Maple Field

25.03.2025  NEW COVER ON THE POLYTUNNEL

It could be a big struggle,   to put on the new polythene cover to the big galvanised hoops of our polytunnel building   –  and it is a building, but with a soft cover to let in the light , with its boots concreted into ½ tonne pads excavated by Fred in 2010. Each metal foot was levelled in by Dave and I, with a laser- level for exact distance out of the ground, and tapped ‘plumb’ (that’s vertical) with Dave’s spirit level which I have inherited as a measure and a memory of those skills and the detail of that day. So it’s a proper building with 18 concrete foundations buried in the ground,  into the sleeves of which, we bolted the strong, galvanised hoops to span the width of six metres, each hoop standing 4 metres from its neighbour. The hoops are braced across the arch with strong, steel purlins to make a rounded letter’ A’  as strong as the wing of a Boeing 737 to  withstand at least the same wind forces  –   the gale force winds of the winter, pass over the leading edge of the plastic, lightweight building. Tomorrow we ,  the Maple Field 6 , shall attempt to re-cover the structure for another 14 years of growing, propagating and dozing- off. It is the field’s solar panel, attracting the furious heat of the sun while diverting the ferocious winds  –   the shipping forecast looks sound for tomorrow  –   high pressure is developing over the North Sea to bring us a Baltic calm at a daytime temperature of 18°C, in which to stretch the fabric on the ‘tenterhooks’ of nature and to keep it tight, as it cools. I listened to Liz at Kenson Veg for a word- perfect master class in the re-covering a polytunnel  lifted from her experience of 22 years,  delivered with calm and the confidence of an outdoor grower who knows her tasks backwards and blindfolded,  along with her ‘onions’. I raced home to the Maple field Six , with my notes and my observations and the quiet instructions revolving in my mind. We have a clear plan of activity . Place two sturdy picnic benches upside down at the West End of the tunnel. Push an iron pipe through the centre of the polythene roll as an axle;   lift the axle and roll onto the upturned legs of the picnic table and place, such that the roll can be unravelled smoothly. Tie a stout rope (20 metres long) to the scrunched, first gather of polythene . Pass the rope along the Ridge of the tunnel as if it were the keel of a upturned schooner. The strongest of the ‘Maple field Six’  humans takes up position at the East End and hawls on the rope . The tallest Maple field 6 human stands inside the structure and eases the stream of slow moving poly over each of the 9 hoops, with a soft brush ;  once all the folded poly is on top of the upturned schooner,  it can be unfolded down to the ground while centring the sheet with its central, halfway crease along the keel of the upturned boat. With battens suitably cut the poly is fixed firmly to the West and to the East End door structure, pulling it as tight as possible . No halfway along each side, a swarm of ‘Maple fields Six’  humans roll the edge of the poly ,now dangling in the still air,   around battens , and with finger- agonising stretch, pull the batons and poly down to meet the two by four sawn, treated rails encircling the entire building at 100 millimetres above the ground  –   each team stretches against the other at the halfway point and fixes the cover with dagger- sharp galvanised nails. Once secured, the two teams move along the structure, fixing the poly to the timber rails in opposing pulls of the stretch,  until the whole cover is drum- perfect and ready to give 14 more years of plant protection and colossal temperatures in high summer. Only now can we break out the treacle tart rations with buckets of hot tea  –   the building is safe;   the Boeing 737 has landed in a four acre field in North Hampshire . I keep on about the Boeing simile because these are the forces we are dealing with  –   it is the passage of the wind over the leading edge of an aircraft wing that lifts the 200 tonnes of weight off the ground  –   a similar lift is exerted on our polythene building making the anchoring of it to the ground all important. I’m hoping Liz at Kenson will issue us a ‘Good Service Medal’  for effort.