A tour round the production garden.

The tunnel is chocabloc right now and the good weather is ensuring rampant growth.

Lettuces I like to have lots of as we eat salad most days. There’s red ones…

and green ones. Full Moon is coming up next Friday so it’s a good time to plant new seeds. I don’t follow the Moon calendar religiously but plants do seem to germinate more quickly and be somewhat stronger. If nothing else it’s a good way to divide up the work. Thursday is a leaf day so the new Lettuces and other leaf crops will go in then.

These oriental salad leaves have gone crazy. Interplanted between the garlic I think I planted them a little too thickly. Still lots of pickings though to spice up our salads. I think I’ll plant some fresh supplies of this too.

Strawberries have started to ripen.

There’s great joy in heading to the house with that first precious handful. Slugs are a big problem this year. I’ve already used as much of the organic slug pellets as I used in the whole of last year’s growing season. Whole trays of seedlings have been devoured overnight. I was particularly peeved at the Icelandic Poppies which I’d overwintered in the conservatory. I potted them on, quite big plants at this point, only to discover the whole lot devoured next morning.

Courgettes will be fruiting soon too. When we went out for my birthday meal Andy had raw courgette pasta with a pesto sauce. It was delicious. The pasta is made with a tool called a spiraliser and I am going to get one. The place we went to was in Westport, County Mayo. Called the Purple Root Cafe it is a raw, vegan cafe and the food is yummy. Highly recommend it if you’re going that way.

Broad Beans are cropping now. Don’t think I’ll plant them in the tunnel again though. They are in the ground such a long time and become so gangly that they need staking. Outdoors for these next year.

Outside the potatoes which were planted in pots in April are doing very well. These are Ratte, a French variety that has a lovely nutty flavour.

The main crop of Setanta are now above ground. These are said to be a floury potato and are also blight resistant.

Red Cabbage is starting to heart up nicely

and the Tuscan Kale is doing well.

It’s looking like a good fruit year. Apples and Plums have set lots of fruit. Home grown Plums are so different to what one buys in the shops, juicy and delicious. Actually I never buy shop Plums anymore as they are mostly inedible. I freeze a lot of Plums when we have them. Just split them, take out the stones, bag them up and into the freezer. Lovely for preserves and baking.

There’s even a chance of Cherries this year. The big challenge here is to get them before the birds. Netting will be required I think.

In the conservatory the Grapes are doing really well this year. This grape was here when we bought the place. It was much overgrown and produced little fruit. It has responded well to being severely pruned last year.

So it’s looking like a good productive year here at Flynn’s Cottage. Hope your garden is doing well too.

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These Springlike Winter days.

 

Just a month to Christmas and the Winter Solstice and the weather is just amazing. The misty mornings open out to nice mild days…ideal for working out of doors. It gets cold and dark early but then it is meant to be Winter!

 

Periwinkle is still blooming in sheltered spots.

 

We have been busy with various outdoor jobs. Mulching to clear the beds for planting anew next Spring is ongoing.

 

Lots of cardboard covered with ample amounts of mushroom compost should clear the ground nicely.

 

 

This might seem like a very thick mulch but the compost settles a lot. By Spring this will be ideal for planting into…nice black heat retaining compost…hopefully weed excluding too!

 

Andy has been busy coppicing the boundary hedges. They had’nt been cut for years so were long and gangly and bare at the bottom. We will interplant with more plants to make a good thick hedge here. The lower height allows us to borrow from the landscape of the Ash forest behind.

 

All the plants in the hedgerow are Ash and Hawthorn…both suitable for burning green. They both burn very hot too. Andy has been chopping it all into fire sized logs on his new log splitter. He insists on making those funny faces…beyond my control!!  In the shed behind you can see the new shredder.

 

This will be used to turn this lot into mulch for beds and for making pathways.  There’s still about another hundred feet of hedging to be done so lots to keep us busy for some time.

 

After a day’s work it’s nice to retreat to the cosiness of the kitchen where the stove is kept ticking over all day. The kettle is always full and on the point of boiling for cuppas for ourselves and anyone who may drop in. Visitors are always a good excuse to retreat into the warmth of the house.

Looking forward to many more of these Spring like Winter days…they may make for a very short Winter. Fingers crossed!

 

Under Hunter’s Moon.

As full Moon approaches the weather is still very mild for October and of course the impending full Moon…which in October is called Hunter’s Moon…means that the nights are just fabulously bright. Well they were until last night but today was a wet day so tonight will more than likely be cloudy. Not much chance of seeing the eclipse then!

During the dry days of last week I decided to try out something I’ve been reading about for some time. Vinegar makes an eco-friendly weed killer. Newsflash: it doesn’t work! We wanted to get rid of some of this perennial Geranium as there’s far too much of it. Our usual method would be mulching but that can’t be done here as the area is planted with Spring bulbs. Looks like we’ll have to get digging!!

Indoors work continues processing the fruit harvested and frozen during the Summer…this is Blackcurrant wine. The sourdough starter which used the grapes to get it going is now active.

Autumn fruits are so plentiful this year. The hedgerows are dripping with Elderberries…Ireland’s Echinacea…excellent for the prevention and treatment of colds and flus and building up one’s immune system.

I used some of this lot to make a tincture and the rest…along with Rosehips and Crab Apples to make a Hedgerow Jelly. As I write more are simmering on the stove to make into Elderberry Cordial tomorrow.

The tincture is very easy to make. Just fill a large glass jar two thirds full with berries then cover with good quality vodka. Leave for at least a month then strain off the liquid.

Store in dark bottles or jars. Ten drops a day is a good preventative medicine…up to 30 drops if you have a cold or flu. If you look closely you can see I got the date a bit wrong on my label here. Ready in 2313! Must change that!

Lots of garden produce at the moment too. This meal is completely local grown. The Potatoes are Ratte which I grew in pots outdoors. One pot to eat the other to keep for seed if we liked them. Boy do we like them…they are delicious!  The leftovers were used for potato salad next day. Best spuds ever for potato salad. Shall certainly be growing more of these next year. The Kale and Cucumber we grew ourselves while the Red Cabbage was from a friend’s garden. We ate that raw mixed with Apple as a coleslaw.

Andy has been busy too. Grass is still growing strong…that’s his department. He also makes sure theres lots of logs cut to keep the stove ticking over. In between those and all his other jobs he took advantage of a few spare hours earlier in the week to paint this lovely artwork for the glass in the door leading from the kitchen to the utility room. Surrounded by his trademark brightly coloured flowers…

with a lovely Sun in the centre…I love it!

How many Planet’s do you need?

Apparently yesterday was Earth Overshoot Day, the day when humanity exhausts Nature’s budget for the year. From this day forward, the Planet will be operating under an ecological deficit, using more resources than the Planet  can produce and emitting more carbon dioxide than the Planet can filter out.

Originally developed by the New Economics Foundation…who I admit I’d never heard of…Earth Overshoot Day has been falling by a few days earlier each year…an indication of ever-increasing patterns of consumption. In 1993 Earth Overshoot Day fell on October 21st. In 2003, it fell on September 22nd.

For us to continue consuming resources as we are 1.5 Earth’s are needed. The US, China and Qatar are among the worst offenders. If everyone lived like your typical suburban American it would take four Earth’s to support the population. To live a lifestyle like the residents of Qatar 6.5 Earth’s would be required.

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If you go to the site where I got all this info http://www.earthday.org/blog/2013/08/20/earth-overshoot-day-2013 you can calculate your ecological footprint.  I was shocked to find that even though we don’t eat meat or fish…recycle all that we can…grow a lot of our own veg…it would still take 2 planets per year for us to continue as we are. The questions were obviously set for the typical American lifestyle as there was no option for solid fuel heating…no option for alternative energy systems…no option for buying from charity shops or farmer’s markets.  So I don’t really buy the 2 Planets result but still it provided food for thought. I’m sure we could all do more in our everyday lives to ease the pressure on our Planet.  Food for thought indeed…

Go on… do the survey…I dare you.

As Autumn berries ripen…

As the berries on the Guelder Rose and other trees and shrubs redden we have a growing awareness of Autumn in the air. I can’t really explain it but it’s tangible that we are between seasons. It’s the slight chill in the air morning and evening, the ripening of seeds and berries, the drawing in of the evenings, the need to light a fire at night once again. Yes…Summer is slipping from our grasp…reluctant as we are to let her go…it is beyond our control.

Here in Lurgan work has been continuing on the house. The new solid fuel stove which will provide hot water and heat the radiators is fitted. Actually all the plumbing is done…finished last Thursday…we lit the stove on that day to check that everything was working ok. Apart from one airlock everything was fine. It will be lovely on cold Winter days to have this cranking out the heat. Nice as the Rayburn was we didn’t want to have an oil cooker. Not for us.

New windows bring extra light into the north side of the house. This one looks out onto the pond.

As I work away finishing things off ready for painting I listen to the radio. Such turmoil in the world…over 400 people killed in Egypt…car bombs in Iraq…robberies and killings here in Ireland. Test fracking going on in southern England. Sometimes I despair of what’s going on on our Planet.  Gmo’s infiltrating our food supply. Where will it all end. I read the other day that Monsanto only serves organic food in it’s worker’s cafes. Confidence in your products? They still have to come outside and breathe the polluted air they and their like have created.  Maybe I’ll turn that radio off…some music instead I think.

In the garden there is still lots of colour. I love Fuschias…apparently there are over 2 thousand varieties…so easy to propagate too. Just take a hardwood cutting in Autumn and leave in the polytunnel or coldframe to overwinter…viola!…a new plant next Spring.

Lots of Shasta Daisies too. They have been somewhat  battered by the heavy rains. These will have to be divided over Winter as they have formed into a huge clump.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Kale are well established now. The kale will be used over Winter and the PSB will be a welcome vegetable next Spring.

Leeks are also coming on nicely.  These beds are very fertile as they were made using soil from the old chicken run.

In the polytunnel we now have lots of crops. Courgettes…salad crops…Beetroot…Beans and lots of  Basil and other herbs means we have something from the garden for nearly every meal.

We’re really pleased with how crops have done as the polytunnel was only erected June 9th. Of course the polytunnel is sited where the chicken run was so plenty of manure incorporated into the soil here.  I just can’t imagine not having a polytunnel or not growing vegetables or flowers.  It’s a huge part of my life going out there and getting my hands in the soil. Eating something I’ve  grown just fills me with a sense of achievement. No high powered job for me…this will do fine.

As the night’s begin to draw in…

After almost a week away it’s great to be back working in the garden again. I do love to get away but getting back home is the best. I had a lovely time down in Tipperary where I attended a family wedding. It was a lovely day out and the food at the County Arms Hotel in Birr was just amazing. Imagine my surprise to be handed a totally veggie menu. We stayed overnight in the hotel and the whole experience was really great. A highly recommended hotel in my view.

It’s amazing how much growth occurred in the time I was away. Suddenly there’s lots of veg and salads. Beans are ready for picking and the Basil seems to have trebled in size.

Courgettes are coming thick and fast now.

My fave thing about having a polytunnel is growing our own salads. I just could not bear to eat those sad looking presentations from the supermarket. I’m quite pleased with this lot as the polytunnel is only up a short time. Summer Purslane, cut and come again Lettuces, rocket and Basil make for a lovely salad mix. With a nice dressing…a salad for me…is the basis of any good meal.

Flowers in the polytunnel too. This strange looking plant is Cock’s Comb Amaranth. It was a gift from my friend Saffron who has a fondness for rare and unusual plants.

The seeds are forming along the edge of the comb. Will certainly try and save seed from this beauty.

In the garden one always has to be thinking ahead to the next season. August is a good time to plant winter salad crops as they will be well established by the time the colder weather comes. Of course day length is also a big factor in plant growth and already the nights have started to draw in a little. The Purple Sprouting Broccoli has come on well outside…this is a plant that does’nt need to be indoors…this will be very useful in the ” hungry gap”  next March and April. One of my fave vegetables.

There is a real feel of Autumn in the air and of course seeds are setting everywhere. This Cotoneaster will be red before too long. Good picking for the birds when the weather gets colder. Hopefully that will not be for a while yet.

Blackcurrant season is here.

 

As the good weather continues the Blackcurrants are ready for picking. Usually I would cut off the branches and then pick the fruit from them en masse. This year however despite all the sunshine the fruit is ripening in stages. I suspect this is something to do with the garden being shaded for part of the day by the many trees. It makes the job a bit easier anyway as all the fruit doesn’t have to be harvested together.

 

The tree shade made it easier to pick in the scorching temperatures we’ve had all week. I moved as the sun moved…always seeking the shade. Thankfully rain is forecast for the week ahead. The garden needs it as the ground is already cracking.

 

These Blackcurrants need a good prune as I suspect they hadn’t been pruned for about 2 years. Lots of them planted here by the previous owners. My neighbour tells me the were all grown from cuttings taken from her garden. No clue as to the varieties but who cares so long as they produce a crop.

I find harvesting a relaxing pastime. What could be nicer…sitting in the shade picking your Vitamin C supply for the Winter ahead. Actually Blackcurrants are just as much a superfood as the much lauded Blueberry. They are full of antioxidants and are good for problems with joint inflammation, eyestrain and urinary tract infections.

 

 

As always Lettie is nearby when I’m in the garden. She too was seeking shade but not quite getting it right. Freddie doesn’t seem to like the Sun…he retreats to his bed when it’s very hot.

 

All the Blackcurrants are frozen…one kilo in each bag. This is enough to make 7 or 8 12oz pots of jam or 3 bottles of cordial. Time for all that when the harvesting is done. I sell my jams and chutneys to a few local shops and also at occasional markets I attend. I am sharing with you my recipe or Blackcurrant Jam. It uses less water than usual…just a pint…but this helps to give a stronger flavour jam that sets easily.

Blackcurrant Jam.

2lbs 4ozs Blackcurrants

1 pint water

3lbs 6ozs sugar

Place the Blackcurrants and water together in a large thick bottomed pan. Bring to the boil, reduce to simmer and cook until the fruit is softened. The contents of the pan should be reduced by half . Add the sugar. Stir well whilst bringing all to a full rolling boil. Boil hard until a set is obtained. Pot and seal whilst still hot.

Happy jamming.

Bridget

Garden work on hot Summer days.

Hi folks! The big news is that we have a polytunnel. Yippee! We bought it from the Galway based Polytunnels Ireland. They arrived yesterday morning at 10.15. Started work at 10.30 and had the whole job done by 1.30. Yeah…that’s right…all done from scratch in 3 hours. Hardest working guys in seen in ages. They only stopped to drink water and an occasional few minutes in the shade. It was a really hot day… 27 celsius…so the plastic is really tight.

Today was also very hot but I couldn’t resist starting to mulch in there. We will use the no-dig method to make the beds. First a good thick mulch of cardboard and newspapers…then the manure will go on…and lastly compost on top and it’s ready for planting.

We now have 3 hugelkultur beds made. One with Onions…one with Black Tuscan Kale and the last one planted today with Peas. There’s nothing to beat home-grown Peas. These are Daniel O’Rourke… an old Irish variety. I shall also save seeds from these at the end of the season.

Andy was feeling the effects of the sun today so he chose a job under shade. He sorted out all the wood from the Poplar tree we had felled some weeks ago. The big logs were put in a big pile to season and all the small branches he sawed up and put in the fuel shed. In the country one always has to think ahead to Winter fuel supplies. This lot should be ready to use by September.

Temperatures are set to return to 19 celsius by Monday.A  better temperature for tunnel work.

Marching against Monsanto.

 

Yesterday was March Against Monsanto Day all over the world. Andy, myself and our friend Charlie went up to Dublin on the train. On the way we made stickers to distribute on the march.

 

 

Charlie drew the cartoon bees and Andy and I coloured them in.

 

It made the journey very short to be occupied on the way. On reaching Dublin we went into the centre on the Luas and then on to Govinda’s Vegetarian Restaurant.  A good meal to sustain us on the march. Forgot to take a pic but the meal was utterly delicious.

 

As we made our way to the Garden of Remembrance, where the march was starting, we placed a few stickers in prominent spots. This one on The Spire, a stainless steel momument on O’Connell street.

 

On reaching the Garden of Remembrance I was a bit shocked to find very few people there.  However by 2.30 a crowd of about 300 had gathered. A bit better but in my view a very disappointing turnout. GM  food is such a serious issue I just can’t understand why people are so apathetic. If one did a survey most people would say they didn’t want GM foods. What they don’t know is that even in Ireland GM foods are already here. Animal feeds all contain genetically modified maize, unless they are organic, so our food chain here is already contaminated. I also learned yesterday that GM potatoes are being trialed in Ireland this year. They were planted last week in Co. Carlow.

 

The march first stopped at the Dail and then on to the Department of Agriculture.

 

Tony O’Brien who organised the march spoke very passionately and said that this was just the beginning of the campaign against Monsanto worldwide. I suppose the biggest way to hit them is financially by not buying their products,  but without clear labelling this is hard to do unless one can buy organic produce.

 

Most people are just trying to survive in this recession so it is hard to opt for higher priced organic foods. Even finding them can be hard unless one is near a good Farmers Market.

 

With the possibility of fracking in Ireland also on the agenda it seems a strong possibility that our clean green image is to be sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed and exploitation. How sad is that??!!

 

However, as the saying goes, life goes on. One has to balance being concerned about these issues with trying to do your bit and living a happy, peaceful life. We will grow what we can, from organic and home saved seeds and try and buy what we can organic.  Trying to live as sustainably as we can is about all an individual can do but together we could do so much….

 

To finish here is the cutest doggie of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hugelkultur.

 

This area at the bottom of the garden was going to be a greenhouse built by the previous owners of our house.  However the greenhouse never happened…it would cost a pretty penny to built a greenhouse this size.

We decided to clear the area and make veg beds there. Hugelkultur is something I have been reading about for some time. It is a permaculture technique where rotting wood is buried then covered with soil to make a rounded top bed. Lots of old wood lying about so we decided to give it a go. I have seen videos of people building the beds very wide and high too but as we intend making 4 beds in this area we kept them to 4 feet wide. The outside edges of the foundation will serve as sides for the beds. For the internal divisions we used old scaffolding sleepers which we bought for 3 euros each.

 

We then put any old wood lying about in the bottom of the bed.  After reading up about the technique the consensus is that it’s better to use wood that has already started to rot as it doesn’t use up as much nitrogen to break down. The rotting wood also emits some heat so that could extend the growing season a little.

 

Compost is then piled on and worked down between any spaces.

 

More compost on top and there you have it. A nice bed ready for planting.

 

There was really heavy rain after we’d made the bed so that helped it to settle. Before planting another barrow of compost was piled on top and raked in.

 

Onion sets were planted in our first hugelkultur bed.

 

I like to plant them fairly close so that I can use every second one as spring onions or scallions as we Irish call them. Only 3 more beds to go and our first section of vegetable garden is done.