A Year in my Polytunnel - Tomatoes Galore, Squash, Aubergine, and Home-Made Fertiliser

It's early July, and my polytunnel is exploding with life. Let me show you around and tell you about my successes and failures this season, as well as introducing you to my irrigation system and home-made liquid fertiliser - can you guess what it's made from?
🎧 Join me on Patreon for full access to the Mossy Bottom "A Walk in the Woods" Podcast Series: / mossybottom
🐷 Or browse more pictures of my animals and smallholding on Instagram: / mossy_bottom

[@jita14]

Namaste from India - love watching your life at Mossy Bottom i’m 67 years young - a woman who is retired but never tires of watching you live your dream - bless you 🙏🏼

[@khanrayees984]

Watching from kashmir 😘

[@jita14]

@@khanrayees984 🥰hello neighbour 🤗 watching from Pune

[@khanrayees984]

Hehe hii was in pune before covid love it ❤️

[@moewilson4605]

51 years young watching from Canada.. I love watching this too.

[@yeswing10]

While the rest of the earth has gone mad.....your channel greatly appreciated.

[@Liamaddi876]

Yep...just listening to his videos & making plans going offgrid next year..scary but exciting

[@yeswing10]

@@Liamaddi876 Best Wishes to you! I wish I could.

[@Liamaddi876]

@@yeswing10 thank you :)

[@BB-vq8my]

Exactly 💯

[@paul42592]

Find yourself someone that loves you half as much as Moss loves our favorite homesteader!

[@lyonspainter]

After watching loads of your vids I'm struck by the growth of your personal integrity, Something that many men don't seem to value or even recognise...contentment in the moment is a real gift we can give ourselves. X

[@ActNormalKid]

Never would have guessed I’d be watching and enjoying a man on his homestead all the way in Sligo! Greetings from Chicago, USA! Thanks for sharing your life with us!

[@NatalieBudgets]

I honestly think you have the perfect temperament and attitude to have your own little garden show on tv. You are engaging, articulate and full of great information for amateur gardeners.

[@Starlight22215]

Why be owned by TV who would dictate content? He’s got a brilliant channel here. Best thing you can do with a TV is throw it away.

[@NatalieBudgets]

@@Starlight22215 I don't own a TV myself. I was talking about his temperament being better than the generic TV guys, and it would bring him to a wider audience. Don't always assume a negative stance my friend.

[@NatalieBudgets]

@@BalboaBaggins My friend, it was a compliment to Mossy Bottom that he is so good at these videos. No one is suggesting he has to go on TV, just that he would be more than good enough to bring to the masses. KZbin isn't the center of the universe yet! ;o)

[@andreadalton3489]

100% agreed!!!

[@ijpeandcorrievandijken9082]

After you showed us the runner-ducks a long time ago, we started being interested in ducks and ended up buying 5 cacky-campbell ducklings ourselves, which are adults ducks now that provide us with a regular supply of very nutritious eggs. Then you showed us the way you build your poly-tunnel, but when we wanted one last year the regulations imposed by the government prevented the company to help us out. Now we have received the whole package of materials to set it up ourselves, which we are preparing to do in the coming weeks. You bring us some good inspiration, we can say. Thanks from our hearts, out of Eastern County Galway.

[@MossyBottom]

That's why I make videos. It's so great to read. Thank you. :)

[@Booboonancy]

You’ve got me curious. Gov regulations prevent a company, who is selling a product ( maybe supplies to build a poly tunnel ), from helping out its customers with the assembly of the poly tunnel ? With instructions or manpower ? I’m not being skeptical, this is a genuine question.

[@emmagibbs8008]

@@Booboonancy there wasn't actually a question in there, just statements : D just saying!

[@andrewgoodbody2121]

@@Booboonancy We still have strict pandemic rules here in Ireland, we are being very careful

[@baconsoda]

Hi Daniel, I'm in Co. Armagh a bit further North than you but our climate is the same. I tried sweet perppers many times without success for two reasons. I gave them too much water and allowing ventilation for the tomatoes meant it was too cool for sweet peppers. However, all is not lost... I had great success with a chilli pepper called "Long Joe Cayenne" which dries well and gives a moderate heat in food. In fact, I grew Jalapeno and Birds' Eye chillis successfully too but patience is required because I harvested around the end of October so your's might come on yet. I checked some of my own videos from a few years ago and my peppers were all about the stage your's are at around July too. Best Wishes, Brendan.

[@rospickle]

Hi Mossy Bottom, thanks for sharing your polytunnel experiences as well as how to build one. I am planning to build one as well as I have about 500 square meters of land (last year 100) at the community garden right in front of my house. I really like to idea of having a (partially) self sustainable lifestyle as well as provide food for the community. last year I have also made Nettle and comfrey liquid fertilizer. One tip I have got from Korean Natural farming is to add a hand full of leaf mold in the liquid fertilizer, this increases the microbial activity, and supposedly making the tea more effective. As for the peppers, I think the temperature during the nights in Ireland are stunting the growth of the peppers, you might be able to lay some stones next to your peppers or use black landscape fabric in order to preserve some heat throughout the nights, just a wild guess, but may be worth a try. Greetings from the Netherlands

[@apetrie]

Hi, I'm not at all an experienced gardener but I wanted to grow hot peppers & tomatoes this year so I watched approximately a thousand videos to learn. One thing that stuck with me is that peppers are a lot more sensitive to cool weather than tomatoes and I heeded the warnings that I should wait several weeks more to transplant the peppers (until it was consistently not going down much passed 15c at night). I also had started them earlier than most things, as I heard over and over they were slow to grow. Again, not an expert but both kinds of peppers I planted are really, really thriving and producing already. So maybe start them early, transplant them late. Good luck!

[@starbeck52]

I have to tell you that you were instrumental in my having a garden this year. i pulled out all of my flowers in the front yard and replaced them with zucchini, cucumber, bean, tomato, lettuce, kale, and various herbs. Not a bumper crop, but I’m learning from you and other KZbinrs. Thanks for the tips on tomato plants in this video. I get too focused on the plant growth when I should be more focused on production. Thanks for taking the time and effort to produce these videos.

[@tmdavidson1478]

Canada here: fungus issues. I have successfully grown a fungus-resistent tomato from Eastern Europe called 'stupice' . Also in my plastic greenhouse I learned to keep the doors shut at night and not open them til the dew has burned off in the sun. The cool, damp air over night is perfect for fungus it seems. If you must go in early in the day consider some bootie covers to avoid tramping it in. Do not water the leaves,rather at the base. Lastly, dry milk powder on the soil can help eliminate fungus and add much needed calcium. Cheers

[@ecocentrichomestead6783]

Yes. Peppers need high air temperature. In my experience, tomatoes can survive as long as they don't freeze. Peppers start showing stress below 10C. They don't grow below 15C

[@DanceswithDustBunnies]

Yes, peppers LOVE the heat. A gardener in Sunderland, England--which is farther north than Daniel's place--grows peppers in his poly tunnel quite successfully. I don't know if being only a half mile from the sea helps or what. This is his channel kzbin.info/door/hZ1UPhR3D5wIsjLNe6hWJw

[@Starlight22215]

We’ve had warm days but cold nights. That killed my peppers.

[@ecocentrichomestead6783]

@@Starlight22215 if they dropped their leaves but the stems are still green, they may be still alive. You just need to bring them into a warm environment.

[@MargaretPinard]

Yes! Spending time with your plants watering them is double useful--triply useful, if you count the mental health boost (and the lift from that basil aroma)!

[@suzannepower2452]

It's been a real privilege to watch your homestead develop. Best of life and living to you.

[@gemmakitchener8053]

Awww... poor Moss at the end! He loves you 💗

[@beverlyjames2850]

Cross pollinating with a soft little paintbrush helped my squash production. It’s time consuming, but great rewards.

[@TheEmbrio]

I'll have to do it, I get so many aborted courgettes... never had to do it before ..

[@debfryer2437]

Charles Dowding recommends hand watering over a watering system. I agree with him. I loved the Mittleider system of watering by flooding the bed at the roots along a channel with a hose. Attach a hand towel which helps to prevent hose gouging the soil. This method really helps keep weeds to a minimum.

[@yvonnedavies9693]

I really enjoyed the end with Moss, had me laughing out loud and so therapeutic. My Kyrah does the same coming between me and a project. Thank you, Yvonne x

[@Ghost2743]

Me: I'm very affectionate and clingy.. Moss: Hold my Guinness.

[@Tinkerbelle610]

He is a tad needy ! Haha!

[@karinscammell7652]

Thank you Mossy.Beautifull video.We grow our fruit,vegetables for a few years and it's great.Of course,we have got some trees, flowers too.I go nearly every day to the forest or to the seafront. I think we can find energy,calmness, tranquility in the nature.I wish,that so many people will listen to your words.

[@fantomet78]

You can plant your peppers earlier in the year even in december, also warm weather. I use gold water for fertilizer, its one part pee for ten parts water. Also very free and abundant 😁 All my planta love it! Just dont use it just before harvest 😉

[@MsYootoober123]

Hello Daniel from New Jersey, USA. I just discovered your channel on KZbin, and love watching your videos. I grow peppers in my backyard garden, and they require a lot of heat. I started mine in the middle of March inside and they were very slow-growing initially even after transplanting them outside. I gave them a little bit of plant food when they were about 6 inches tall, and also top-pruned them to encourage more branching. If you don’t prune them from the top, they just keep growing straight up with a single stem, which leads to less flowers and fruit overall. You may have better luck next year, don’t get discouraged!

[@terrygiang]

Love the post credit shots of Moss…the animals are so cute.

[@nigeluniquelypoems6627]

I live in Devon and have had great success growing sweetmax F1 butternut squash bred for the UK climate. Last year I had 87 from 10 plants. They were all grown outside. Love watching the channel. Good luck for this year.

[@lrigdrenlrigdren2147]

Thank you for building a learning community here - sharing what you've learned and inviting others to give tips also. I'm from the southeast USA, very warm compared to Sligo, but still I learn useful things from channels around the world. The garden shops here generally market tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, aubergine/eggplant, summer squash (yellow squash, zucchini), onions, okra, melons like cantaloupe and watermelon, beans, and pink-eye purple-hull peas (my favorites!). My plants are not nearly as healthy as yours, and I have a lot to learn yet. Fertilizing especially, pruning and pest control. Your tomatoes are beautiful! My guess about the peppers is as you and others say - they may need more heat and possibly more light. But mine are small like yours, slow growers, yet still producing, especially when I hand-pollinate and give them a few hours in the bright sun. I've heard of people burying a book of matches under the roots of each plant, for potassium. Do you think it would help to let the strawberries and peppers trade places too, so the peppers are more in the center of the tunnel, or would they be too shaded? Squash I find tricky to grow - mine do tend to produce a lot of male flowers and no female ones for a long time, and yes they are notorious for fungal infections, but yours look quite healthy. I did read somewhere that it is best to keep peppers and peaches far apart - do you know why? I don't remember why. But tansy and chamomile are supposed to be good companion plants for peaches. One of my peach saplings was sickly this spring, until the chamomile bloomed, and then the peach revived as well! Now if only there were a cure for the squirrel problem here! Those little thieves stole 2 of my entire first crop of ... 3 peaches!

[@ThatBritishHomestead]

Hello, after many years of failure I have found planting peppers from seed in January is the best. Then they are yielding about July in the uk with no greenhouse!

[@margrethauksdottir6553]

Thank you for this video, I loved it like all the others that I have watched. I live in cold Iceland and have a 5 ha of rugged country land. I mostly try to grow trees there and also perennials and some vegetables. I have a smallish greenhouse where I grow some tomatoes. I also have a cherry tree and an apple tree and had a crop of cherries earlier this month. I have tries to grow fruit trees outside with bad results. I also use the greenhouse for grosing tree seedlings and some roses and stuff.

[@rossmorebaz]

you have created something very special for yourself ...massive respect for what you have achieved at Mossy Bottom ..it looks amazing there

[@phoebeandtilly]

Greetings from VERY hot and humid Florida, USA. We have to wait till late Fall and Winter here. Too HOT! I am sticking to my favorites this year - pineapple, beets, tomatoes, onions, celery, lettuce and sweet peas. Love your videos. You are living my dream.

[@sabinewacheux1649]

Your peppers look stunned, either by cold air or by cold water. They can stop growing for a couple of weeks each time the temperature is under 10 degrees C. I have no usable advice to prevent that, unfortunately. Moss looks very happy to use you as his nap bed :-)

[@MargaretPinard]

The moss sideeye in the outtakes! LOL

[@Estertje93]

So I am growing peppers for the second time this year after having 0 harvest last year. My climate is a little bit milder but pretty similar (coastal Netherlands). I start my seeds WAY early, around halfway Februari. Peppers need lots of light, but most of all they need a long day. So in winter i have them under a growlight for 18 hours a day and later 15 hours a day. When they have 3 sets of true leaves i top the plants to encourage sideshoots. Then, because i am absolutely mad and i work from home, i move them from an east facing window, to a west facing window every day around midday, and if its over 15 i have them outside in the afternoon on a west facing side of the house. I dont plant them out until the night temperatures are over 10, which was around end of may this year. All this time i up-potted them when appropriate, and removed all flowerbuds as soon as they popped up. They now have quite a good amount of fruit setting, theyre still in containers so i can take them in during bad weather. My other pepper plant that is doing really well is one I overwintered in my cold garage, it grew back with a fury and is producing like mad. I dug this one up from a bed and put it in a container. So you can always do the same with yours!

[@Blackwater_House]

My Mother’s Philosophy was “if you can grow it, you can make Wine from it”. Unfortunately I never got to taste her Orange Wine. The Bottles exploded, put her in hospital and almost killed her. She never tried Orange Wine again, hence I never got to taste it.

[@jamesmc7273]

A homemade tomato and basil soup sounds delicious 😋, a few tutorials on your favourite home grown meals wouldn't go amiss 👀

[@MichaelRoss]

RIP Moss - you can see how much he loved you and how much he was loved.

[@iaincarmichael4057]

I enjoy your channel. May I offer one or two morsels of advice re. choice of pepper cultivars. The cultivars you grow are, I think, one of the main problems. I've been growing sweet peppers and chillies for a very long time during which I have experimented with many dozens of different cultivars. What you need to grow are varieties that are EARLY. Probably the best cv. is Redskin; it's short in growth and fruits heavily and reliably. Another is King of the North, another New Ace. I grow mine in a heated greenhouse. I sow seed in mid-Feb. and have been harvesting for several weeks now. Frankly, unlike the rest of your crops, your peppers are feeble runts. I do think you need warm air around them. I wouldn't dream of growing peppers, unheated, in my big polytunnel. A tomato to try is the beefsteak Black Krim. The best squash cvs here in the centre of Scotland are, I find,, Uchiki Kuri (or Red Kuri) , Crown Prince., and Kabocha. These grow well here outdoor given a decent summer. Good luck.

[@MossyBottom]

Wonderful advice. Thank you Iain! Alas, I don't have a heated greenhouse, but I will definitely try those varieties next year. :)

[@blkcat93]

You grow great puppy and kitten but they are invasive ! Lol. I hate automatic watering, my favorite time of day is grabbing the hose and visiting all my flowers.

[@00jim]

Hey Daniel......Butternut is notoriously slow growing and late producer in northern climates,i'm in scoland and growing crown prince this year,doing very well.Sweet Peppers (capsicum) in scoland are difficult,but achievable.I plant close to polytunnel wall on hottest side,allow compost dry out 75% between irrigating,i feed sea weed every week. The key for me has been a switch to No Dig ,high carbon compost beds ( Charles Dowding) Focusing on soil biology and fungal networks.Since this change ive had huge yields of desease free crops in All areas of my garden here in Scotland.

[@patstephenso7206]

love Moss and the cat

[@carolbulmer8253]

I really enjoy watching your podcast! Moss’s shenanigans make me laugh😂. It’s very evident to me that Moss loves you❤️

[@christopherforder8966]

My grandad grows peppers in his green house and has the plants bedded straight into the ground and seems to get a good crop off of them. He has about 5 greenhouses and grows different things in each one. So one is tomatoes and cucumber, other one is strawberries, next is peppers and runners and other ones are herbs etc.

[@QueenNoTeetha151]

As someone who is too allergic to have a dog but can pet them outside, I would definitely enjoy giving Moss outdoor cuddles but he really does pick awkward moments for you! lol

[@emnelson88]

Aloha from Hawaii! I found your channel a long time ago as you were setting out to renovate the stone cottage. Reminded me of where my Mother grew up in Sligo on such a maybe slightly larger small holding. You've come on leaps and bounds and it's impressive what you've done with a vision and a lot of hard work. Many Congratulations!

[@patriziadelorenzis378]

Beauty of Unconditional love of Animals🍀

[@prescindaduggan6707]

Always such a joy to see your adorable non human companions and homestead helpers. They make my Heart smile, as do you my brother in humanity, Animals are very sensitive to energies and of course gravitate towards loving and inviting energy, so...it's obvious why they want to be as close to you as possible. As always, blessings be to you all.

[@eimearmcnelis4329]

Even here in south-east Australia, it takes all summer for peppers to really get going, they flourish in the autumn. If you love basil I could recommend growing Thai basil (perennial basil plant) in your polytunnel and you may be able to pick from it all year round.

[@riannevansetten7159]

To get a better pepper/bell pepper crop you have to try to grow the plants indoors in the window sill for as long as possible, depending on the space you have. Only once temperatures don't really drop below 10 at night they can go outside to start growing. Best is still to keep them as warm and as sunny as possible. My own peppers are grown only indoors in pot, bell peppers will thrive better in full ground though. Maybe next growing season start sowing early, keep them on the window sill until plant is roughly to the height of your knee and then plant them outside. It is also essential to top the first y that forms on the plant. This stops the plant from flowering to early and focuses the plant on growing taller and stronger.

[@hombreguapo3928]

The love of your dog won me over. Love, it's wonderful. New subscriber, just a small interest in gardening,big admirer of kindness to animals.

[@bernadette6211]

Hi there, I'm living in county Kerry. This is my first year having a successful pepper crop. I've grown them in a raised bed with a mini hooped lid that's on a hinge, looks like a little wagon. It was inspired by a video on Steve's Seaside Allotment. It gets so much hotter than the tunnel.I'm also growing tiger nuts and a yacon plant in it, they all seem to love the heat. I also grew asparagus from seed, it's all growing outside now, thriving.

[@debfryer2437]

Blue Hokkaido is one of my favorites. It’s a dense sweet squash with great texture. I’ve made pumpkin pie with it adding a little maple syrup and nutmeg or cinnamon. It’s a great storage squash that will last through the winter if stored in a dry place. Peppers need heat.

[@keerak]

I was going to suggest he try to grow Japanese Kabocha pumpkins (of which blue Hokkaido is one) outdoors, as they're grown in Hokkaido with their cool summers.

[@susanclow3173]

I love your passion for gardening. I'm not a gardener at all. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy seeing other people who love it as I learn things. I still have my strong gifts but not a green thumb do I have.

[@heffo67]

I adore dogs. I love teasing them but always let them win in the end. Although, there is no sight warms every sinew and pore of me more than a sulking dog. I love the way they appear to be just about to give up and then they will resort to a squirming, wagging, submissive bundle of love...in the most dogged fashion of course. Never giving up. Never angered. Your out-takes warmed me!

[@edwardmay6571]

Really enjoy your videos. An insight into an alternative life where you appear very much at home without too many of the trappings of modern day life. Continue with this as you make us more aware of our relationship with the natural world.

[@NikCan66]

This is a great accomplishment and onwards and upwards in your success

[@TheEmbrio]

For the Irish climate I can recommend the Channel RED gardens, he trials varieties And culture methods.

[@Fishamble]

Your videos are like mindfulness meditation. 😃 love them. I couldn't live your lifestyle though.

[@tatalee8528]

Moss is soooooo adorable!!the adoring way he gazes at you!!🥰😍

[@1Phedre]

A video of you just cuddling with Moss would be great as well 😄

[@DanceswithDustBunnies]

Moss adores you, Daniel.

[@jacquiheasman2048]

I planted butternut squash last year (Tirana, Albania), using seeds taken from a squash we bought locally. Very little experience with gardening, so flying by the seat of my pants. We were getting just male flowers for what seemed like ages and so I did some research. The male plants need to be visited before the female flowers are triggered, apparently. We didn’t seem to have many bees around, so we started doing it manually and we then started to get the female flowers coming. They also need to be visited. We missed some, because the flowers are not open for long and so we lost those fruits. So exciting to get things growing! Good to read comments about pepper growing, although warm air temp is not a problem. Maybe we are too warm! My chillis are doing really well, but the sweet peppers are not yet awake!

[@ajdexter4195]

Bell peppers and tomatoes I always grow outside in the southwest (uk) and they fruit up until the first frost sometimes into October still harvesting ripe red tomatoes… The bell peppers will catch up with a good feed and a few weeks of sun… which is rare 🙄

[@curiousone6435]

Sunday, when I have things to knock off my to-do list, and instead, I'd rather binge-watch Mossy Bottom while it rains outdoors!

[@carinabusegeanu4335]

Nettles is an amazing food for our bodies, very healthy and full of nutrients. I make mashed nettles. You take only the leaves and wash, boil them for 1 minute, then mash them with a blender, mix with cream and garlic and season to taste, cook for another minute, plate and top with a runny sunny side up egg. Gorgeous! Try once. Sourdough bread goes excellent with it.

[@bluegreenworld333]

O wow!

[@jimmyraysorrells8415]

Hello Daniel. What a treat seeing your peach tree in there! In growing a few in my back yard in Texas, and I believe yours is doing better!

[@kali-66]

Nettles make lovely pesto , just pour hot water over them first. Also wondering if you are hand pollinating your squash plants because it helps to make sure they set indoors. When i make comfrey fertiliser i simply place the cut up leaves in a bucket with large holes in the bottom and put that bucket inside another to catch the juice. keep it covered. without adding water you get a very concentrated liquid fertiliser without the bad smell, you could try this with the nettles too.

[@chrisjones3901]

Mans best friend,I like your mr moss man so much.my Welsh sheep dog was just like your moss in nature.

[@janetgordon2484]

Thank you for the update. Moss is so lovable. We are not allowed to have pets where I stay. I miss pets so much. Ah pesto, and tomato and basil soup and leek and potato soup. That's good food right there. Your farm looks great! Lots of hard work.... Must be rewarding!

[@susanwheeler9624]

I so love watching your videos Daniel. Aside from the interesting tips and info I so delight in seeing the animals and how they love you so much! I'm growing 4 kinds of tomatoes as well here in southern Ontario Canada, one being sun gold cherry tomatoes. Yes, they are very sweet and very abundant! I'm looking forward to the strawberry wine video 🍓😄🍷

[@rigelr5345]

Wow this place really grew since I first started watching!

[@jenniferbasiji8654]

I so want to be around Moss! You, too are delightful!

[@kateduggleby6161]

Another great treat of a video. Your polytunnel is very impressive and clearly Moss and Rummy love it too! Thank you for showing the outtakes, love to see them....💛

[@blackcrowcottage]

As always I enjoy your vlogs. I use rabbit, I have 2, droppings soaked in water as a fertilizer. I call it Poop Soup. Since rabbit manure can be used without aging this makes a nice wet fertilizer for both flowers, veg plants & trees.

[@kaycee625]

I’m massively impressed. My strawberry and tomato plants have yielded almost nothing this year, I’m completely at a loss as to why they are so poor. Haha I had a feeling there would be something incredibly stinky when you hinted at home grown fertiliser! Thanks for the look around, you and Moss are doing a brilliant job!

[@thetownyhomesteader3393]

Hi, I live in Eastern Canada (New Brunswick) and I am having a lot of issues with insects. My green pepper plant is growing, but lacking blossoms. Our nights have been cool lately and there are many forest fires burning in our country. Thank you for your videos and showing us the funny side of pets!

[@CMC230]

Regarding the Peppers: Peppers mainly like to be grown in pots, than in the ground/soil. This I found out in Sweden where I live. They didint want to grow well "indoors" so I put them in pots/buckets and placed the outside but protected from Wind. They grow amazing now !

[@Tsuchimursu]

You need to make nettle pancakes! Just like with spinach, but with nettles! They are the easiest ever crop to grow for eating xD

[@ransu7327]

I grow peppers in my garden, and I live in a far colder coyntry. So i start the seedlings indoors already in december, with growthlight. I use seaweed growth enhancer on my plants ( foliar spray ). When there's no risk of night frost, I take the plants outside, few hours at a time so they get used to their new life outdoors. So I highly recommend liquid seaweed extract and use it as foliar spray. Seaweed/kelp has been used for centuries in UK.

[@andreajones7023]

Nettles will give plants loads of nitrogen, but you also need potassium which organic growers usually get from comfrey. It is much harder to grow bell peppers in cooler climates, and they do need potassium to thrive.

[@MossyBottom]

That's a great point. I think next year I'll save my comfrey fertiliser for longer so I have it right through the summer an can mix the two. I always make it at the end of the season when the comfrey finishes flowering.

[@andreajones7023]

@@MossyBottom What I would do, is take out any peppers that havent flowered yet, leave those that have. Cut a load of comfrey leaves and place them around each pepper plant and give them a good mulch of really strong manure based compost. And then a good water. Then chop off a load more comfrey leaves, and add it to a smaller bucket of water to make a strong comfrey fertiliser and water with those. They look in need of nutrients.

[@andreajones7023]

Also if you want to leave comfrey for bees just grow more. It is really mainly used to fertilise fruit bearing plants so little use in winter.

[@robertwhite4305]

Peppers need it to be warm all of the time,and especially at night they must not get cold, they are a topical plant .

[@2listen2u]

Love how well you are doing, garden looks amazing. Keep up the good work

[@stellaromanis2801]

Hi, love your channel. I have been growing peppers for years and struggled in the beginning till I realized that they want a lot more water than my other veggies like my egg plant or tomatoes. Try that, it might help. :) Stella - South Africa

[@BaskingInObscurity]

Awwww! Your relationships with your pets has me falling in luv with you, because it's a tribute to your kindness and loving that they cling happily to you. :)

[@lillywho]

The sad thing is that I wouldn't mind such a life style at all, I would love it, but currently depression is getting so much on my energy reserved that I can't even work an ordinary job.

[@Tinkerbelle610]

I'm in exactly the same situation, I can hardly get out of bed but I dream of a life like Daniel's

[@lillywho]

@@Tinkerbelle610 You've got one free imaginary hug on credit if you like. Get yourself something nice to eat, some more comfort media, and best of luck to you!

[@katspiral5898]

I am sorry. I have no wise words, but I have been where you are and I give you my love.

[@haw_n_thorne]

❤️😘❤️

[@PennyGetsItTogether]

I’m really sorry to hear, Lilly. I understand completely (have suffered for from clinical depression 20 plus years). Have always loved gardening, and because I was working from home last year I finally had time to start, and I can 100% say, it’s the best anti-depressant. If you have space, buy some seeds and start growing something. Even if it’s just I’m containers. Plan a trip to your garden center for seeds. You may find containers at the thrift stores. Also, soak up lots of gardening videos. Summer is coming to an end soon but so many things love cool weather. If you’re in the US, I can send you some seeds for fall planting. Sending a hug. ❤️

[@emmollnova2917]

You could definitely be a professional audio book reader voice. The sound of your voice and the way you speak is so wonderful 😄🙏

[@michaelflannery75]

Great to see, you are still getting on so well. Thanks for the video.

[@martinewinter5302]

My top tip when you water the poly tunnel is. fill up the watering cans the day before leave them to warm up all day then water your veg, not so much of a shock to the roots.

[@davidrn5600]

You can take the male flower and self pollinate the female flowers on the butternut to maximize harvest. Also, the peppers need high temperature ambient air as well.

[@Thesaltyseafish]

lighting would help a lot with the peppers, and also supplies some heat. Some weaker LED grow lights would draw a fair bit, but it should produce an alright crop. A single CFL dangled above them when they're younger can help kick off more leaves too, same with starting tomatoes a few weeks earlier.

[@sharonmorris6199]

Hi Daniel. We are still constructing our poly tunnel, yours looks great. I hAve been growing peppers ,chillies and tomatoes in a garden room. Mine are doing well and I am spraying the peppers with a foliage seaweed this year to great effect.

[@nikolaskallianiotis8622]

Hello from Greece! I visited Ireland 3,5 years ago. It's a dreamy place and when I was there, I couldn't stop thinking how perfect would be to come and stay there permanently. You materialized one of my many (still unfortunately) dreams and I feel like I did it. You deserve many "Bravo" for your bravery and determination. Some people say that Ireland is the Greece of the north. I only stayed there for a week but it was more than obvious to me how different Irish are from (sorry I know you r English) the majority of people in Northern Ireland. I really felt like home. Your greenhouse is perfect and very promising when it comes to harvest all these vegies. You have my appreciation.

[@barbarareid104]

Here in Co. Down we grow Crown Prince squash , which is a large blue/grey squash with a lovely flavour. Keeps all winter. This year we are trying Ichika Kuri, which is smaller and bright orange. Supposed to have a chestnut flavour - I see one which I think is ready and we grew it outdoors on our compost heap! We also grow Marconi Rosa sweet peppers - I think peppers like to be kept on the dry side, so I don’t water as often as the tomatoes.

[@williammcduff6531]

I pick nettles in nearby city parks and saute it up with some olive oil, salt and pepper. You can also harvest the seeds which are related to the quinoa plant.

[@mf135]

Hi Daniel great job on the poly tunnel crop tried the nettle soup once as a kid and only once from a Sligo man in Boston

[@candycoatedcactus]

"Of course I'm kidding. You need two." LOL! I've heard from god knows where that watering in the morning will cut down on fungus, compared to watering at night. The idea was that water that splashes onto the leaves and stems has time to dry out quickly during the day, as opposed to taking longer to dry out in the cooler evenings. Of course, that's just a theory. In practice your own schedule is yours to determine, and I'm not at all certain about the truth of that concept. I just figured I'd pass it along. Thank you so much for sharing your life with us, your channel is full of the kind of calm meditative discussions that I crave after a busy day.

[@xeniadelsol]

Nettle tea is actually very healthy. I love the taste of it. And nettle smoothie is delicious. But of course, you'd have to add bananas, almonds, and dates, but I think that's not your cup of tea. :-))))

[@AimeeFenech]

also if you plant basil in between and around your tomatoes to improve growth and taste of the tomatoes

[@estellescordellis4332]

In the past I have grown Harrier butternut squash and they have been very successful and are particularly suited for the UK climate. This year I am growing Butterbush butternut squash and as yet no flowers. I know they don't like dry soil but also not soggy soil as they may develop mildew. When growing peppers I choose a type that is suited for the climate. one year I planted Californian wonder but they only managed to grow to the green stage and then the weather changed and they never did reach the lovely red stage. I did manage to grow mini bush peppers last year successfully. I know like Butternut they like damp soil but not very wet. Good luck, I know peppers can be tricky.

[@Cilien1]

Always a pleasure watching your videos! Thank you so much 😊! You are a big inspiration! 🌱💚🌱

[@anitamacquarrie6371]

I enjoy these visits with you and your pets so much. Thank you !