meant buying in a remote area, however the house did come
with a large piece of land. Longriggend about 6 miles north of
Airdrie is situated high on a hill in an exposed part of rural
Lanarkshire and has been termed by some as the “back-o-beyond”.
It is probably one of the most inhospitable areas you can imagine
for any type of horticultural activity.
The other significant problem was that the house was built
on old Coal Board ground , and although there was plenty adjacent
land there was absolutely NO SOIL whatsoever.
It took the best part of a year to complete all the internal
work and re-decoration on the house and it was now time to look
at what was required outside.
Initial Steps - Acquisition of Tunnel
The first job was to bring in about 150 tonnes of field
soil to help create a lawn at the front, back, and side of the
house.... thank heavens for modern agricultural machinery .
On to the Dahlia plot and it was obvious from an early stage
that delicate dahlia plants would never survive such a raw exposed
environment. I had seen Andy Semple grow Giants successfully
in a poly tunnel and this appeared to be the only viable option.
In fact it was Andy who managed to source a frame from a farmer
some 30 miles away whilst working with the Forestry Commission.
The frame was a twin-span , which had been damaged on one
side. It was 64 foot long and 25 foot wide with good straight
sides. Unfortunately it was situated in the middle of a field
occupied by cows and a couple of fierce looking bulls. The field
was a mire.
Never having dismantled or erected a poly tunnel, I took
numerous photographs and notes which proved to be of immense value
later on. However, much work was required before building the
frame could begin.
Site preparation
A J.C.B. and driver were hired to excavate a suitable area from
an old bing not far from the house. Embankments were created at
the back and two sides which hopefully would provide some respite
from the prevailing winds. The area was fairly level and even
after heavy rain there was no surface water present. So the drainage
seemed adequate. There was no soil at this stage, which let me
work about the site with relative ease.
It was then decided to increase the actual height of the tunnel,
for two main reasons . Bearing in mind that a large quantity of
soil would have to be brought in, possibly to a depth of 2 or
3 ft, then the natural height of the tunnel would decrease. There
was also concern that if the tunnel were too low it would result
in a build-up of heat in sunny days so by raising the height much
of the heat would hopefully disperse upwards.
To create this increase in height the requisite number of
5 ft scaffolding poles were acquired. After the relevant area
was marked off with string, ensuring it was on the square, the
poles were driven in 2 ft, however, not cemented in at this point.
Dismantling and Re-erection
On Saturday 13th March the tunnel was dismantled in a day, with
some excellent assistance from John McMillan, Frank Fraser, my
brother, father-in-law and brother-in-law. Each section was marked
for ease of identification. There were a total of 9 hoops i.e.
18 half sections. The ridge was in three separate sections and
together with crop-bars, front and rear supports and numerous
brackets and fittings there were plenty of pieces in this particular
jig-saw.
The next difficulty experienced was actually getting the sections
transported back home..... it‘s surprising the span of each
hoop. Narrow country roads and lanes did little to help .
Re-building the frame was planned for Easter Sunday and as
the ridge would be about 18 feet high 2 sets of scaffolding towers
were hired for the week-end.
Again with excellent help from friends namely Tommy Melrose
and Mike Prime together with the same family members the frame
was assembled in a day. There is no doubt the need for assistance
and it doesn‘t help when the owner is scared of heights,
leaving it to others to climb the towers, while he supervised
from ground level.
The next few week-ends were spent fixing timbers to the frame.
The back and front sections were like large goal-posts with an
additional ‘H‘ frame on top. Also, as the polythene
was not going right down to ground level , additional timbers
were fixed the full length of both sides .
Fixing the cover;
By late May the basic frame was ready to be skinned and there
was still no soil in situ. An initial attempt on the 6th June
had to be aborted due to a very slight puff of wind making it
impossible to manipulate the vast sheeting. It really has to
be very calm and still before undertaking this operation and such
days in Longriggend are as rare as an Airdrie victory. However
a few nights later with further help from Tommy, Mike and the
family together with neighbours who saw us struggle frantically,
we managed to secure the main sheet to the side timbers. The
front back and lower sides had to be left as other more pressing
matters had to be attended to.
Planting out ;
Thereafter followed another major operation to bring in approximately
100 tonnes of field and sub-soil , with 2 full days of stone removal
and rotovating.
When I initially moved house all my stock went to Ridgeview
Nursery who kindly agreed to raise the neccessary plants and which
were now in 6 inch pots and looking superb. It took 4 or 5 runs
with a Transit van helped by John Whyte to transfer them all.
With no cold frames and Easterly winds still prevailing several
suffered damage and checking.
A further delay was caused while inserting the canes in position
and I managed to fall face first onto a cane catching my right
eye. It was lucky.... only a couple of stitches and bruising
but could have easily lost the sight of that eye.
Planting out was eventually completed by 20th June, some
240 plants in 8 rows x 30 , and all Giant Decs. apart from the
30 or so Jupiters. Due to lack of side protection further wind
damage and loss was suffered.
Growing Season
The soil was in very poor condition and with no top dressing
or feeding the plants looked hellish. In July Netlon was fixed
to the sides, back and front, with a piece cut out from the front
and used as a roller type door. The back was completely enclosed.
To try to improve the soil, 8/9 tonnes of manure was obtained
from a nearby farm and wheel-barrowed in. The combination of
wind-breaks and mulch helped, there was steady improvement, however
the plants were running late and there would be no blooms for
the early shows. Despite the fact that the plot was completely
covered watering was only required once a week except during warm
spells. Increasing the height of the tunnel did prove beneficial
with no great extremes of heat experienced.
Spraying was kept to a minimum due to the enclosed area and although
there was little in the way of insects mildew was present and
exploded right through the tunnel.
When they flowered most blooms were of a reasonable size and form
but some had weak stems.
Conclusions
Although it proved to be quite costly most of these were one-off’s
including having to ship in about 250 tonnes of soil. The skin
has a 4 year life span. Labour costs were restricted to a cup
of tea or can of beer, however all the gangs efforts were very
much appreciated.
This was to be treated as an experimental season, assessing
and evaluating the plants, growing conditions, stopping, disbud
and flowering times. The main advantages were being able to work
on the plants when it suited me and not the weather and did not
have to be concerned with frames and covers at the critical stage.
Watering was stopped at the beginning of September and come
lifting in mid November the ground was bone-dry. The tubers were
possibly the best ever lifted and it was a pleasure in such a
dry sheltered environment. Notes have been made, the manure dug-in,
and now looking forward with enthusiasm to the next season, when
hopefully things will be a little less hectic and chaotic. At
present I am mulling over the idea of installing a watering system
but funds are low and the Missus is starting to ask questions.
Overall I harboured doubts about growing plants in such a bleak
outpost but now I am quietly optimistic about the future and looking
forward to “playing with the big boys again”
Watch out !!!!!