Organic Growing Pains

New Year Clean Up

2012-01-09T23:24:00.005Z

Happy New Year to everyone, I hope it has begun on a positive note for all of you.I thought I had better check in and let you all know I am still online when this computer allows me!
It has been going slower and slower over the past few months but has almost come to a standstill over the holidays...too much over indulging in festive spirit?
I have just spent hours deleting over 700 photos, many of them duplicates and also various files etc that I cannot even remember why I needed them in first place!I have cleaned up disc space and defragmented even though it is scheduled automatically
I have been trying to log on to some blogs over the holidays but sat waiting and waiting for them to load and got fed up and logged off yet again.
The computer has speeded up a bit with all of the cleaning but I think a trip to the computer Doc is overdue!

The Knitivity

2011-12-21T13:31:00.003Z

I came across this photo which I had featured on my blog back in 2008, the figures were knitted by D.Linda and sil Rob made the crib which I hope has been finished completely by now!
I may not be on here for a few days ,I would like to wish all my readers, followers, commenters and those who 'pass through' a Very Happy and Peaceful Christmas and Good health and peace for 2012.
Peggy

Winter Solstice at Newgrange

2011-12-19T18:55:00.007Z

The 18th was the winter solstice and it dawned bright and (mostly) sunny in Newgrange Co Meath where the spring and winter solstice is witnessed entering a tunnel and illuminating the interior in a tomb whose origins have been lost in the mist of time (thought to predate the pyramids)
The full range of photos can be seen on the website here
You can also buy a DVD now on Amazon (link on the site)
For anyone visiting the Meath/Dublin area there are personally supervised tours of the historic Boyne valley website here
I have never visited it myself and it is on my list of places to see!

Christmas Sprouts

2011-12-18T22:26:00.006Z

I went out to the allotment on Sat evening to gather the sprouts for our Christmas dinner and to send in a photo to matrons Christmas veggie blog
The plot looks cold and dismal now and my fingers nearly froze dislodging the sprouts! The pigeons have decimated the top growth on the stalks, definitely the culprits from the amount of droppings on the leaves and around the ground.The netting had blown off again and left the plants unprotected.
I left them as is so the birds can enjoy the remains!
I also brought home the herbs for cooking, rosemary for the garlic and rosemary roasted spuds
Sage and thyme for the stuffing
Parsley for everything else
I have one jar of the 3 I had made of piccalilli for those cold turkey days!I had made it from a mixture of all the allotment veg using a recipe of matrons
Do visit matrons blog to see the array of Christmas veggies,lots of ideas there for next winters plot!

Country House Christmas Party

2011-12-17T22:25:00.015Z

We usually have an allotment Christmas get together, when we all dress up like normal people and try to chat about all sorts of things other than crops etc but the conversation invariably turns to the coming season!
Zwena always organizes it in her house but this year her sister Olwen kindly hosted it for us in her beautiful country house which is a guest house during the summer months.It is near the allotments also and about a ten minute walk from picturesque Blarney.
The Victorian figures in front of the amazing Christmas tree.

It was dark when we got there so I took this from a postcard, Maranatha House from the outside in the middle of a beautiful garden, if you would like to see more or even think about Country house living the web site is here
Mostly pictures for the rest of the post!

The conservatory is the breakfast room and these flamingoesque style napkins took my eye!Different coloured napkins to blend with the decor in the room.

The huge Christmas tree

Fire with cosy couches gathered around

The conservatory/breakfast room

The hallway is bigger than rooms in most modern homes!

3 of our plotters and not a welly in sight

Victorian dolls in the red room

The sunken bathroom is off the red room

The red room complete with four poster bed

Cosy twin bedded room with matching four posters

The same room

Honeymoon suite with draped bed

Elegant all cream and ivory room

The Top hat room!
Olwen could not decide on a theme for this room and one night while watching Top Hat with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers she decided to replicate the bedroom on screen.
Fred is not sitting on the bed that is our Ger complete with top hat which hangs on an old fashioned hat stand inside the door. There is a big black & white print on the wall of Fred and Ginger dancing.
Olwen has made ALL drapes, curtains, canopies etc herself, and decorated the whole house to look as if it has not been changed for decades!

The huge welcoming fireplace where we gathered to chat and have mulled wine and Christmas nibbles
Truly a house meant for Christmas!

Christmas Cranberries

2011-12-16T20:20:00.009Z

My cranberry sauce all done up in its Christmas wrapping to give as presents to family.I do not indulge in cranberry sauce although I may be tempted this year to sample.Some years ago I worked as a casual waitress in a hotel,being casual meant we were called in for functions like weddings and dinner dances which were big at the time.
Cranberry sauce was always put out on the tables at Christmas time and more often than not always came back untouched as our tastes were so much simpler then, gravy with everything!
If we did not have cranberry sauce then raspberry jam was put out instead and nobody ever said anything!I had the idea then that cranberry sauce was sweet and could never imagine eating it with my turkey!
The house is finally decorated for the festive season and the weather has even turned seasonal, snow ,frost and gales!This time last year we had the big white out down south, so we are keeping our fingers crossed that it is not going to happen this year!
I had a great response to my Christmas card from Ireland post, and I have been receiving beautiful cards from far flung destinations too.Everybody asked for my address to return a card, this was never my intention but it was a lovely exchange.
One of the cards went to Galilee of all places, where the Christmas message began!I thought it was such a privilege to be able to send a card to little Aled whose Mom
Cathy sent on their address for him.
Cathy lives in a Kibbutz in Galilee and has a blog cathy@home.
I will keep the list and send you all a St Patrick's day card also, anyone else who would like to be on the list just send on your address to my email.The last Christmas postal dates for the UK and Ireland are fast approaching.
Almond icing the two Christmas cakes is the task in hand for tonight.

Still Growing?!

2011-12-07T19:10:00.006Z

I paid a quick visit to the plot today, mainly to take a photo of anything which would be edible for our Christmas dinner for inclusion on Matron's Christmas Food blog.
I took the top pic of our brussel sprouts which are to grace our plates on the big day, only when I got home and uploaded the pic did I see the the tell tale marks of poachers who are trying to deprive us of our dinner!It entails another trip to the plot to 'save the sprouts'!

Our herbs are waiting to be picked, the rosemary bush has really taken off and is putting on good growth. If we get severe frosts like last year I will have to remember to cover it as a lot of rosemary became frost victims last year.
Thyme and parsley for the stuffing behind the parsley, the parsley is also being nibbled I think!

I cut back all of the stalks on the rhubarb a few weeks ago and covered the crowns with plenty of manure, I was very surprised to see new growth springing up today. I recovered the crowns after taking the photo.
Something we won't be having not alone for Christmas dinner but for some time after are our leeks which, while growing are not nearly as strong or large as they should be.Maybe leek and new potato soup sometime in June?!
One bed of the green manure is covering the ground nicely, this is the landsberger winter mix. The manure on the other beds is sparse and looks as if it did not germinate properly.
I forgot to take a pick of the over wintering onions which are about 3ins high, hopefully they are frost resistant or I may cover them just to be sure as they are a little small to withstand a severe frost.

Christmas is in the Air!

2011-12-03T20:58:00.006Z

Christmas preparations are underway, I don't put up the tree or decorations for another week at least but so far I have one cake made (awaiting decoration).
I mixed 2 plum puddings this evening, well I put the ingredients together and D. Michelle did the time honoured chore of mixing the puddings and making a wish , she mixed with serious intent so I wonder what she was wishing for?!
I used a Rachel Allen recipe which I had saved from a magazine at some stage, lashings of Guinness and whiskey!
The mixed puddings are 'standing' in the bowl and will be divided into 2 smaller bowls and steamed tomorrow.
I also made 7 small jars of Cranberry sauce, bought the cranberries and added brandy,orange juice and cinnamon to the mix, the smell around the kitchen was divine.I will post a photo when I get suitable seasonal labels and covers for the jars.
Photo is of my open fire burning turf and logs, smelling beautifully too while throwing out heat!
I had a gas fire in place for years but after our arctic weather last year and spending nearly 3 weeks without heat I had it taken out and reverted back to an open fire as I realised having the option of an independent heat source was more important than the convenience of so called 'clean instant heat'
Some Christmas cards are on display on the mantelpiece which brings me to the reason I took the photo.
Lots of blogs do giveaways etc, I thought it would be nice to send Christmas cards from Ireland to any bloggers out there who would like one for their mantelpiece this Christmas.
In the spirit of Christmas you don't have to subscribe or follow my blog, there are absolutely no conditions other than send me your full postal address.Leave a comment if you wish but DON'T put your address in the comments unless you want more junk mail than you get already, just email me at
peggymmurray@gmail.com
Last postal dates for places other than Europe are coming up soon so the sooner you contact me the sooner I can have your card in the post.
Last Tues evening I attended a garden talk given by Kitty Scully who graced our screens during spring and autumn with Peter Dowdall when they designed gardens in Fota in Cork.Peter did the shrubs and flowers and Kitty did the veg garden.
The topic was making preparations for next year other than glancing through seed catalogues!
It took place in the Blarney garden centre where we were treated to tea and home made scones and got a lovely goody bag of magazines etc to bring home.Elke who organised the evening is a member of Cork Slow Food and was taking photos during the talk.
Slow Food is one of the blogs I follow and I was surprised to see the photos on it this evening . I am in there, see if you can spot me!

Self Published (Niece not me)!

2011-11-30T16:28:00.010Z

Gardening has come to a full stop thanks to the weather, reading is the new spare time occupation. My niece Catherine Ryan Howard who I have mentioned before when she self published her first book Mousetrapped, which was about her work experience in Walt Disney World in Florida.
Catherine has now published her first novel Results Not Typical.It would not be my usual choice of reading material but I got hooked on it fairly quickly and thoroughly enjoyed the plot and sub plots, well done Catherine!
I am surprised the various slimming companies who sell motivation and of course their own 'slimming products' allowed it !!

Backpacked is also self published and is Catherine's account of a very reluctant back packing trip across Central America, not fiction she really did do it!

Catherine researched her self publishing and made her books as good to look at and handle as any books available through the major publishers.The pitfalls and problems overcome plus advice were then self published in to this book. It is available to buy on Amazon as are all of the others, just put catherine ryan howard in the Amazon search box.They are also available on Kindle
Self Published has gotten rave reviews on Amazon and Catherine has been invited to speak at various seminars etc on the subject.
Catherine also has a blog which has a link on my sidebar, see catherinecaffinated.com

CEJA, European Council of Young Farmers

2011-11-21T22:30:00.004Z

Matteo Bartolini from CEJA on Vimeo.

You never know who is reading blogs! I am sure many of you have been approached from time to time to feature various items/companies/products etc. I don't as a rule get involved with these requests but this one definitely appealed to me.
I received an email from John Mortell ,communications officer with CEJA...whose them you might ask?!
The European Council of Young farmers in Brussels.
They are trying to encourage and help young farmers across Europe to stay on the land, not to just eke out a living but to increase the value of their farms and produce.
They have a Vimeo video channel,there are just 3 videos at the moment, this young farmer is Italian and there is a French and Belgian farmer also featured.
This appealed to me because he is growing truffles of all things, watch and learn!

Sunday Miscellany

2011-11-20T13:56:00.007Z

I have spent a couple of hours browsing through my favourite blogs, something I have not had too much time to do recently. It was nice to catch up on everyones news and doings!
My computer slows down considerably in the afternoons and evenings which may be attributable to my internet provider so Sunday mornings when I can, seems to be the best time to be online it is slowing down now even as I type!
I am also having trouble yet again with leaving comments on blogs. I know by not staying logged on to Google seems to correct this but I now have my email on my phone and I am always 'on' so this may be the cause this time around. I have to go through the various options on each blog to leave a comment if Google does not recognise me?!

Anyway, enough moaning!
The photo was taken through my kitchen window earlier today when the birds were nearly pushing each other off the feeder, usually as soon as I go to the window they fly off but thankfully not today.
I had got up early intending to go the the beach to gather seaweed for the allotment but thanks to the wonders of internet technology I thought of checking the tides on our local shores and and it would have been high tide when I planned to go so it would have been a fruitless journey.The best time to gather it is supposed to be when the tide has just gone out leaving clean seaweed on the rocks.Gathering it from the beach could mean bringing home the debris and sand which accumulates in it.

I had intended to go to Garretstown which is a beautiful wide beach on the coast near Kinsale about 35 minutes drive away, there are much nearer places to gather seaweed but our harbour area is polluted and I don't think it would be good to bring that back to our plot.
The seaweed is for the asparagus bed which I had cleared of foliage and weeds during the week, asparagus is a seaside plant originally and seaweed is recommended for a winter mulch.I will have to wait until next weekend now as the evenings are dark at 5pm now, so much for daylight saving!

Vive Le France!

2011-11-16T18:04:00.015Z

Bonjour! I have just returned from a short holiday to France, I did not think it was safe to advertise the fact before going as you never know who reads blogs!
My eldest daughter Deirdre,partner and daughter Niamh have lived in the S.W of France in the Carcassonne area for the last 3 years and this is the first time I have visited.

Flying out from Dublin over the bay,I am not sure exactly what the beach is called but it looks beautiful basking in the autumn sunshine.

Outside my daughter's house grapevines in the field next door, the grapes have been harvested and the autumn colour is visible everywhere.Its a big wine making region, Limoux is the nearest big town and Blanquette is the regional wine,it is a sparkling wine and they say the forerunner of Champagne!

The small village where they live, there is not even a shop there just quaint houses and winding narrow streets.Not much in the way of flowers at this time of year, but I saw kiwis growing over an archway into a house, orange trees and walnut trees. I must admit I had never really thought where walnuts come from and was amazed to see them.Needless to say there were olive trees everywhere and in summer there are fields of sunflowers as making sunflower oil is also another local industry.
.
This scary fellow holding up a church holy water font is the god Asmodeaus, keeper of secrets, guardian of hidden treasure and reputed to be the builder of Soloman's temple.
Rennes-le-Chateau is just a short drive away, the hilltop village which spawned the Da Vinci Code and hundreds of books etc on the Knights Templar,Cathars and other mysterious stories.The story of a small village Abbe (priest)coming into untold wealth began coming out of France in the sixties and unleashed an avalanche of interest in the tiny village.

The abbe Sauniere only died in 1917 so it is not in the dim distant past by any means.When he came into wealth he began refurbishing the tiny church in a most garish style.Asmodeaus was one of the them and the inscription over the church door in latin translates to 'this is a terrible place'?!

Rennes-le-Bain is also involved in the mystery but was also a famed Roman baths, again beautiful during the summer months with cascading flowers etc.
There are lots of videos on Youtube if you wish to see and hear more of these two places, just type in the name of one of them.

No visit to Carcassonne is complete without a visit to the walled medieval fortress which rises over the modern city.There has been a fortress on this site for centuries and renovations began back in the 19th century.The narrow streets are cobbled and it is all pedestrianised, it is a fascinating place to see.We were lucky in Nov as it is mobbed by tourists in summer.

Even the smallest village has its war memorial to the villagers who lost their lives in the conflicts which were fought each time on french soil.
Remembrance day 11th Nov, all of the villagers walked up to the mayors office and gathered behind the mayor,a small band and the french flag and we all walked the few hundred yards to the war memorial

At the memorial the Mayor read a speech which this year came from President Nickolas Sarkozy as it was a unique date being 11th minute of the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th year of the new century.
The two elderly men in front are World War 2 survivors, as I looked at them I wondered what was going through their minds as they gazed at the memorial to their fallen comrades.A rousing version of the French national anthem was played after the speech then we all walked to the local hall where wine,minerals and snacks were served courtesy of the Mayor's office.
Home now to grey bleak Nov skies and rain!

Hen Party!

2011-11-01T15:23:00.021Z

A post all about the hens and the ravages they have wrought in the garden!
Pic of them congregated on the windowsill, they are inclined to gather here or at the patio door if they want to be fed.Sometimes they turn over the feed bin and I don't refill it fast enough for them so they draw my attention like this!
A couple of times one of them has actually turned it over on top of herself getting trapped in the process and the other 3 come down to the window or patio door and keep pecking until I go out and free the luckless hen that is under the bin!

Pic taken in April when the first 2 hens arrived, note the lovely sward of green grass and the precise edging of bark mulch?

Pic taken today!
They have turned the whole area into a quagmire of mud and er...organic matter.I had to move the coop down the garden, note the sorry looking tin tub and the small brown window trough.
With 20/20 hindsight I should have had normal grass well rooted before getting the hens as I put down rolls of grass which had no root system and they scraped it up within a matter of weeks!

My stone flowerbed last year with campanula cascading over the side, there were lots of flowers that come up every year and it was also the resting place for trays of plants waiting to go out to the allotment.

Same flower bed today!

The tin tub early in the year, there were hyacinths, lillies and daffodills which came up in their season so there was always something in bloom in it.

The small brown window trough early this year,the hens ignored it for quite a while but then developed a taste for pansies and it became the sorry sight in the earlier pic!

The centre bed taken today, I had to move the coop down and it was the only place level enough for it.They had already cleared a space for it!

The same centre bed last year.

The old fashioned peony rose and the lupins last year in the centre bed.
The 4 ladies have dug up every bulb in the garden and any pots they can get up to or into.They can shift earth and gravel in a most determined manner if they think there is anything under it.
Even if they are out of sight of the patio door they can hear it opening and come flying down the garden to see if they are getting any tidbits handed out.Dinner left overs such as potato skins etc are devoured in seconds and they chase each other around to get the last little bit.
I was speaking to a lady on the allotments recently about them and she said they kept hens at home when she was young, her mother never kept hens over the winter months as they usually laid less in the shorter ,darker days.The hens were killed for the table and they got a new batch of chicks in the new year to replace them.
I cannot see myself sitting down to eat the girls?!
They provide hours of interest and amusement with their antics and continue to lay 4 eggs every day.

Pumpkin Update
The largest pumpkin weighed in at 55 kgs!

Pumpkins and the Plot

2011-10-24T13:13:00.012+01:00

We have had gales and torrential rain...again!
These photos were taken on the 20th,so the pumpkins have probably grown somewhat by now.The 5 monsters are clearly visible now through the foliage and are like giant sunspots in the gloom.

The 3 on the top of the bank,Zwena plants pumpkins up here each year but this year is going to see record weights I think

This one is the same one in the header pic with Aoife.Zwena usually organizes a harvest day when all the pumpkins and gourds are freed from their foliage and weighed, the kids love all the excitement and seeing which one is the heaviest.
Zwena then divides up the booty to any of the children who want to make a really scary Halloween lantern.

Work on the plot is maintenance now for the winter, clearing beds and debris. The green manure on this bed shot up in a few days, I have since cleared the sweetcorn and bean beds and sown more green manure on them which should be up any day this week.

Our lone pumpkin which broke from its stem, I cleared the tomato plants from the greenhouse and put it in there to hopefully continue ripening in what little sunshine we will get.Its the White Ghost pumpkin but I think due to lack of heat and sunshine it has not developed its trade mark white top (yet)!

The colours of the Borage and calendula are stunning in the sunshine and I took a pic before clearing the whole lot!I am sure they will be back bigger and bolder next year somewhere on the plot!

Winding Down

2011-10-08T16:33:00.007+01:00

We have lost a lot of time to clear the plots and get ready for winter due the the weather recently.I spent a few hours there on wed when the sun shone unexpectedly.
I dug out the roots bed and brought home some unusual specimens!
It took me the best part of an hour to dig out 8 parsnips!Last year we had a 4 kg monster and that was just the part I was able to unearth. This year I specifically picked seed which was recommended for small gardens and containers?!They were long and big, most of them coming in at a kilo weight.The seeds were planted back in late Feb as parsnip seeds are supposed to be the first to go in, because of slow germination I planted more in late May and they were of a much more acceptable size even though only 4 of them grew!
I spent the whole evening scraping ,peeling, blanching and freezing parsnips.I know they can be saved in sand but I don't have the space to keep them over winter like that so freezing is the best option for me.For all of their size I ended up with 10 freezer bags of approx 400 grms of blanched and sliced parsnips.
The few carrots from this bed had been attacked with the late season carrot fly despite being surrounded by a breaker.I have one bag of parsnip/carrot frozen to add to a stew or casserole.

We finally have red tomatoes from the greenhouse albeit in Oct!4 small green peppers,4 apples from our tiny tree and the last 2 courgettes.We did not have to worry about a glut of any of them this year.

Our pumpkin is turning but will it be ready for Halloween?!The purple flowers are Borage, sown 2 years ago and it has reseeded all over the place since.

Tomatoes turning red in the greenhouse!

The calabrese which has surpassed all expectations this year, it has continued to send out side shoots for months.The last time I was at the plot I cut all shoots and expected to be clearing the plants this time only to find they had grown even more impressively, some of the side shoots are growing as big as the first centre heads.

Alas our poor cabbage, I would think slugs as I could not see any sign of caterpillars, they are almost skeletal!

The strawberries are still growing and turning red in the little sunshine we have had lately, I cut all of the flowers and any fruit off of the row we are keeping for next year

The root bed after being cleared and sown with a Winter mix green manure, hopefully we will get a few more done before the weather changes from bad to worse!
In answer to Theanne, I will do a post on the hens soon and some photos of the havoc they have wrought in my back garden!They lay 4 eggs every day and when we had the few days of bright sunny weather I had 6 eggs a few days.

Rain,Rain go Away!

2011-10-02T11:21:00.012+01:00

I have not been to the allotment for over a week because of torrential rain every day and I have not been able to get on to the blog because Blogger is so slow!I am not sure if it is Blogger or my Internet provider is at fault, I tried up loading photos but they took so long I just gave up.The new header pic was done last week and took nearly 20 mins to upload, which is why I am on here on Sun morning hoping nobody else is online yet!

Our leeks have settled in at last and are looking a little more healthy and whatever was nibbling on them has stopped.

I cleared the bean bed leaving the roots in the ground to rot down to provide nitrogen.The Lollo Rosso is not alone a splash of autumn colour but a tasty addition to our salads.

The strawberry bed was cleared of all old leaves and debris, the near row was 3 year old plants and were pulled up.Some of them had a second flush of strawberries so I left them but with the wet weather the slugs got to them first so now this side is completely cleared

Tomatoes in the greenhouse are slow to ripen still but there is a few ready to eat each time I go out.
I have been ripening tomatoes with the banana skins and I also tried the apple, both of then worked successfully in a dark cupboard.
The pepper plant has a few peppers on it which are green and probably will not redden at this stage of the year.
The Aubergine plant produced lots of flowers but nary a sign of anything else!

Our lone pumpkin, there were 2 similar sized ones but one just died off leaving us with one,this is the White Ghost pumpkin.

The new strawberry bed ,I planted out the runners at the end of this bed.We got donated turnip plants from Ger these are in the centre and our cabbage under netting is at the near end of the bed.

I have not take any photos of the pumpkins on the bank so far this year, our communal compost heap where the horse manure from the stables is piled up.The plants have now covered the whole bank and there are lots of pumpkins and gourds of all shapes and sizes hidden among the leaves.

3 of the biggest pumpkins peeping out.

The pumpkin which looks the biggest at the moment but we know from the past that it may not be the biggest on harvesting day.
The header pic is Aoife admiring the pumpkins about 2 weeks ago.
With the rain coming down unabated a lot of the work preparing beds for the winter has come to a stop for the time being. We will have to get in a few days before winter sets in as I have green manure ready to go down.
I bought it online from Seedaholic, I am always amazed at how fast their delivery time is, I bought it from their website one evening and I had it in the post 2 days later!It is an Irish company and they could teach a few more a thing or two.
Our UK counterparts are basking in record sunshine for Oct, please think of us dripping wet over here. The rain is either torrential or we cannot see in front of us with heavy wet mist!

Well Preserved

2011-09-12T13:01:00.012+01:00

This pic was not even taken when I began this post! I was working on the computer when I happened to glance outside ,to see my plastic greenhouse lurching over to one side.We have the remnants of hurricane Katia sweeping the country today,while it is making landfall up the west and NW coastline we are getting some strong gusts of up to 90 klm and hour.
I went out to try to save the greenhouse but instead ran in for the scissors and cut off any tomatoes still on the plants as some of them had been broken and bent over.The uprights of the greenhouse had come apart so trying to set it right in this wind is a no go, time to take it down for the winter I think!
The hens are staying in the comfort of the hen house just looking out, they obviously do not like getting their feathers ruffled!

I had an idea to try making Piccalilli as we had lots of side shoots from our Broccoli, something which has benefited from the funny summer weather.
I remembered Matron had made it last year and found the recipe on her previous blog posts but matron has now brought it forward to a new post.
I had scribbled down the recipe and it turned out fine as I thought, it was all packed into jars but I thought the sauce was a bit on the watery side.
Some time later I turned over the piece of paper I had written it on and found the legend return to heat and stir until sauce thickens!
I mulled it over and decided to strain the sauce from the 3 jars then returned it to the heat and it thickened up nicely!Poured the sauce back into the jars and it looks and tastes OK so all was not lost.

Some tomatoes ripening on the windowsill with a banana decaying which has ripened them in a few days.
I am going to have to begin eating an awful lot of bananas to ripen what tomatoes I salvaged today!

The net total of our onion harvest, we have been pulling and using quite a few, especially ones which had started going to seed.There are shallots which are varying in size,some which I may use for pickling as they are very small.these will be put into net bags to store for as long as they last

More baking, a courgette,apple and cheese bread which was lovely, it stayed moist and tasty but it only lasted a day or two anyway it was so nice.

Courgette & Apple Bread
275grm/10oz Odlums SR Wholemeal Flour
175grm/6oz coarsely grated courgette
1 eating apple
2 eggs
4 tbls Olive Oil
50grm/2oz Cheddar cheese grated
salt & pepper
Using the all in one method put all ingredients into mixing bowl and stir until combined.Transfer to a greased loaf tin .
bake in a preheated oven 200%C, 400%F,gas 6 for 20 mins
Reduce temp to 180%C,350%F, Gas 4 for a further 20 mins
I had to leave it in for longer, maybe my oven!

End of Nonexistant Summer?!

2011-09-04T18:37:00.013+01:00

I am finding it very hard to motivate myself to blog at the moment!We have come to the end of the summer season and looking back we are still waiting for it to happen.We have officially had the coldest summer on record and growing veg has been a real challenge this year.
This time last year we were looking for ways to use up our tomatoes which were ripening at an alarming rate.
I read a number of articles and readers letters especially in Garden News that banana skins help tomatoes to ripen, at this stage we will try anything!

Some of the cooking done over the last few weeks using produce from the plot.
Broad bean, chive and smoked salmon bread, lovely but very filling.Would be good for a picnic or a starter with a salad.

Our cauliflowers are developing heads at last ,not very big but who's complaining?I planted 6, 2 of them had tiny heads which turned a pinkish colour, hardly from the sun?!

Courgette and blue cheese soup with bacon and cheese scones.
Jam making has been ongoing, sometime ago matron gave a recipe for easy Strawberry jam.The fruit is left overnight with equal amounts of jam sugar and some lemon juice and cooked the next day.It worked out beautifully for strawberry and raspberry as they need very little boiling to reach setting point which means the fruit stays red and there are large pieces of fruit in the jam.
I then tried it on blackcurrant, plum and gooseberry and it works just as well for all of them.
Broad beans and peas have been frozen and beetroot has been cooked and put into jars.
I did not exactly pickle it just cooked (I prefer to wrap in tinfoil and roast in the end of the oven while cooking another dish) 3 or 4 at a time and sliced into jars with red wine vinegar to be used immediately.
Aldi our local discount store has had jars of pickling vinegar quite reasonably so I will use that for the next lot.

Back to the Blog

2011-08-23T20:12:00.015+01:00

Hi,sorry for the long absense from the blog and thank you all for leaving comments.
I have been busy and my computer was not turned on for days at a time.The allotment has kept me busy most days and the evenings were spent blanching, freezing,baking and jam making!
We have 2 nice pumpkins on the White Ghost plant.

I discovered blackberries hiding under branches when I tidied up the fruit bed, just enough to add to the morning cereal.

I was loud in my praise of cabbage collars recently and the proof is here to see!Two of the 7 plants which are coming on nicely had dead snails on the collars. They are impregnated with a slug deterrent which seems to be working.

The autumn fruiting raspberries, hard to see properly through the netting but there are a good many of them ripening .

Blueberries are ripe and juicy, these photos were taken before I cleaned up the bed and cut back the summer raspberry canes.

The lower branches of the blackcurrant bush were touching the ground so I cut off 6 of the lowest ones.They are much easier to strip the fruit off while standing straight!A fifth of the branches should be pruned each year and this is one way of doing it!

I paid my first visit west of the river Shannon and went to beautiful Connemara.Mountains,bogs and sheep surrounded us on all sides.
We woke up on the Sat morning to find a sheep market in full swing behind our hotel!

That was not our last encounter with the sheep, here they are being herded along the main road.Guess who gets right of way?!

Photo taken through my car windscreen as they decided to cross to my side of the road.
We visited the sheep and wool shop and museum in Leenaun and watched wool being carded, spun and wound from scratch. I was surprised to be told none of our sheeps wool is used for wool production as it is too rough!
The Aran islands, famed for their sweaters from Bainin wool no longer use home grown wool, it is mixed with imported Merino if it is used at all.
Wool was the major reason to keep sheep in the past but now the meat is the first consideration.
Our wool is exported to China and comes back to us as fibre glass and attic insulation!

The Connemara horse show was on the weekend we were there, the show was run on the Wed and Thurs and only the mart/auction was in progres when we visited.
It was fascinating none the less, with buyers from around the world.Buyers came from Australia, Canada, and most of Europe.The tough little Connemara is used for pony trekking around Ayers Rock in Australia.

All colours and hair styles!I am not sure if it is au natural or not!

Beautiful Kylemore Abbey, built by the Mitchell Henry family and in latter years an exclusive boarding school.Visit their website to read the story of the history of the Abbey both romantic and tragic.

The road to Maam Cross between the Maam mountains and bog as far as the eye can see.

The Quiet Man starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara was filmed around this area and parts of the films location can be seen, we were pleasantly surprised to find a replica cottage on the hotel grounds.

The Aran Islands in Galway Bay from the beach in Spiddal.There is now a ferry and
flights to the islands but up to recent years Islanders had to row over from the mainland.
Another event which kept me busy was being part of a committee which organized a benefit night of dancing which was a huge success, it is amazing to see that even in the middle of a recession people are so generous and supportive.
A friend's husband is going to Boston for major surgery for cancer, his operation is scheduled for Aug 30th in Boston as it is the only place where it can be carried out,he has to travel with his wife and they have to stay for at least 6 weeks in total.The medical bills will be covered by insurance and the health service but they have to pay all of their living expenses and flights themselves.
Please keep him in your prayers and thoughts on the 30th.

Another day on the plot

2011-08-05T20:47:00.010+01:00

I went out to the plot today to plant some winter cabbage and lollo rosso which was growing at home in seed trays.
I had also planted seeds of kale and transplanted 6 healthy seedlings into a larger tray as 6 was more than enough for us. They were growing into nice healthy plants until a couple of days ago ,when I checked them one morning the kale had simply disappeared overnight!
Our courgettes are very slow growing this year and a glut of them is not likely either.There were 2 nice ones yesterday and today they had been nibbled by something!

I planted out 3x Golden acre cabbages and 4x Wheeler's Imperial in one of the onion beds which Kathryn had cleared.After I had taken the photo, they had cabbage collars put in place, against the cabbage root fly, netting against the rabbits and pigeons and slug blocker against the slugs,am I missing anything?!

No ,not a mummy ,lollo rosso lettuce plants in the vacated broad bean bed.I put the fleece over them to keep some heat in and the slug blocker as well.
The crimson flowered broad beans are in the other half of the bed for another while.

Look closely and see the rabbit just at the top of the bed, he had actually been in the bed inside the netting!

There he goes running....
...jumping...

Then he just sat there as if to say, hold on a minute I live here!
I was coming home about 5.00pm but then started on the brassica bed.I weeded and pulled all of the yellowed leaves from the broccoli and cut all of the side shoots. I gave them a feed of comfrey tea and hopefully we will have some more side shoots coming on.
I carried on and weeded the white turnips and the remaining 4 heads of the greyhound cabbage also pulling the lower and yellowed leaves from them.The slugs will have to jump to get on them now!
We are not great cabbage eaters but it is nice to have one occasionally.
Harvest coming home today,potatoes, broccoli, white turnips,beetroot,french beans, peas and 2 globe artichokes for tonights TV snack.

Tidying up the Plot

2011-08-04T16:40:00.012+01:00

We seem to be getting every second day dry with some sunshine then a day of continuous rain.I spent most of Tues on the plot tidying up and doing some serious weeding!
Photo is of an Iris, I bought a pack of summer flowering bulbs in Lidl some time back but so far they have been all Irises.

Kathryn had dug over some of the potato bed which had been vacated and I put in the winter leeks. These were in a tray at home and I have to say they are the smallest leeks I have ever planted out, hopefully they will come on now they are in their permanent bed.

The Lazy Housewife bean has recovered from its hen ordeal and there are 2 pods on it so far, I am not going to use them but save them for next year's seed. They were given to me by Matron when she visited Cork last year, I did see on her blog that they should be left to dry on the plant to prevent mould.

Peas, sadly neglected by us!I should have put more raffia up the poles as they grew as they had twined around each other for support.The birds had pecked at about 20 pods which had to be discarded, after I took the photo I put up more raffia supports and covered the entire frame with netting to deter the birds.There is a good crop coming on which I intend to have for me not our feathered friends!

Sweetcorn bed, half weeded, I did finish it off later! The corn is very small this year in comparison to last years bumper crop which grew to about 5 feet tall with up to 4 good size cobs on each.
This year there are only 2 on most of them and none on some!

The tomatoes in the greenhouse are slow to ripen, during the few sunny days we did have the yellow ones were doing fine but no sign of any red ones as yet.I don't think we will be making pasta sauces this year to use them up.
We also have cucumbers and aubergines in the greenhouse, we have had a couple of small mishapen cukes but nothing on the aubergine as yet though it is flowering.

Kathryn cleared the onion beds and hung them in the greenhouse to dry off as the wet weather may not have done them any good, the entire crop is small as it is.

Our broccoli (calabrese)is producing lots of side shoots after the main heads were used.The damp warm conditions seem to suit this at least!

Rosie's onion trees,a novel method of drying the onions! They look like miniature palm trees.

I cleared all of the broad beans, just leaving the crimson flowered ones in place.This pile of shells produced just this....
1 and a half kilos of shelled beans, with sore fingers as an added bonus!

I blanched them in salted water for a few minutes THEN shelled them again as I prefer them without their overcoats.I ended up with 3x 400grm bags and 2 x200grm bags for the freezer.
Jam making has also been on the agenda and I will post about that soon while visiting all my blogging friends who have also been neglected somewhat over the last couple of weeks.

Not Blogging but....

2011-08-01T14:40:00.012+01:00

I have taken quite a long break from blogging but we have been busy over the last couple of weeks!
My gardeners took off to spend time on a boat on the Liverpool Leeds Canal negotiating 5 stair locks etc and had a whale of a time!

I took off to Robert's Cove and spent time treating the deck,badly overdue!I took my time and got a nice suntan as a bonus,I read books and generally chilled out.
D.Aisling was on hen duty while I was away and when I got back G.son Scott has now decided my name is Nana Chickens!
My time on the computer was short and spent setting up an Etsy shop!
I made some Lavender wands and hearts and they are for sale there, more items to be added later.I need to spend some more time dickying it up a bit.

We had G.son Scott's 3rd birthday with a BBQ in Robert's Cove

We had G.son Jack's 2nd birthday (Scott's brother)

Last but not least niece Catherine has written another book which is again self printed by her and available on Amazon.Catherine has also written a self help book about the process of self printing and it is also for sale on Amazon and getting 5* reviews, all information is on her blog.Anyone ever thinking of writing a book and wanting to go down the self printing route will find a mine of information on the pit falls and advice on how to get around them!

Allotment, potatoes,cabbage,onions,cucumbers, broad beans,courgettes all harvesting.We are officially in a Broccolli (calabrese)glut, even the side shoots are growing apace!

Fota Wildlife Park

2011-07-19T21:28:00.024+01:00

We spent today visiting Fota Wildlife park, a fantastic amenity right on our doorsteps.
It is visited by tourists and locals in their thousands each year, there is the wildlife park which is charged for but the gardens of Fota House and the Arboretum are free to visit just pay a E3 parking charge on the way out.
The entrance has been completely revamped since I visited last and these lifelike Giraffes greet the visitors

The interior of the Orangery in the gardens has been restored, when I visited first this was almost derelict.

The restored orangery which you spy through the trees

The sunken Italian garden

In the wildlife park, we spotted this Peahen with her chick

The peacock preening himself, no babysitting for him!

Not an African skyline but Fota!There are Giraffe, zebra, and oryx here.

There are 2 seals ,this one was out sunning itself

The beautifully restored Palm Walk.

Why am I depressed?

'Cos he got the sweetcorn!
There are islands in the lake where all sorts of monkeys live, swinging on ropes and trees.

A lemur and the G'kids eyeballing each other

Lemurs are free to roam all over the park, and are quite used to being near people.

The Flamingoes which to my eye looked distinctly orange rather than pink!

Birdwatching

Why is the tastiest piece always just out of reach?!
We spent hours between the wildlife park and the gardens and saw much more animals than I have space to put here, it is just to give a glimpse of Fota.
If you are ever near enough to visit it is definitely worth it, especially if you have only seen exotic animals in a Zoo, to see them walking around acres of grassland is special.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-13T20:50:00.002+01:00

Allotment Update

2011-07-11T21:51:00.009+01:00

Sinead & Aoife with armfuls of Lavender this evening.I am going to try drying it in bunches this year as there is only so much I can do with the dried flowers.
I have one bunch already in a vase on the windowsill to see if it will dry there.
It struck me this evening while cutting it that there is a marked absence of bees around, last year I could hardly get near it as so many bees had taken it over each day.

White Ghost pumpkin,according to the pic on the label it has a white sheen to the top of the pumpkin.

Calabrese is setting nice large heads, we have cut 2 so far and they are delicious.I cut a cross on the stem after taking the head, it is supposed to encourage side shoots to grow.
I gave the whole brassica bed a dose of rhubarb tea which is recommended to discourage white fly as the smell is foul and it confuses them?!
It is made by soaking rhubarb leaves in water for a few weeks and the resultant sludge is rhubarb tea!

Remember my mutant beans? They have now been put out on the plot and are beginning to climb the canes.They are Blue Lake climbing french beans, free seeds from Garden News.

Lazy Housewife beans have been moved to a hen free zone and are showing signs of recovering from their hen pecking.

The carrot bed got a make over too this evening.I had enviromesh covering it but the parsnips were being squashed under it so I surrounded it instead to deter the carrot fly.The carrot fly is not supposed to be able to fly higher than 20cms so this should be more than high enough to stop him in his tracks!
I set more carrot and parsnip seeds a couple of weeks ago but germination is slow enough.I gave the bed a sea weed feed to help things along

Our courgettes are very slow to produce this year, due in no small way to the lack of heat and sunshine and the nights are fairly cool for this time of year.

Bok Choi, our first year growing this veg, I think it was under a bit of stress early on as I was not sure what to do with it!
After thinning it out and feeding it ,it began to look like the picture on the plant label.Some of it has gone to seed with these lovely yellow flowers.

Potatoes?! The foliage has turned yellow but there is no sign of blight either on the leaves or the potatoes which we are using daily.

We have 2 cucumber plants in the greenhouse and this one has little embryo fruit on it.
We will not have a tomato glut this year by the looks of things, lucky to have a decent supply at all.Some green tomatoes but unless we get some sunshine we won't be picking ripe red ones off the plants.

Onions,another disappointment this year! They have not grown to the size of last years and a lot are going to seed so I bent them over and we will just use them once they have dried out.

Mallow Show Gardens 2011

2011-07-10T19:24:00.011+01:00

More of the gardens at the Mallow Homes & Gardens show.
There are 25 permanent gardens which get a face lift and/or make over each year.This gold fish is around for quite a few years and is the last remaining one in the pool.They knew he was there but this year they put various pieces of garden sculpture around the gardens and a heron pouring water was put next to the fish pool.The goldfish spent the time swimming and dancing in the oxygenated bubbling water, much to the delight of visitors

A patio garden

The Hobbit playhouse, erected by a company who make and design unusual playhouses etc all over the world.

Courtyard garden with a vine growing for a few years it would be one of the permanent features which new designers have to work around.

In the sales area, a lavender tree?!

Unusual lillies

Off Our trolleys, a catchy selling idea.

Pots decorated in county emblems

Dunsland garden centre had by far the largest sales area full of colour and plants of all shapes and sizes, Prop. Peter Dowdall said he had sourced more frost and cold weather hardy plants after so many gardens had suffered so many losses in the very cold winter we had.

I had previously met this smiling vendor selling lillies at Bloom in Dublin

Strawbale house, made from strawbales just like the 3 little pigs!
It is circular in shape, cool in summer and warm in winter.

An old VW camper van ,now a playhouse in the garden. These old vans just go on and on!

The interior of the strawbale house,showing the living area and there is a mezzanine floor with a bedroom up the stairs.

Doghouse with the roof cleverly disguised with planting

The permanent trees and plantings can be seen in this pic, the fountain is also permanent, the plants are added to each year and annual colour added.
Back to gardening in the next post, I have gotten very lax at taking photos when I am out at the plot!

Mallow Homes and Garden Festival 2011

2011-07-03T14:56:00.010+01:00

We have been very busy for the last few days putting the final touches to the Hydro Farm Project for the Mallow Homes & garden festival which opened to the public on Friday for the most successful festival yet.
The unusual feature of this festival is,there are 25 permanent gardens and each year different people are invited to take over a garden and using the mature trees,shrubs, water features ,ponds etc already in place to completely invent a new garden around them.
We had 5 raised stone beds this year plus the raised deck area.
The great news is, we were completely bowled over to win a Silver Medal for our efforts!
Our cottage garden bed, planted with flowers & veg

The Feather garden with ducks,geese and a Cock & hen.The cock was very vociferous throughout the show and could be heard all over the showgrounds.
A Blueberry tree which has reached the grand old age of 45!It was imported from Italy by Peter Dowdall of the Dunsland garden centre.
It is hard to see the berries on it but it is covered in them!

Our International garden, it was to show people that over the last few years that not only can we now buy lots of exotic fruit & veg we can now buy the plants and grow them ourselves, obviously most of these would need a poly tunnel or greenhouse to grow on.

Wooden spoons for plant markers, these are often given away free with products or can be bought cheaply in discount stores.

Our strawberry bin and recycled umbrella frame to support the netting got lots of interested spectators.There is a length of 4 inch piping with holes bored through it sunk into the bin, this is for ease of watering.Pour the water into the pipe and it seeps out into the surrounding soil.

Our recycle garden, it was to show what can be recycled or repurposed in the garden.Our scarecrow Jedwina & planted toilet bowl.Vintage seed sower and the basket of veg is from one of our plotters, Charlie.

The raised deck which we made scarecrows for, it also had to be painted in nice bright colours.

The Medicinal herb garden with a short explanation of their uses on labels.

Spot the scarecrow! Grand daughter Gemma who came out for a day with Charlie, one of our plotters.

Elephant garlic in the cottage garden

The working windmill was made by a gentleman and it was placed in our section but fitted in quite well with our recycle theme.
Herbs are planted in this multicoloured bin

I took so many photos I will have to do a second post about the gardens & show but you could buy these 3 lovely lassies for your garden.

Up for the Match!
Committed County fans could have one of these in their garden!

Aghh! Henpecked

2011-06-27T20:13:00.008+01:00

I returned from my nice relaxing Sunday afternoon and uploaded my photos and previous post.It was such a nice day I had left the hens out in the garden while I was away.
I went out to put them in for the night and was stopped in my tracks!
My lazy housewife beans given to me by matron over on veggies only blog, which had climbed their pole after a slow start were romping away when I put them out yesterday morning, they had grown bushy and green around the top of pot before climbing began.
They have been out every day and the hens paid no attention to them as I had watched carefully, what changed yesterday I do not know.
They could not reach the top growth and I can only hope they recover enough to provide seeds for next year, I had kept them at home not wanting to risk them out on the plot in case of wind damage!
Matron if you are reading this my apologies and I am sure you are nodding sagely and saying I did try to warn you!

This is entirely my own fault as I knew they had a liking for lupins!
I bought this Manhattan Lights lupin when we were at Bloom in Dublin.My sister Kathleen and myself took turns toting it around for the day and minding it!

I knew they liked crocosima (Montbretia) but did not mind as this grows like a weed all over the place

I knew they fancied lupins, these have been denuded of their leaves and I even saw one jumping up to get the higher up leaves!

Remember my mutant beans?
They have been growing well and the sprouted stem had at last turned green and less brittle.They were being hardened off each day before going out to their final resting place on the plot.The hens have not bothered with them before and last night when taking them in I thought there was slug damage to quite a few leaves before the penny dropped it was the hens having a nibble. Maybe I disturbed them when I came home and saved them from further mutilation.

This flower bed stone was a cushion of purple campanula prehens!
They are in now each day while the plants are out and the greenhouse flap is up.When the plants go in the hens come out.
I will have to reorganise their domain and soon.

Lazy Sunny Sunday

2011-06-26T22:58:00.010+01:00

A beautiful sunny Sunday, much too warm to work.
Kevin trying his hand at digging up some spuds for his Mom.Last night was very heavy & humid and I think our spuds look less green than they did, a few of us are convinced there is a definite yellow tint to the leaves.

Beautiful flower arrangement which Zwena put on the tea room tables which are now outdoor tables in the courtyard while the sunshine lasts.
Everyone who turned up today had brought something to share and we ended up sitting around the courtyard chatting and doing very little else, just taking time to drink the coffee and smell the flowers.

I did remember to bring the camera and caught up on some pics of the plot.
Tomatoes in the greenhouse are way behind what they were this time last year when we ended up with a glut, since moving them to the greenhouse they are beginning to climb but slowly.

Liam's roses tumbling over the fence

Inside the fruit cage the raspberries are ripening daily

I left 3 strawberry plants on the ground in the fruit cage and they have produced nice big berries, though slower to ripen than the ones on the bed.

The Lavender is just beginning to open

Peas (3rd sowing) are starting to climb at last.
Dwarf french beans are still struggling even though the wind break is around the bed

Huge broad beans but very little inside so far.

Sweet corn is taking off and is looking a little healthier each day.

The brassica bed, the calabrese is in the foreground and is setting florets.

Kevin resting from his labours and taking the opportunity to try out the sand & water table while there are no smallies around.
We had a lovely day on the plot with just some light watering to tax the energy.

Tasty Harvest

2011-06-24T15:59:00.007+01:00

RaspberriesYesterday I visited the allotment to pick some raspberries which are just beginning to ripen.Our Autumn fruiting raspberries are ripening at the same time?!
There is a lot of wind damage with broken twigs bearing fruit but there was still enough to bring home and leave lots to redden fully, although the torrential rain all day today is not helping!
Home Guard potatoes: I dug one tuber last week on the first row of Home Guard which had tiny marble sized potatoes underneath, we have had quite a bit of rain and we watered and gave the first 2 drills a liquid sea weed feed also.
I dug the first tuber on the second row yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to find all of these underneath!Much larger than last week maybe due to the attention they got?They went into the pot and tasted more than OK, delicious!
We will leave them now until next week and hopefully this rain will encourage them to grow a little more.
We had a few flowers on our Duke of York's but none on the Home Guard so far even though there are potato blossoms all around the other plots.One of the other plotters said he was digging his even though none of his had flowered either but like ours had gone in on St Patrick's day and the 23rd (Bonfire Night/St John's Eve) would be their picking date.

CarrotsWe planted carrot seed in the blue bin in the unheated greenhouse back in Spring. I pulled a few of them yesterday which while not very large were long and a good size, more should be ready for picking in a few days.They are ready before the main crop and no sign of the dreaded carrot fly or any disfigurement as they are grown in compost only.

Onions:Some of our onions seem to be giving themselves up!We had a very dry Spring and maybe that has something to do with it.They were put in around Feb, they grew fine for a while but then slowed down and do not look like bulking up too much at this stage as the leaves are beginning to turn yellow.One or two of them are lying on the soil out of the ground every few days?

Artichoke We have had about 7 or 8 good sized ones so far with smaller ones still to come on.I cooked my usual way in boiling salted water and dipped in butter.
I have discovered they make ideal TV snack food, just take the plate on my lap and tear, dip and eat. No worries about table manners!

Dinner yesterday was all home grown veg and the raspberries went into a Raspberry Roulade for dessert. Posh name for a swiss roll with fresh cream and raspberries rolled inside!

Allotment Fare on the Table

2011-06-21T16:35:00.013+01:00

Strawberry & Raspberry Pavlova.
This is my first attempt at making a Pavlova even though it is one of my favourite desserts.D.Michelle makes them and my sister Kathleen has made them for years.With eggs freely available from the hens who continue to lay their 4 a day and with the fruit from the plot I decided to have a 'go'!
I Googled for recipes and found one on the BBC Good Food site, I was also informed it is an Australian dessert and originated from Sydney!
Link to recipe hereThe recipe was simple and crisp on the outside and soft in the middle just the way I like (love) Pavlova!

I dug up one tuber of our first early Homeguard but was disappointed to find them very small,sort of large marble size!
We have had weeks of dry windy weather which did not help so I will leave them another two weeks.The rain we are having at the moment may help to swell the crop.
I pulled up one beetroot, the only decent sized one from our first sowing of them.
We have great looking broad beans about 3 ft tall with lots of huge pods but not a lot inside!
I cut the tops off of them not because of greenfly which are noticeably absent this year due to the cold I think.Hopefully they will now put some energy into filling out the pods.
I did'nt waste the small spuds, I cooked them and put them into a salad with the beetroot, broad beans and an onion.I also put in some flowers from the thyme, I used mayonnaise to bind but Olive oil would be nice too.
I blanched the Broad Bean tops the same as Spinach and they were very tasty!
I would use just the leaves for the next lot as the stems were a bit tough. This is another first for me, it was something I had read about but not actually done before.

Broad Bean Tops Update
I used the 4 egg yolks left over from the Pavlova with a drop of milk to make an omelette with more Broad bean Tops.
This time I washed them, pulled the leaves from the stems, chopped roughly and blanched the same as Spinach.Use more than you think you will need as they wilt down quite a lot.I added them to the egg mixture and it all turned out lovely...waste not ,want not!

Hydro Farm,Open Day &BBQ

2011-06-19T15:10:00.011+01:00

"The relics of Auld Decency"
Our scarecrow got a makeover for the open day!
It was the most successful Open day so far with friends,family and growers from other allotments and some GYO people also came along.The sun shone but there was a gale force wind blowing all day, we were windswept by the time we left to come home!

Young Jack did not like the scarecrow and growled at him each time he passed.

Then Jack discovered strawberries on tap!
Our strawberry bed came in for a lot of interest all day, people were interested in the difference growing them in a raised bed made.

Some of the crowd down the plots, the gentleman in the foreground grows veg down on Hare island off the coast of Baltimore in West Cork and said it would be considered a relatively calm day down there when I said it was very windy today!

Each year we raise money for a charity and this year it was for Bernardo's Children's Charity.The marquee was set up with a mouthwatering array of home made cakes,tea & coffee and people made donations.

Some more of the wall paintings

More...

My contribution was painting an old door to look like half door opening out to a field!

Scott in the play area I made at the back of the shed.

View down the new plots

More plots which had all been brought up to show standard for the day

One of the lambs trying to chew the leaves from an apple tree through the fence!

Some of the plotters settling in for the BBQ

Children toasting marshmallows on the fire, no getting them home before that.

Perfect end to a perfect day, a rainbow over the allotments!

Getting ready for the Open Day

2011-06-16T19:47:00.008+01:00

Our allotments Open day is on Sat 18th and everybody has been putting in hours each day getting their plots in perfect order as it is the day when family & friends come out to see what we have been up to on all those days spent out there.
Lots of painting going on and the courtyard is looking colourful and bright as well as gates and pots, anything that stood still got a coat of paint!
I took some photos on the first day and will post more of the finished work on the Open Day.

Hydro Farm Allotments ‘Open Day’

Theme: Fun & Formal Gardening. Date: Saturday 18th. June 2011. Time: 2pm. till 6pm. See the allotments with our ‘Plotters’ to show you around and answer your questions.
We have a Recycle stand where you can see how to use common articles for your garden including a portable strawberry bed and a herb garden on wheels.We also have vegetables and fruit from other countries including, Australia, Italy, China, USA, & France Tea, Coffee and Home made Goodies will be served, Yummy!
Directions: Go from Blarney towards Tower. Just after the first Pedestrian Traffic lights after Blarney, turn right, go up the hill with the yellow & white cottage at the bottom. It is Sign posted from there.
Everybody is welcome to visit
Call 087 2333183.

Things to do with Strawberries!

2011-06-12T12:55:00.010+01:00

Our glut of strawberries continues and we still have not resorted to jam making to use them up.D.Aisling got a recipe for Grown up Strawberry Jelly in a book 'The Farmer's Market cook book.A friend loaned it to her as small son Jack (2 in July) is a committed vegetarian for months,just try to get anything tasting of meat past his lips and he spits it out!Aisling was looking for recipes to vary his diet a little.
The grown up jelly can be made with any combination of soft fruit, I just used strawberries this time, make up the jelly with half the quantity of water and half of sparkling wine. I used Rose bought in Aldi's for 1.75e, the bubbles stay in the jelly for some reason. I don't have a jelly mould so used these supermarket cartons, the ridges on the bottom make a nice design when turned out.If being used for a party etc, cream could be piped around the edges and decorate with strawberries and a few mint leaves.
The rhubarb shortcake (recipe here)with strawberries added, I should have cut up the berries a little more to have a smooth top on the shortbread but it made no difference to the taste.
Meringue nest with cream, kiwi and strawberries, the nest was a little too small to accommodate the fruit!
We are working flat out to get ready for our Open day next Sat 18th June, coming in late each evening so the computer has hardly been turned on.
The kids have been doing loads of painting and I will post them during the week.

A Blooming Great Day Out! 2

2011-06-08T23:35:00.020+01:00

More pics of Bloom in the park 2011
Lots of photos but short on the prose!
Above, poppies blooming in the walled garden
Myself and sis Kathleen ,legless in the walled garden.
Peony
Hollyhocks?
Even in the best of gardens the carrot fly is feared!
The Alice in Wonderland garden ,easily the best for me.
Giant teacups
All is not what it seems when you go through the looking glass,all the greenery is artificial!
Playing cards
Mad hatter
The Barbershop singers wandered around entertaining
Workshops for the kiddies
Edible landscape, allotment type garden
Keelings were pouring out freshly squeezed orange Juice
New Irish cream liquer, we had to sample!
Mushrooms
Veg grown in rows of military precision, more artificial looking than Alice's garden
Just one of the lunchtime queues, the one I was in!
Owl
Kiddie garden inspired booties
Potting bench, remember those strawberry punnets?!
Wheelbarrow of veg.
Kids getting their hands into compost in the Growise stand
Another queue, this time for the courtesy buses back to the station

All shopped out and waiting for a lift home.

Bloom Flower & Garden Show 2011

2011-06-07T21:39:00.012+01:00

My sister & myself took our annual jaunt to the big smoke and spent a very enjoyable day at Bloom in the Phoenix park in Dublin on Sat last.
This year it was definitely bigger and better and has spread out in all directions with bigger stands and enjoyment for all age groups.
My sister Kathleen won tickets on a facebook competition with Nissan Leaf who were sponsoring the Flower Marquee.
I took lots of photos and will do another post and probably another!
My header pic is taken in the Alice in Wonderland garden, the sign can only be read through the looking glass which I was trying to take but because there were so many people going through I could not stand back far enough. I quite like the pic as it turned out with myself in it!
Pic above,there were flowers outside...

There were flowers inside....

on water barrels...

in water...

artfully arranged....

Flowers adorned baskets...

sculptures...

hats...

boots...

handbags....

Garden figures appeared sitting....

Waiting around corners...

Priscilla Queen of the Desert....

Ms Scarecrow....

Getting up close and personal.

Mutant French Beans!

2011-05-31T18:53:00.010+01:00

Terry Walton on his grow your own veg articles in Garden News advised starting seeds in plastic bags in the airing cupboard and keeping a close eye on them.
This is what happens when you take your eye off the ball or beans in this case!
I put the seeds in last week, 4 to 5 days is the max to see germination and they should then be removed and potted up.
Sat or Sun were the optimum days for these poor babies but we had Kevin's Holy Communion on Sat and a family BBQ on Sunday ,I just forgot their existence yesterday and today I revealed a tangled mass of roots when I cut open the bag.
I had to gently prise the roots and leggy shoots apart like untangling knitting wool they were so closely entwined.

I eventually separated 19 seedlings and repotted them carefully, they are standing ? at crazy angles but will hopefully straighten up and turn green instead of the mutant shade of white they are at the moment.
I put them into trays and will water from the bottom keeping fingers crossed the roots will go down and the plant up?!
These are Blue Lake French beans which were a freebie in Garden News recently.

Grandson Kevin and head gardener all dressed up for his First Holy Communion.

Artichokes to Go

2011-05-30T23:18:00.007+01:00

I cut 2 of the Globe artichokes today, the bottom leaves were beginning to open from the heads.
I cooked one for supper tonight.My method of cooking them is fast and simple, fast tasty food in minutes!
I put it into cold salted water ,brought the water to the boil and put the lid on. The water came about half way up the head.Turn down the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Some people use vinaigrette or a sauce, me... a knob of butter (our butter here is salted)I put some on top to melt down through the leaves.
This is not for polite eating in public and needs a finger bowl or lots of tissue.Tear off the leaves one by one, holding the leaf by the tip dip the end (the part nearest the heart)into the butter.Still holding the tip (there is not a polite or easy way to describe it)scrape the flesh with the bottom teeth!
The outside leaves do not have a lot of flesh but as you get nearer the heart the leaves get paler in colour and more fleshy.Then you reach the centre 'choke' which can be eaten whole or sliced still dipping it in the butter.

The remains, not a pretty sight but provided a scrumptious feast!
There are lots of recipes online for artichokes but I find my method suitable if you only have one or two hearts at a time.

Hands on Hens!

2011-05-28T00:00:00.009+01:00

Keeping Hens Course.

Hydro Farm presents a one day course on keeping hens. The course will cover, how to choose a hen, where to buy hens, different breeds, where to keep your hen, feeding, drinking water, bedding, laying boxes, collecting eggs, broody hens, breeding chickens and what to do with your chicken manure.

The course will be run by Zwena McCullough who has kept free range hens for over 30 years.

This is a hands on course where we will look at the free range hens kept here on the farm and their housing.

The course will be on saturday the 25th. June
Time 10am till 5pm. & will include a light lunch.

Cost €50.00 places limited and will be, on a first come first served basis.

Please email to happyzwena@hotmail.com to book your place and get details of payment.

The course will be run on the Hydro Farm, Tower, Blarney, Co. Cork. If the weather is good we will be outside and if it is wet we will have the course inside in our conference centre.

Artichokes & Fried Egg!

2011-05-26T18:38:00.012+01:00

Blogger is still causing problems with me signing in to my blog!Going through the dashboard is the only way I can access it as 'sign in' is constantly at the top of the page no matter how many times I sign in!
I can leave comments on some blogs but not on others?!
The globe artichokes took me by surprise at the weekend , they kind of snuck up! I am not complaining just counting the days and watching until I can take one home for lunch!These are off shoots of one which was on the plot when we took it over 4 years ago and had gone wild.
Fried Egg plant.Last year they were small plants in the tyre in the courtyard of the allotments.The children asked me why they were called fried egg plants, I said the colour and they spread out, last year they were very well behaved and stayed within the tyre.
This year I asked them what does an egg do when you crack it into the pan? it spreads out!The plants have escaped from the tyre and despite having been pulled out have grown again through the gravel.I think it looks great with flowers and colour just spilling over.
Flowers on the snap dragons on the plot, these are just 6 which I bought in a tray recently, behind under the fleece cloche are Pak Choi which the slugs decimated at first but seem to be leaving alone lately.
Flowers on the Duke of York 1st earlies.Home Guard were the first 1st earlies put in and I expected them to flower first so it was a nice surprise to see these today.
We have gale force winds and it gets quite cold in the evenings and at night but I see some Blight warnings being issued already?!
I have Bordeaux mixture and hopefully a day over the weekend when it is not too windy I will spray just to be on the safe side.
Beans are developing on the Broad beans but the wind has knocked over a couple, I have tied the others to the wire with raffia and can only hope it holds them.
Second problem is the holes in the leaves, worm or slug damage?

Another victim of the gales, these begonias were growing beautifully in my hanging basket when I left this morning. They were on the ground when I returned this evening. I floated them on a plate with water,I just could not bear to leave them on the lying on the ground.

Hitchcock Hens!

2011-05-25T13:21:00.007+01:00

Some photos of the hens taken over the past couple of weeks, they have settled in and seem to be intent on taking over!
D.Aisling has christened them the Hitchcock hens.
One of them always hangs around outside long after the other 3 have bedded down for the night. A bit of a rebel at heart. Here she is investigating the high hedge, if she can't fly over it maybe she can go through it?!

No, I am not going to bed its too early and I am not afraid of the dark!

One evening as I was working on the computer I got the eerie feeling I was being watched.I checked the patio door ,no sign of anyone.
Then I turned to the window and here were 2 of my lassies gazing in!They had flown up onto the windowsill and one was looking over at me on the computer.
The other was watching the TV, hoping 'Chicken Run' or 'Over the Hedge' was showing?!

The girls lay 4 eggs most days now, last Sunday was very wet & windy and for some reason only 2 eggs were laid.
On Monday I went to check and found 3 eggs and 1 monster one which looked as big as a duck egg.
I felt sorry for the poor hen which had produced it!
I had a double yolk for my poached egg on toast. It is years since I saw one of these and it was a surprise to say the least.

Blogger Yesterday and today I am having problems with Blogger (again)!
I sign in and as usual I am taken to my Dashboard but when I click 'view Blog' I am not signed in so I cannot leave comments on other blogs!
I thought I would not be able to post but today I discovered I can access this through the dashboard .
It is very annoying to say the least, hopefully it will be corrected soon.

Gale force winds are still with us and are causing delays getting plants out on the plot, everything is just being torn apart with the wind.

Bloom 2011

2011-05-21T18:38:00.011+01:00

We are on the countdown for Bloom in the Park ,Ireland's biggest garden show which takes place over 5 days of the June Bank holiday week end from thurs 2nd to mon 6th June.
I have been to the previous 2 with my sister Kathleen who is also an avid gardener,she is the flower child while I am the veggie.Its a great day out for all the family especially as children under 16 go free and there is a dedicated children's Zone to keep them occupied for hours!
Its not just about flowers and veggies, it encompasses all to do with them from growing to cooking and all things in between.
The Bord Bia Food village is new this year ,previously there was a food market and a marquee for cookery demos, these are now all centralised in to a village for easy access.
There will be cookery demos each day by celebrity chefs, we need to get the timetables and plan our itinerary.
The artisan food market is second to none and we can graze our way through it!

Kathleen admiring one of the show gardens last year.
There are 27 Show gardens large and small and there has been a competition on TV for the past few months where garden designers vied for the honour of designing the Super garden, they will be on hand to answer questions.
The show gardens are all fabulous and there are always some ideas to take home and apply to a smaller garden.
There is also a craft Garden this year where demos and workshops will take place, all types of ceramics etc will be on display.
The walled garden which is being renovated by the OPW is always worth a visit to see what has changed/improved since last year.I got the idea to cover our carrots last year with enviromesh from there.
Bord Bia who organize the event have the recession in mind and there are various ways of cutting the cost of tickets by buying online and also I see in the Post office if you pay 2 bills through their Billpay you can buy 2 tickets for the price of one.
Woodies, one of our biggest Home & Garden stores has the Garden Expert stage as usual where expert gardeners will be on hand to answer any garden related queries.
We will be travelling up by train as we have done previously and there is a free shuttle bus all day to and from the station to the Phoenix Park where the show is held.
Youtube have lots of videos etc and the Bord Bia website has all the news for this year here
There is also a competition on the website via Facebook with a prize of a 500e voucher to spend at Woodies!

We have had an exciting week as the Queen visited us, which lifted us out of our sense of depression and recession!
HRH asked especially to visit the English market in Cork and the place was on Fete for the occasion,on leaving the market HRH took everyone by surprise and went on a walk about to meet school children who had been picked to line the Grand Parade, our Gemma among them!
Grandson Ben received his First Holy Communion this morning on a wet and windy day,he remarked the Queen got all the nice days and left us with the rain!
Barack Obama is visiting the country next week and I have to fit in some gardening in the midst of all this celebrity watching!

Strawberries to take Home!

2011-05-17T08:43:00.021+01:00

Strawberries are slowly beginning to ripen, we have not had much heat or sunshine this last few days mainly a relentless wind which is drying out the soil, maybe I should have left the cloches over them ?!
The slugs are diving in and had just started nibbling on a couple of them, I was amazed to see one of the nibbled berries full of ants!I had heard somebody saying they had ants in their house lately.I watered each plant which will probably get rid of the ants but makes the bed more inviting for the slugs...grrhh!
We have spent quite a lot of time on the plot, mainly tidying and making new beds. The Open Day looms in June!
Inside the greenhouse, while the borders are waiting for the tomato plants to move out I put in lettuce and spinach to make use of the space.Outside the glass the 2 artichokes at the end can be seen and along the side the lavender plants are forging ahead, even to brush against the plants releases the most beautiful smell of lavender even though there are no flowers out yet.
Spinach,asparagus and strawberries which accompanied me home!We also have regular pickings of our rhubarb from the plants on the allotment.We are delighted to bring anything home at this time of year.
I went to the Midleton Farmer's market on Sat morning, this was the first market here and continues to be popular and has a lovely selection of organic produce on offer.My 'hen man' operates there and I needed more feed for my hens.
D.Linda met me there with her d.Katie and we spent a pleasant morning.My oldest S.Kevin was also in the area as it turned out, with his son Aaron playing hurling.Aaron is 6 years old and has taken to the game of hurling like a star,he scored 2 of the goals which won the match for his team.
I think we will see him wearing the Cork jersey in Croke park some day!
The hens are laying an egg each every day now which adds up to 4 eggs a day which adds up to 28 eggs a week!Family are delighted to take the eggsess from me!My little egg safe was purchased in a garden centre which had a lot of hen related items on sale, which proves the enormous interest in having hens now, even 2 hens could be reared in any urban setting and provide enough eggs for a family plus highly charged chicken poo to add to the compost bin to produce super compost for the garden!
My salad pot in the plastic greenhouse at home is still producing enough leaves for a few salads and sandwiches, I had planned to sow another one but the lettuce will be ready to pick on the allotment soon and then hopefully with summer on the way outdoor sowings can go ahead.

Sinead received the Sacrement of Confirmation last week, or 'made her confer' to use the vernacular!
Most schools here now use these white 'albs' to wear for the actual Church ceremony as during the Celtic Tiger years some of the clothes worn were totally unsuitable for either the ceremony or the child to wear in Church.

Strawberries & Pets on the Farm

2011-05-08T21:59:00.012+01:00

Gale force winds have battered us for the past few days and show no sign of abating as yet.I have been out to the plots but have forgotten the camera most days.
Photo op for the new pet cage which Zwena has put out in the field next to the plots. The lambs and ducklings are in there now and the hens have a big new area near the tea rooms to make it easier for everyone to see all of the animals,needless to say there are usually lots of volunteers to feed the lambs!
Bottle feeding over and they bury their heads in the bucket of feed regardless of who is looking at them!
In the next pen are the ducks and ducklings, I think the Silkie helped in hatching so has come out with her foster babies.
It has not been all fun and games however! I had planted out the Mange Tout on Thurs, nice strong plants about 5 to 6 ins high. I covered them with branches, netting and used an organic slug blocker but this is what met me on Sat!Some have literally disappeared completely and these little stumps are what is left of others.
Mange Tout woz here!
The strawberry bed was covered with fleece cloches since it got its cleaning a few weeks ago, I also gave the bed a dressing of potash at the time.
We had weeks of dry weather and I removed the cloches last week and watered each plant individually through the opening in the weed membrane, needless to say it started raining that day and has continued almost every day since!
I was amazed at the amount of fruit which had set on the plants and it looks like we are in for a bumper harvest.
I used the slug blocker around the bed,netting to keep the birds off and we can just keep our fingers crossed now that the predators leave enough for us.
The raised bed is too high for the usual cloche hoops, I used my trusty flexible plumbing pipes.I broke some bamboo canes and hammered them into the ground, the pipes then fitted down over them to make quite large hoops for the netting.

Close up of the fruit, I think there is a definite red tint to one berry!
Calabrese plants have been moved out to their bed complete with cabbage collars, I did not have the collars the day I put them out and got them the next day. I hope the cabbage root fly did not strike in the meantime!
Only leeks and sweet peppers left on bedroom windowsill now, 6 different varieties of tomatos all potted on and moved down to the plastic greenhouse which I am keeping my fingers crossed will stay standing in these gale force winds!
3 hens are laying daily now and are the source of endless amusement!

The Circle of Life

2011-05-03T19:04:00.007+01:00

Its been over a week since I blogged, but a lot has happened in that short space of time.
Sinead and Aoife lost their other Nanna on Easter Monday and the week was taken up with the various funeral services. Here in Ireland we bury the deceased within 3 days usually unless family have to get home from abroad to the funeral.The first evening is usually very quiet with the Rosary taking place ,sometimes this is confined to family and very close friends, the second evening is the removal from the funeral home to the Church.
The final service is on the third day with Mass being celebrated in the Church and then the deceased is taken to their final resting place.
Cremation is slowly becoming accepted here but they are still few and far between.
Sinead is due to make her Confirmation next Tues and will miss her Nanna Kathleen on the day.
Gardening and some potting on was done during the week while we had the good weather which came to an abrupt halt on Sat and the south of the country had a deluge of biblical proportions!
The ground needed some rain as it had got very dry and no amount of watering could wet it sufficiently, this morning everything is up looking healthy and strong.
Photos of the bluebell wood on the way up to the plots, I mean to take photos each year but this is the first year I have actualy stopped on the way down and taken out the camera.
Blue and white bells are carpeting the floor under the trees, ferns are uncurling from the fallen debris and brown leaves and the woods are coming to life once again.

Having an Eggstatic Easter!

2011-04-24T13:01:00.004+01:00

A very quick post from the hen house, one of my girls laid her first egg today of all days!I check every couple of days, just lifting the lid of the nest box a couple of inches but today I did a double take when I saw the small light brown egg inside.
It is small but perfectly formed!
The knitted egg cosy was made by Aisling's MIL, it originally covered a small chocolate egg. I imagine the hen responsible had the same look of shock and surprise when she laid her first egg!
A very Happy Easter to everyone.

Seedlings Everywhere!

2011-04-22T22:57:00.015+01:00

We have had the most marvellous week of sunshine and high temps which sadly for us here in the south seems to have had a slight hiccup today.
We did not quite have rain but very heavy mist, what we would call ' a soft day'!The moisture was badly needed and was ideal as it seeped into the ground and did not run off as heavy rains would.Everything looks so green and clean this evening.

The salad pot is ready to start cutting, this was planted up with mixed salad leaves. I will plant another pot as I begin to use this one to have a steady supply until the heads of lettuce in the green house are ready for picking.
The sweetcorn was not a very successful sowing. I planted 16 seeds in these 2 trays on 9th of April and only 4 of them had grown into seedlings by today the 21st.
I potted them into 3" pots to grow on.
I investigated the compost and found the other seeds had become soft and were much the same as they had been when planted except for one other one which had a tiny shoot so the sowing yielded 5 plants!
These seeds had been opened last year, I used a new packet of seeds to make a second sowing today so fingers crossed.
Matron, you did say these were Dwarf french Beans?!
These are the thriving seedlings from a sowing of Dog Bean seeds which Matron saved from her own garden and passed on to me last year.They are described as Dwarf french beans but I think are related to the original bean stalk the way they are growing!You can still see the seed case on the plant if you look closely!
View into the plastic greenhouse this evening. I had to erect the mini greenhouse frame to have enough shelving to hold what is here at the moment and what is upstairs on the bedroom windowsill and due to come down soon.
Top shelf on the left:
Sweetcorn,Inca tomatoes,Sweet peas

Middle shelf:
Salad pot, more of the Inca toms.

Back, Top shelf: 2 aubergines, 2 cucumbers, 5 sweetcorn
Middle shelf:2 x trays Brussel Sprouts, Dwarf french beans
Bottom shelf: 2 x trays calabrese, 1 x cauliflower

Right,Top Shelf: Cabbage, lettuce, Yellow perfection tomatoes on their second potting on, now in 5" pots.
Middle shelf: More cabbage and second sowing of beetroot in peat pots.
3 x pots of Spring onions on the ground.

Lots going on on the windowsills which I will cover soon.

Happy Easter to everyone ,where ever you are may the sun shine!

Rhubarb Shortcake

2011-04-16T19:39:00.004+01:00

D.Aisling gave me this recipe for rhubarb shortcake which she got from a friend of hers.It has been tweaked a few times so I don't know where the original recipe came from.We all have a glut of rhubarb so something other than crumble is welcome. This is delicious hot or cold with cream or custard.The shortcake pastry is a bit fiddly to roll out but take it nice and easy and don't roll out too thinly.A spring form tin makes life easier, I don't have one so used just a cake ring on a baking sheet.
Soften rhubarb first and allow to cool completely before adding to the pastry. I used 400grms of rhubarb,washed and cut into 1 inch pieces. No extra water is added and cook on a very low heat until soft. I used 100 grms sugar to sweeten but added more when cooked.

Shortcake
185 grms butter
185 grms caster Sugar
1 egg + 1 yolk (beaten)
275 grms Self raising Flour

Cream butter + sugar
add beaten egg mixture
Add flour and mix together
It makes a fairly dry dough.
Divide in two, cover with cling film and put into fridge for approx 30 mins.
Roll each piece into a round, press bottom layer into tin.
add fruit leaving a border all round.Brush border with water.
Add top layer of pastry and press down all round to seal.
Bake 35-40 mins at 180c (Gas 4)

I put it onto a plate with a slight dip and the crust cracked but that made no difference to the taste!I will have to invest in a proper cake plate.

Getting Down and Dirty!

2011-04-14T21:45:00.011+01:00

I left the hens out around the garden this evening and three of them made for the flower bed as usual. I saw what they were up to and went to get the camera.
They were rolling around in the dirt!
They burrowed down in to the soft compost and then rolled over! The one in front stood up with that 'who me' look in her eye when caught rolling around.
Is this something hens do?
The hens were not the only ones getting into the compost!
I checked the mange tout which I had put into damp compost in the freezer bags. All of the seeds had sprouted in 5 days.You can just see the 'tail' on each sprouted seed.This part is put down into the compost as the green shoot grows up from the opposite end, they actually look a little like tadpoles!I emptied the bag carefully in case I damaged the tender root and set each one into a deep seed tray to grow on.
i have 24 Mange Tout which is enough if they all grow on.

I bought these peas in Dunnes, a national Supermarket chain.They are Bees brand ,one I have not seen before.
2.95E for 250 seeds.
They are Early Onward, they only grow to 24" high so should be easy to manage.
I went with the moist compost in the freezer bags again, this time 2 bags with 12 seeds in each. If they germinate in 5 days I will be doing well!
Planting them directly into the ground takes longer and there is always the danger of pests and predators who like the taste of nice new seeds.

2 bedroom windowsills are now in service, as of today the following are in the propagating process:
Window 1:
Topepo Sweet Peppers, Rosso & Giallo repotted in to 3" pots.
Matron's seeds: Lazy Housewife, Dogbeans & Crimson Flowered Broad beans all germinated.
Yellow french Beans,
Sweetcorn x 2 trays
Tigerella, Moneymaker & Marmande tomatoes.

Window 2:
Peas,Early Onward in freezer bags.
Courgettes x5 in 3" pots
Mange Tout x 24 in trays
Musselburgh Leeks in seed tray.
From now on as seedlings come through and the need to move them on once germinated and also harden off is going to entail some juggling of space on the windowsills and in the greenhouse!

Forgotten Flowers?!

2011-04-12T16:39:00.015+01:00

Have you ever bought bags of Spring bulbs as soon as they appear in the shops in September?
Have you intended to plant them as soon as you get home ,if not, definitely tomorrow?
Have you ever discovered said bulbs in various stages of distress in a cupboard/shed/under the stairs, weeks/months later?
Then read on, I bought daffodil bulbs back in October, brought them home and put them into the shed intending to plant them soon (the road to hell is paved with good intentions)!
I remember reading a blog around January saying daffodils could still be planted if anyone had been guilty of any or all of the above, I had just discovered my forgotten flowers in the shed.January was cold and the ground was icy and too hard to dig in any case and the flowers were forgotten yet again.
Photos are not in rotation, top pic is the daffs as of now in full bloom when all of the others are gone over and even dead headed!

My daffs languished in the shed until I happened to be looking for something and spotted pale green shoots peeping out of some netting.I investigated and there they were, most of them had produced shoots of 1 to 2 ins long and these were curled around one another. I prised them gently apart and thought they looked OK to plant, and this was?
18th March, yes the day AFTER St Patrick's Day!
Photo above is the daffs on 29th March, just over ground and the other daffs can be seen in the background.
Same daffs in the flower bed out back taken a couple of days ago, one in full bloom and some which had no shoots when planted are just coming through now.
Moral of this story....
Its never too late!

Seedlings coming Through

2011-04-10T22:17:00.010+01:00

Lots of pics to put up as they are sitting on my computer. Today was a beautiful day and I took the opportunity to get the remainder of the seed potatoes in the ground, mainly because I now need the space in the plastic greenhouse for the seedlings which are starting to take up more and more space.The seedlings will be left in the greenhouse only until the newest seeds planted need to come down from the bedroom windowsill by which time I hope the weather permits planting out on the plot.
Yellow Perfection tomatoes were left on the windowsill as they were looking a little wan after the last repotting they have now overtaken the Incas which came down to the greenhouse.They are now repotted into 5" pots
Spinach which will go out to the cold greenhouse on the allotment making use of it before the tomatoes are ready to go.
The Inca tomatoes still in their 3" pots.
Sweet peas in their toilet roll tubes.
Bolthardy beetroot in peat pots, some did not germinate but may do so yet, if not I will resow a few more
Carrots in bottomless peat pots.
Greyhound cabbage, I only sowed a few I swear!
Lettuce will go out to the greenhouse border with the Spinach.

Salad leaves will stay at home in this pot for easy picking, I will sow another pot next week to have a continuous supply.

Grow your own Mojitos! I repotted some of the mint which are growing fast.

Spring Lamb and Seeds

2011-04-09T20:58:00.013+01:00

We have a new resident on the Hydro allotments!Zwena has added a lamb and there is a companion arriving in the next day or two.Willow is the German Shepherd standing guard with Owen and lamb.I am always fascinated at Zwena's control over her dogs, Willow is a young dog and is in the process of being trained.
Owen and Lamb who I don't think has a name yet!
A seed sowing marathon was in progress today before I went out to the allotment in the afternoon.Matron visited Cork last year and very kindly brought me some packets of her own saved seeds.
This one is Lazy Housewife, a Victorian heritage variety, read about it on matron's blog.Recycled tall plastic containers with ready drainage holes underneath and most of them have clear covers making an instant incubator for small amounts of seeds. They came with soft fruits from Aldi.
Dog beans!Also from Matron,they have a stunning colour but are plain broad beans!
The windowsill is filling again, peppers on the left,I am leaving them here in the heat for another while.Lazy Housewife, Dog beans and Crimson flowered beans in tray all from matron.
Next to them are mangetout peas sown according to Terry Walton and put into a bag of moist compost to sprout before planting.Watch this space!
Far right two trays of Sundance Sweetcorn which we grew last year with great success.
Outside in the plastic greenhouse, calabrese,cauliflower and brussel Sprouts are sown. they do not need too much heat to germinate so are OK out here, I will cover them at night just in case!
Update tomorrow on what is sprouting at the moment.

Homing Hens!!

2011-04-09T10:14:00.010+01:00

Hen update, these are photos I took on Wed evening when the hens were roaming around the garden.Sam had not seen them up close before and stood inside the patio door actually struck dumb at the sight.He never barked just stared out at them, anytime I left the room he did bark I think to warn me they were trying to get in?!

They came right up to the patio door, one more daring than the others took to staring in at me!
The hen is actually tapping on the glass with her beak?!
Looking around for reinforcements or another way in?

Reinforcements have arrived, she is now trying to lift her feet over the edge of the glass!
I remember reading somewhere hens are the nearest in body shape etc to the dinosaurs, why am I thinking Jurassic Park and velociraptors??!
Ooh look, a rocking chair in the corner, I bags a roost on that.

Forget the chicken coop I want to move in here!

Strawberries

2011-04-05T22:02:00.001+01:00

I spent quite a while on the plot today and came home looking windswept to say the least!The strawberry bed got a complete makeover.This is the finished bed under wraps.The cloches were on sale in Aldi a few weeks ago for 6e each, I bought one of each and had to use both to cover the length of the bed.There are flowers on some of the plants so bit of mollycoddling may produce some early fruit.
The before shot,brown leaves since last year and some leaves have brown spots?I cut them back to allow the new leaves to emerge.
The after shot, I did not realise there were so many blossoms until I had cleaned all of the plants up.I gave them a dressing of potash also, a Spring dressing is recommended for all fruiting plants.
Three more drills of potatoes went in, this time Duke of York which is another 1st early.There is space for about 3 more drills which will go in ASAP!Good Friday is often mentioned as the final day for putting in spuds but as this is a movable Feast day and as such is very late this year it may not be ideal!
Our asparagus is coming up and I forgot to take a pic,nearly all of the new plants which went in last year have spears coming through.I had bought 2 year old crowns so this year we will be able to harvest them.

More Hens

2011-04-04T21:14:00.010+01:00

I allowed the hens out of the coop this evening for about an hour, it is not a particularly nice evening being wet and miserable so I felt sorry for the girls and opened the doorway to let them stretch their legs and explore the garden.It took a few minutes for one of them (Shelly) to investigate the outside world, the others followed tentatively spreading their wings and flying awkwardly in short bursts.

On sat morning Kevin and myself headed down to Midleton to the Farmer's Market. It was early and the market was quiet,the serious shoppers were filling up their shopping bags.This is the poultry ark where the hens and ducks are on sale.We picked up 2 more hens and brought them home to introduce them to the others.I thought there was going to be a bit of a showdown as the newbies were blocked from the food bucket by the other two standing solidly in front of it!

Midleton is one of the first Farmer's Markets and continues to attract large crowds, ,most of the stall holders are sold out each day.There are organic beef and pork stalls here, the stall holders are the producers also and love to answer any questions about their products.
The poultry ark was always the centre of attention, the owner told me he had sold quite a lot of hens for Mother's Day complete with coops!

The hens were not long finding the flower bed, they are still clustered together even though they could spread out.The first two hens are the leaders it seems, the two newer ones follow along.
Shelley got into the coop on Sat night and sat in front of the doorway blocking entry to the others!After standing around in the cold they eventually pushed their way in, tails sticking out and D.Ais had to close in the door pushing them in while doing so.
I noticed one hen outside tonight for quite a while on her own,the others had gone inside and I began to wonder if they were blocking her from entering.I had a look inside and could not see where they were as it was nearly dark at this stage.I opened the nest box at the side and here were the 3 hens snuggled up together!The 4th one did not want to roost on her own I think, she eventually went in and I closed in the door.

Hens Have Arrived!

2011-04-01T19:17:00.011+01:00

I had tried online and rang various phone numbers to obtain hens as soon as I had the hen house & garden ready. I was told this seasons chicks had just hatched and would not be ready to lay for about 18 to 20 weeks. Yesterday I was walking through the
Mahon Point farmers Market to access the shopping centre when I walked into a man selling hens,ducks & geese from a poultry ark!
He is doing a roaring trade he told me at 3 farmer's markets and is sold out each day.He had 3 Rhode Island reds so I took 2 home with me!I thought I better get used to these before adding to their number.
I had them in the back of the car in a box listening to their soft cooing, I got them home and realised I had never actually handled a hen before and do not particularly like anything feathered and flying?!
I gingerly picked one out of the box half expecting her to peck my hand, but no and neither did the second one!They strutted around the run as if they were on 4" Jimmy Choos, looking decidedly displeased with their new surroundings.
I had to purchase the feed and drink containers and a bag of feed from the same vendor as everything had happened so fast!
I put in a cabbage leaf and a small hawthorn branch with new leaves growing.They pecked at everything including the new grass.Come 8 o'clock last night I was wondering what time do hens turn in for the night and would I have to tuck them in?!
Shelley went in 4 times turned around and came out again, did she not think the boudoir was up to standard?!
Katie in the meantime made no attempt to go in and I was thinking she might be pulling an all nighter but eventually she did and I locked them in for the night.
They went in tonight at 7'o clock.
The bubble wrap is to keep their food dry and rain out of their drinking water.The weather here has changed for the worst with rain and gale force winds.
Kevin and myself are travelling to Midleton Farmer's market in the morning to pick up 2 more hens, they are all point of lay and expected to lay in about 2 weeks time.
I planted out the Broad beans on the plot today despite the gale force winds, the roots were coming through the ends of the pots for the last couple of days.I need the room in the greenhouse to continue planting, I spent a wakeful 2 nights expecting the wind to blow it around the garden but so far so good.
The shallots are coming on out on the plot.
Sturion onions are putting up green shoots, I took the covering off once they began to sprout as they would be damaged growing through it.
Asparagus is sprouting. I think the frost got the last few spears that came through quite early.
I noticed a flower growing on our rhubarb today and removed it, when taking it up to the compost heap I saw a few more dumped so others are having the same problem as we are. We have had an exceptionally dry Spring so far and the rhubarb reacts by flowering, expecting drought conditions! It is the plants way of propagating.

From the flower bed at home,one little Snakeshead Frittillaria! I only saw the slug? damage when looking at the photo.

Irish Legends and Folklore

2011-03-30T21:59:00.010+01:00

Last weekend we had beautiful weather and I spent a couple of days in North Tipperary.While driving around I came across a tomb which dates back at least 2000 years BC.It is known as Leaba (bed)Duirmuid (Dermot)& Ghrainne (Grace)star crossed lovers of Gaelic Mythology.There are various sites giving the story online, all basically the same, I have used Squidoo and the drawing is from that site,the armies in the background were pursuing the lovers across the country and I think that is how there are various sites related to the lovers.
Did they rest here and hide from their pursuers?

This is not a tourist site and you may not find it on any map, I saw the sign post and knew of the legend so followed the directions. It is not a place for designer footwear as you have to trek about 400 metres up a boggy hillside.
If anyone is touring around Ireland and comes across these blue signs they are worth following if you have time as they usually lead to interesting sites such as this.

Once we got to the site there was no further signage just this huge marker stone at the side of a lonely road,the grave is visible from the road but unless you have some idea what it is you may not stop!

The wedge tomb set into the hillside.If it was used as a hiding place they had a clear view of the surrounding countryside but then the area may have been covered in dense forest that long ago.

The tomb is surrounded by small standing stones.The locals have always been aware of its existence and the story attached to it which was probably handed down by word of mouth through the generations.

The other side of the tomb, the surrounding hill sides can be seen in the background

This is one of the stones within the circle and the water collected in the top of the stone is supposed to be a cure for warts!We were not sure if it was to be used daily or just once. These old cures usually entail walking around the stones a requisite number of times etc.
I enjoyed finding this part of our mythical heritage as we all learned these stories going to school.

All Systems Go!

2011-03-22T20:38:00.008Z

Beautiful Spring day today, I was able to spend most of the day on the allotment, I even persuaded youngest S.Barry to come out and paint the shed. He is just starting here but got it all done in double quick time. The two plastic bags are protecting the 2 Goji berry bushes which are covered in leaves and I did not want any mishaps with them!
I sowed carrots in the barrel in the greenhouse, again Amsterdam 3 Sprint. I am hoping to have an early crop of carrots before the outdoor ones are ready?!I filled the lower half of the barrel with spent compost from last year and just put new compost on the top layer with a handful of Fish,blood & bone.
Kathryn spent Sunday turning over and picking stones off last years squash & pumpkin bed as this year it is going to house roots ie: carrots & parsnips.
I spent today making a new bed (on left of scarecrow).This was a potato bed last year but had not been boxed in. I did that today and dug it over thoroughly because the idea of raised beds is to eventually not have to dig them just turn them over lightly.There were loads of scutch grass roots to pull out and I cleaned it as much as possible.
This will house another onion bed, with a row of red onions and space for a row of leeks later on in the season.
back home in the plastic greenhouse:
Beetroot planted 2 seeds to a peat pot is up.
Lettuce has been transplanted from seed tray to pots, these will go into the greenhouse on the allotment before the tomatoes go in.

Incas tomatoes which were repotted a few days ago. They were covered up to the bottom set of leaves and are now well clear of the compost again.
The pot of salad leaves are putting in an appearance.These are to have some salad pickings before the lettuce are ready.
Cabbage needs to be transplanted from the seed tray ASAP!

Hen House finally put together awaiting its first residents!The ground has been raked over and composted. I was waiting for milder weather to put down grass seed but while blog surfing in search of hen facts I came across Allotment #65 who has just taken 4 hens on board. The henhouse over there is enviable but I was delighted to find turf rolls had been used with bark mulch which will shorten the waiting time considerably for me.I will be getting rolls of turf on friday and we should be in business much sooner than anticipated!

St Patrick's Day Parade

2011-03-17T17:53:00.046Z

Our allotment group walking behind our colourful 'float' in the village of Blarney for the St Patrick's Day parade AND it won the 2nd of 3 prizes!!
Blarney held its first parade last year after a lapse of about 25 years and this was our first time taking part. I was amazed at the huge turnout along the main street, there must have been a few thousand people clapping and cheering.There was a farmer's & craft market set up in the village square with bouncy castles etc for the children. The weather was bright and dry despite a mixed weather forecast.

This morning early in the Hydro farm barn it was all hands on deck to get the float prepared.As it was representing a garden most of the produce had to be bought fresh and only arranged at the last minute.I say bought because at this time of year we don't have fresh produce ourselves, but the idea was to show people what can be grown locally either at home or on an allotment
Zwena had lots of photos of produce and events which have taken place on the allotments over the past year, she had them blown up and laminated to fix to the 'rustic' structure over the square raised bed.We had 2 scarecrows, a Mr & Mrs!

The final touches were put in place once the 'float' was lined up at the start of the parade.
Sinead,Aoife & Kevin lined up waiting for the 'off'

Zwena still doing some final 'tweaking'! There were garden implements, a wheelbarrow, a watering can and even a horse collar since the days of horse powered farming.A cloche tunnel,gloves,sowing guides and in fact anything that would be used on a plot.
In keeping with tradition I felt we should have some potatoes in today, so 3 drills of Home Guard went in before we left for the parade.In the background the tidied up lavender plants can be seen in front of the greenhouse and Kevin having his break after his mornings work in the barn.
Waiting in line in front of us were some modes of transport, a beautifully restored horse drawn caravan and 2 gleaming vintage cars.
A happy group of plotters suitably decked out in gardening gear.
Walking past the reviewing stand, the huge crowds in the background and on the back of the trailer a colourful 'rustic' garden gate with bucket hanging which Zwena sourced for the float.

Something I look out for in Blarney every year.The private entrance to the castle is lined with hordes of daffodils which my photograph does not do justice to.
I hope where ever you are you had a great St Patrick's Day.day

Tomatoes & Broad Beans

2011-03-16T21:59:00.007Z

The tomato seedlings looked slightly spindly and as soon as I espied the first true leaves (hardly visible to the naked eye!) I decided to pot them on. When potting on tomato plants they should be replanted up to first set of leaves so that the leaves are just sitting on the soil. The hairs on the stems grow new roots and as tomatoes become quite top heavy when producing fruit they need a strong root system.
These are the Incas, there are 9 plants at the moment but I won't need all of these so only about 2 or 3 really strong plants will be finally planted out in the greenhouse.
I left the Yellow Perfection in their seed tray for another few days.
The sweet peppers are finally up!
The repotted seedlings are still on the windowsill, they were repotted into 3inch pots and will be potted on as the roots show through the bottom of the pot, not very scientific I know but it works for me!
The Broad Beans are sitting out in the sunshine each day for a few hours to get accustomed to being outside, I have to remember to bring them into the greenhouse each evening as we are having quite severe frosts each night.

Daffodils in the bed in the back garden to add a touch of Spring.
Zwena is entering an allotment 'float' in the parade in Blarney for St Patrick's Day!
Photos of that tomorrow, and......
Happy St Patrick's Day to everyone.
La Feile Padraig Shona Duit.

First Eggs to Hatch!!

2011-03-14T22:12:00.007Z

Great eggsitement (excuse the pun)at the Hydro Farm, the newly acquired Ducks & Geese have started laying.The eggs have been removed for safety until they have finished laying so they won't be damaged.Zwena has them cushioned in sawdust in this box for a few days to protect them.The large white eggs are the goose eggs and the beautiful pale blue ones are the duck eggs.Once the goose has finished laying, the eggs will be returned to her to hatch out. I must confess I know absolutely nothing about them so we are all dying to see what happens next.
Never a dull moment at the Hydro Farm!
We did have some snow on Sat morning but it did not stay on the ground. Our days have been sunny if not warm, as yet.The ground is warming up and is easy to dig over.
I began cleaning out the herb bed and ended up completely revamping it!It is now longer and our solitary apple tree which has lots of buds is now included inside the bed. Sage, thyme & chives have survived since last year and our lupin has new shoots.I am going to put in a Rosemary bush,parsley and mint and that will complete the bed, maybe add some grit as herbs are used to Mediterranean soil which can be poor.They don't need an over rich compost to thrive.
Our rhubarb is flying,at least 3 stools are as 2 of them are quite puny looking despite getting the same treatment as the others.
Our apple tree and a close up of the herb bed.The wind break needs to be tightened up but will have to wait until our digging and planting are done its not an urgent job!The wind caught it over the winter and the wire snapped, I think the wire I used was unsuitable for the job.

The digging finished , this section of the new plot is going to have potatoes only. Today I began digging out the drills to have them ready for planting.
Some say St Patrick's day is D day for planting and more say Good Friday?!
I suppose it depends on which end of the country you are living in too. Easter is very late this year and if we wait for Good Friday we will be at the end of April so I think ours will be going in as soon as the sprouted shoots look good enough.
At home, tomato seedlings are up and also sweet peppers.
In the plastic greenhouse,cabbage & lettuce seedlings are OK.
Broad Beans are hardening off and becoming strong plants to plant out in a few weeks.
Salad leaves in the pot are just over the soil but no sign of the spring onions as yet.

Getting Under Way!

2011-03-06T19:58:00.011Z

We have had a lovely week weather wise, sunny days but cold & frosty nights.These photos have been taken over a few days both on the plot and at home and are not in any particular order.
Today on the allotment the onions went in, these are Sturion and there are 2 rows of shallots which we have not grown before. I paid 2.45e a lb for the onion sets in a garden centre and there are 2 lbs of them in this bed. One of my fellow plotters told me Lidl are doing a lot of garden items next week and one of them is onion sets for 1e.He got them last year and said he had great onions from them.We are doing a second onion bed so Lidl will go in there and we will be able to compare the two.
The cover is the enviromesh that covered the carrots last year, I thought it may as well earn its keep protecting the onion sets from the birds and frost.There was not enough to cover the whole bed so it will be interesting to see what if any difference it makes to cover the onions.
Some people are very organised and wash all of their pots etc in early Spring I must confess to washing only as I need them!
I have to give even more credit to Garden News here,apart from the pages of gardening information there are little snippets which I usually spot on my second or even third browsing.I had found this pot in the garden with little green shoots around the edge...looks like mint but it was not around the edge maybe they are weeds?
Said snippet,mint begins in the centre of the pot but the following year it comes up around the sides as the plant is sending out new shoots. These can be separated into single plants and repotted!
Sunday afternoon the horses in the stables are looking decidedly bored
Zwena's ducks & geese; the geese have started laying eggs amid much excitement. I had taken a photo of the first egg last Tues, I did not have my camera with me so took one with my phone and I have to confess to not having a clue about uploading from my phone!Zwena told me there were 2 more eggs and to go in and take as many photos as I wanted.
Who needs guard dogs with hissing geese & ganders?!! I stayed outside the gate, maybe they were coming over thinking they were getting food but I was taking no chances!
At home the hen area is taking shape, this is it during the week, cleared of membrane and gravel and the water butt moved around to the front.
Today, it has been extended slightly and this sleeper style timber put down to separate the hen area from the garden more to keep children out than hens in!I threw some compost and grass seed down to make it more hen friendly?!
The water butt is now ready for any rain as the gutter and piping has been extended too.
The broad beans were brought down from the windowsill during the week to harden off in the greenhouse.
Left side of the green house this evening, I had to use the flash at 5.30 pm as the light was nearly gone. From the left in the big pot are salad leaves.Next is a tray of carrots according to Terry Walton in GN.They are planted in peat pots with the bottoms cut off (quite a fiddly job)as carrots do not like root disturbance.Terry recommended and used Maestro which are resistant to carrot fly, I did not have this particular variety so I used Mr Fothergill's Amsterdam 3 Sprint which can be sown from Jan to July and harvested from April to Oct.
Next to them are Bolthardy beetroot again in peat pots but with ends intact, there are 2 seeds in each pot.

Broad beans potted on today, there are 19 plants here some quite strong some a little smaller but all had good root systems going.
Underneath in the 3 big pots are Spring onions, Terry Walton begins now and plants up 3 pots every 3 weeks to have a continuous supply of spring onions.
The spring onion and Beetroot seeds are freebees with Garden News.
I still have not got around to planting Sweet Peas or the parsnips which should really have been the first seeds sown!
On the bedroom windowsill are tomato seeds which are just showing if I look closely and peppers not showing yet but which can take up to 3 weeks.
Things are definitely getting under way!

On the Plot Today

2011-03-01T21:05:00.010Z

We have had frost for the past few nights, I was lucky I did not take a chance and insulated the plastic greenhouse the day I put it up.The bonus is the sunshine each day, not a lot of heat but when I started digging today I had to discard the jacket after a while and then the body warmer went the same way!
Asparagus
I went over to the asparagus bed to clean it up a little as some weeds are making their presence known already, like the creeping buttercup and dandelions.I was removing some of the old dead foliage and could not believe my eyes but there they were, 3 asparagus spears! It was the only plant that had them, these were some of the 7 new plants bought last year in Dunsland Garden Centre. They were 2 year old plants so we can have a light harvest from them this year.The spears are quite thick too, I covered them again with soil as they are a bit tender to leave uncovered for frost to bite.

Friend or Foe? I disturbed a few of these while digging today, I am totally ignorant of what is underground but know we will have to become familiar with what is good and bad for our plants.These look like pieces of orange thread with myriad legs.
We are the proud possessors of our own wheelbarrow!
When children get married here it is the custom to give both Mothers a keepsake/token of the day, usually at the reception.S.Billy and Janice got married last year and said they were giving us a voucher as it would be more useful. They asked us which store/shopping centre I wanted it for, I asked for B&Q (Home Depot in US)so I could get a wheelbarrow!
I duly got my wheelbarrow and paint for my sitting room with my voucher. The wheelbarrow has been over wintering in Kathryn's garden but it is now up in the allotment and had its inaugural outing today.
Our rhubarb is growing apace, the cold winter seems to be spurring it on again this year.I have covered it up with manure twice so far this year to protect it from frost but in the 2 weeks since I last did it ,it seems to have taken off.
Note:Fence & wind break need repairing!The 'new plots' near the car park have been getting a make over and complete transformation since I was last out! Plots have been dug over,laid out in beds and fenced in. We have lost a few of our plotters but there are lots of enthusiastic new faces around.
Close up of one of the plots,willow fencing to deter the rabbits and some new beds with seed in already!

Another plot, this time on our side. It has been taken over by new people also and this wonderful rustic fence put up.
I was speaking to one of our plotters today and he has first earlies in the ground already, unchitted!This will be a good opportunity to compare the 'to chit' or not results.
Lettuce & cabbage seeds have germinated on the windowsill ,I have left off the clear cover now by day as they can get too leggy in the heat.Another bonus of the frosty nights and sunny days is the light,no grey dull days to slow down germination!
Broad beans are about 2 ins high and I collected and washed the larger pots for them today .I will begin transplanting them hopefully tomorrow.
Tomatoes and peppers are still no show.

Mini Greenhouse up & running

2011-02-27T17:22:00.011Z

I returned to the task of setting up the mini greenhouse today, it is still very strained but hopefully will stay upright for the season!. The cover fit over it OK and I have anchored it down around the sides inside and out. I cable tied the shelves in place as I did last year because I think it gives some degree of stability to the whole frame.
I insulated it with bubble wrap as some late frosts could wipe out any tender seedlings and we can get frost well into April or early May.
I transferred the seed potatoes from the shed into the greenhouse as they will get a lot more light in there.
Home guard top left,Sharpe's Express & Duke of York on right.
Onion sets spread out in seed trays as recommended by Terry Walton,you can see if there are any soft or damaged ones.
Shallots will be started in modules, we have not grown these before so will have to read up on them.
What not to do with your seed potatoes!
For some reason I did not put this bag of Duke of York out to seed wen I was doing the others, maybe I ran out of trays or time? They have been in the bag under the stairs and when I went to get them today this is what I found.
White spindly stalks which will not be good for growing.Some of them broke while I was trying to remove them from the bag. They may grow other stronger stalks in the light
Duke of York which had been chitting in the shed
Duke of York mutants from under the stairs!

Snow White came to visit today and climbed on my rocking chair!
GD Katie loves dressing up in floaty frocks and as much bling as she can get her hands on,just 2 years old she is definitely a girly girl despite having 2 older brothers!

Lavender Hearts

2011-02-25T23:48:00.005Z

Every time I open one of my wardrobes I was getting the distinct smell of lavender. Investigating today I found the source, a 400grm bag of dried lavender which I must have put in there myself and forgotten about!
We have 6 lavender plants growing on the plot and having wrestled some of it from the bees which spent the entire summer buzzing around collecting pollen, I dried it and packed it into a zip lock bag.
These crafty hearts are appearing in most of the garden centres/craft shops etc, so I got the idea to make some packed with lavender.I had this rose patterned fabric, maybe not the most suitable for lavender but shabby chic and vintage roses are 'in'!The lavender is inside a muslin heart shape inside the rose fabric.They can be hung on the bedroom doors or inside a wardrobe.

They also look OK hanging on drawer handles etc.
I have to visit a craft shop over the weekend to buy some more fabric etc.,it is forecast more rain so there will be no gardening for a few days and I can try out some more lavender inspired craft ideas.
These lavender hearts are in the post as I write!

Works in Progress?!

2011-02-24T20:57:00.011Z

Broad beans sown last week are up a couple of days now.They now have the lids removed to prevent them getting soft and spindly.They are on the bedroom windowsill, my usual 'hotspot' for starting seeds as regular readers to the blog will remember.As soon as they grow a little bigger they will be transplanted into 3" pots to grow on.

The 3 broad beans moved to the side and now joined by Inca tomatoes,Golden promise tomatoes, peppers, and half a tray of greyhound cabbage and half a tray of lettuce.
Potatoes are chitting in the shed but the weather has been against us in getting out to the plot so the onions are still waiting to go in.
The decision to get hens has been taken and after online and land line investigation the hen house and run has been bought. It arrived today flatpacked as I will not be ready to put it into place for another couple of weeks. I have been reliably informed by the vendor that even a man could assemble it easily!
I will be getting 4 hens and this size house and run allows ample room for them to move around.They will also be allowed the run of the garden when I am home.
The area next to the shed where the hen house will be situated, as you can see it is still a work very much in progress and very unfinished!
This area had black membrane under gravel and this has now been removed and the earth underneath raked up.When it was removed I found bindweed roots entwined like ropes growing underneath, snaking across from one side of the garden to the other!
This patch will be grassed for the hens and there is enough room to move the house and run around.
The water butt will be moved to the front of the shed which entails extending the shoot and down pipe to the front too.
One of my compost bins has found a new home and this one is going to be moved down the garden away from the shed.The hole through which the rats entered the shed came to light behind one of the compost bins and I think they were attracted by the bins. When I began composting a few years ago I put egg shells in the bins, I read somewhere that they attract rodents so I stopped putting them into the compost. The first bin when emptied still had a few egg shells in the bottom since then and may have tempted them this time around.
The seed potatoes in the shed have not been touched this time but the bait is still left out to be on the safe side.
I decided to erect the plastic walk in greenhouse which I had since last year.I had dismantled it around Oct and had put all of the bits into a plastic sack (as I thought) but after assembling it as best I could I have some pieces left over?!
I have been going back over the blog looking for photos to help with the construction but they don't give too much detail on the actual framework!
Advice to anyone getting one this year, they are a marvellous asset ,we had loads of tomatoes last year and all of our seedlings were reared in it, PHOTOCOPY the instructions and put a copy away safely for future reference.
Sam is peering out at me as if I have completely lost the plot !

Seed Sowing & Reading

2011-02-17T21:17:00.018Z

I had sorted through my seeds and knew I did not have Tomato or Pepper seeds. I bought them a couple of days ago in a local garden centre but they did not have a big range of seeds as yet.
Incas, marked Organic cost 3.99e for approx 8 seeds!
Yellow Perfection I meant to pick up Sungold but had these when I got home! I will try them as I have them ,they are supposed to be a sweet tomato. Approx 50 seeds for 2.99e
I will pick up other tomatoes of different varieties over the next few days.
Sweet Peppers approx 10 seeds for 2.99e
Our peppers never seem to do well and I think I know why, we sow the seed to late! Reading Matron's blog, pepper seed is being sown NOW because they need such a long growing season!
Aldi are getting in the garden supplies, and have fruit trees ,plug plants etc. I got 2 packets of Sweet Pea seeds, each packet contains approx 20 seeds for 69 cent!!! They have some veg seeds but I already have them.I did use some of their seed last year and could not fault them. The price of seeds from the main seed companies is prohibitive.

Last year I bought 'Garden News' fairly regularly and found it very informative with down to earth (pardon the pun) advice as it is written by gardeners for gardeners. It is in tabloid form with lots of photos without big glossy glamour or price.I spotted it in the newsagents yesterday and was lucky enough to find last weeks one as well.
Terry Walton, who I first saw on an allotment series of programmes on TV (the name of it escapes me now)wrote for the GN last year but this year he is doing a step by step growing guide each week and there are FREE seeds each week, which does something to offset the 3.03e price over here.
This weeks seeds are White Lisbon spring onions, last weeks free seeds were Valdor lettuce.
Check list of jobs from previous 2 issues but there is still time to do them (Whew)!
Sow Broad beans ...done
Sow lettuce seeds
Sow sweet pea seeds
Feed fruit Bushes

This weeks check list
Sow spring onions
Sow rocket
Sow early carrots
Chit potatoes....done
Spread manure
2 out of 9 done?!
I will have to buy it each week from now on as it will keep us on our toes and I would certainly recommend it for anyone starting off vegetable growing for the first time as there are photos on the basics of doing things like chitting potatoes etc.

I sowed broad Beans 2 days ago, I had Meteor seeds since last year and got itchy fingers to be doing something!I heaved a sigh of relief when I read the GN that they should have been sown 2 weeks ago!
I had the seed trays from soft fruits from Aldi or the supermarkets usually have these too.These are deep which allow room for the roots and the raised lid is like a little incubator for the seeds.They will be transplanted individually into 3" pots when large enough.
The seed trays got a good scrubbing in warm water to clean them up since last year.
I also have broad beans from Matron which I will sow over the week end.

Seed Potatoes

2011-02-13T16:20:00.017Z

Shopping has commenced in the garden centre for the new season.Seed potatoes, onion sets and shallots, enough to be getting on with at present!
Seed potatoes are all first earlies, we decided this is what we would grow last year and will continue for this year.
Early potatoes are priceless especially when you can dig your own!
They will probably escape blight or at least the worst of it.
They are at their most expensive early in the season, at the moment we can buy 10kgs of Roosters for 2.99!
Home Guard, Sharpe's Express & Duke of York are going in, I still have to source Colleen which we have grown each year.
There will be a lot more space given over to potatoes this year,it is a staple we use a lot of and with the recession continuing unabated we are going to grow produce we buy on a regular basis.
First earlies can be used within 12 weeks from sowing.
Second earlies 14 to 16 weeks and main crop at least 20 weeks and are suitable for storing over winter.
First earlies mean we can use the ground again from June onwards, which is a big bonus in a small space.
Spring is definitely on the way with new life showing up in the garden almost daily. My first crocus was alone for a couple of days but companions arrived even if they are all on the same plant!We are getting weather forecasts of more severe wintry weather for at least another month!
I have not sown any seed as yet, probably the first year we did not have the windowsills full up of seed trays at this time.If this cold snap is to continue then we will wait as I am sure all seeds will catch up once the ground warms up a little.The first seeds I will sow will be Broad beans, we had a great early crop of these last year.

Sharpe's Express chitting in their egg boxes.
The 'rose' end of the potato is turned up to the light to encourage it to sprout shoots. The rose end is the end with the most 'eyes'.When they are ready sprouted before planting it is generally believed to give the potatoes a head start.The egg boxes are ideal as they protect the new shoots when moving to the plot. I have also used seed trays with individual sections as the potatoes will hopefully be in the ground before I need the trays.
They should be in a position to get good light but not heat ( don't use the hot press) as the shoots will be weakened and spindly.
Regular readers of the blog over the last few years may remember this Before I put out the seed potatoes in the shed, I purchased this in the Co Op store, I put it out for about 5 nights and for 4 of the 5 all of the poison was taken only some being taken on the last night. I have left it out and SIL Nigel also set a trap for them. I have since put out the remainder of the seed potatoes and so far so good nothing has been damaged.
Elsewhere in the garden, the Spirea has buds on, I love the Spring colour of this shrub.
My 2 lupin plants had new growth when I cleared away the winter debris.

The Peony Rose had frost burned foliage but when clearing it I discovered lots of new shoots coming through, after hearing the forecast for more frosty weather I covered them with compost.

First Day of Spring on the Plot

2011-02-01T19:07:00.011Z

The first day of Spring really did feel like Spring!There was some frost during the night but the morning/day was sunny and mild. It was also the first day of the new season on the allotments so I went out to take stock after the long cold winter.The turnips took me by surprise as there was not a vestige of green foliage left!They look OK otherwise, behind them are the skeletal stalks of the Brussels sprouts,stripped bare by the pigeons no doubt!
The leeks survived the extreme frost apart from some damage to the outer leaves. I took some home with me after taking the photo, a couple went to D.Aisling and I added a couple to a pot of leek and potato soup.
Rhubarb poking through the mulch, 2 of the plants had new growth visible but I covered them over once I had taken the photo as frost could do damage to this tender growth now as we are not out of the woods where frost is concerned yet.
The day was so nice I persuaded myself to get stuck in with some digging. I was surprised the ground was in such good nick after the snow and frost, it was quite easy to turn over. These are the beds as they have been for years running from side to side of the plot.
I dug a section down the side, changing the orientation of the beds to top to bottom. The leeks will be out by the time the seed potatoes are chitted and this whole area will be set with different varieties of first early potatoes.
Again we are sticking to first earlies as last year. We don't have the space for main crop and not only are they susceptible to blight but need space for storage through the winter too. New season potatoes are more expensive and the taste of the first earlies just dug from the garden is hard to beat!
Hard to see in this photo but our 2 Goji berry bushes are budding in their space next to the shed.

New birds!Zwena got hens on the allotments last year and today showed me her latest acquisition, ducks and geese!They are in a walled in garden with their own water feature so are very privileged birds!
There are ganders and geese, turkey cocks and hens all milling around wanting to be fed.They add a new dimension to the whole allotment area and the children I know will be fascinated with them.

Toasting the Tootsies & Pondering Poultry!

2011-01-28T22:15:00.015Z

I wrote in a previous post about having no heating for nearly 10 days in the recent freeze up. I had natural gas for heating and cooking ,electricity from the ESB (Electricity Supply Board) which is our state owned/run utility company.When I came into this house 14 years ago, there was only an open coal fire which heated the water in the tank only. We spent one winter freezing, going to bed putting more clothes on than we had taken off, hot water bottles and piles of bedclothes. I got in the gas heating and also took out the solid fuel fire and had a gas fire put in for convenience.It was rarely used ,maybe around Christmas more for atmosphere than anything else.
When I had no means of heating the radiators as the fan in the boiler had given up the ghost the same gas fire could not heat 3 ft in front of it without the back up of the radiator.
I decided then to get the gas fire taken out and revert back to a solid fuel fire as an independent means of heating without being completely reliant on an outside supplier.The heating is now back more efficient than ever but for the last 2 weeks I am enjoying the benefits of an open fire!
I am burning turf at the moment which is beautifully atmospheric as the flames dance with different hues and the smell adds to the enjoyment!
I have not being doing much of anything else really!

My random dyed socks were knitted last year from yarn bought in Aldi, I had not knit socks since being in school but decided to give it a try. There is no wool in this yarn which on hind sight is essential for socks for warmth and keeping their shape in wearing.

The pile of containers to the right of the pic are all empty and for the small Grandchildren to play with when they are here. They make noise and roll and fit into each other and I have always found they give hours of fun to smallies!

Gardening is marking time until the weather allows us outside, severe frost again tonight!

I have been thinking for some time about having some hens?!
I would have them at home in the back garden, 2 or 3 would be more than enough for me and I have been studying houses and runs which come in all shapes ,sizes and prices!
To my way of thinking there is no point in having hens at home if they cannot be free range which to my mind means spending as much time as possible roaming and foraging for themselves. All of the hen houses/runs seem to confine them within their boundaries.
I really know nothing about them, even though my late Mother did keep hens for some time a few years ago.I have been to various websites but they seem to work on the premise you should know what you are looking for and know a certain amount about poultry?!
I need an Infrequently Asked Questions column!

If/can you leave them out around the garden all day if you are at home?
How do you get them rounded up and back in the house at night?!
Are there plants/flowers that they like/ are good for them!
" " " " " " don't like/ harmful to them?
What is an ideal number..2? If I have 3 is one going to be an outsider and hen pecked ?!
Remember those pictures of the Little Red Hen with her pinny tied around her? Not true, hens are very unhouseproud and create a lot of.....um...manure!

Great for the garden BUT can it be used straight away on the garden, added to the compost bin or left to stand for some time before using? If it needs to be left in a pile for any length of time then it is not suitable for a small garden in a built up area.
Do hens HAVE to have a rooster in attendance, I don't think my neighbours would take too kindly to a rooster crowing at 5.30 am!

They lay eggs in a nest box, should it have straw/hay for comfort/cleanliness/whatever!

Eggs may need to be washed before using for hygienic reasons...how?

What happens to hens as they get older:
How long do they lay eggs for..months/years?
When they stop laying eggs, are they retired gracefully?!
Do they die a natural death?
Are they killed and eaten?!

Am I analysing this whole thing too much?
I think it is the fumes of the turf fire!
All suggestions/helpful hints/advice appreciated.

Irish Times Potato advice

2011-01-21T19:59:00.014Z

While browsing Facebook, Kehoes Brilliant Garden Centre caught my eye with this link from last Thurs Irish Times.The said paper was gone by the time I went up to my local shop so I was delighted to see this link as it is from Fionualla Fallon's gardening column. Fionualla is the lady who visited our allotments last year to take some pics and talk to us for inclusion in a forthcoming book she is writing.
The topic of new potatoes is foremost for all veg gardeners at the moment whether we can get out in the garden or not,so this is topical and very interesting.
Kehoes Brilliant garden centre also has a Blog presence in the shape of joyous flowers here

Recycling & Rethinking!

2011-01-16T14:13:00.009Z

The new season begins and with it some recycling to start off seeds etc.I have lots of egg boxes which are just the right size and shape to chit the seed potatoes. I heard an advert on local radio during the week saying a garden centre had just got in stocks of seed potatoes already!
I know there is always a debate to chit or not, I have done it for the years I have been on the plot so cannot comment on not chitting.We could try a drill of unchitted and a drill of chitted to see if there is any difference in growth rate and yields.The one drawback to chitting which we encountered a couple of years ago was the trays of seed potatoes attracted rats into the shed and all the potatoes had to be discarded and replaced.
Plastic fruit trays with air holes already punched through the bottoms for seed sowing.Our local Aldi store usually has trays for soft fruit with a high lid which are ideal as mini incubators for seed.The small trays are useful if small amounts of seed are sown instead of using large seed trays which are wasteful unless you have space to plant out all of the resultant seedlings.
Loo rolls for long rooted plants like sweet peas etc, again a bit of a debate whether it is a better system or not.I remember reading a blog last year and different methods of sowing peas had been tried and the ones which had been allowed to grow freely in a window box did so much better.Plastic root trainers can be bought in garden centres and while expensive are reusable. I wonder if there are chemicals used in the manufacture of these loo rolls, while unbleached they have been stiffened and glued.
We will continue saving and meanwhile make up our minds on whether to use them or not.
I am going to pay a visit to the garden centre during the coming week to check out the seed potatoes available.
I have been missing from the blog as sitting at the computer is not conducive to keeping warm while having no central heating!My heating has been off for 10 days now but hopefully the gas fitter has the part by Monday and I will be back online and toasty warm.
The funny thing is I have been sleeping like a new born baby in the cold bedroom. I put a hot water bottle in the bed and snuggle under the duvet and once I drop off to sleep I don't move until the alarm goes off next morning.

Venice

2011-01-05T16:13:00.009Z

Theanne is going to learn as much as possible about Livorno in Italy as it has personal connections with her late husband and she has a liking for all things Italian!
I remembered I have had two visits to Italy, visiting Venice each time.The first trip I took to Italy I stayed on Lake Garda and took the train for a day trip to Venice where it was so hot we could not walk around!
The second visit I stayed in Venice for 4 days in April 2007 and it was flooded! I know you are saying it is supposed to be they have canals instead of streets!Twice yearly the canals actually rise and flood the walkways and squares.
Pic above is the Bridge of Sighs, so called as it was the last glimpse prisoners got of the outside world as they went from the Doges Palace to the prison.
The entrance to St Marks Cathedral was flooded and these high wooden ramps were placed around for people to walk on, they were also around the squares and anywhere the water would rise at high tide.
St Marks Sq, at times most of it was under a couple of inches of water!
Our hotel was on the Grand Canal, even though there are Gondolas outside we took the water bus everywhere which was the cheapest option for getting around. On my first trip I did take the obligatory Gondola ride which I think everyone does,it was 80e for about 20 mins! Our laughing Gondolier did sing for no extra charge and took us through some of the Grand Canal under the Rialto Bridge.
The Rialto Bridge, spanning the Grand Canal it is lined with shops selling very touristy stuff at a price.
The 2 boats in the foreground are actually delivery boats as all commerce and services are done from boats including Police and Fire Brigade.
We visited Art galleries and museums and walked through narrow winding streets, Venice has a mystique all of its own whether wet or dry.We also found Harry's Bar, famous because Hemingway was a regular visitor and they invented the Bellini cocktail which you can still buy there at a very exhorbitant price!

New Season's Seed Planning

2011-01-03T12:34:00.009Z

New Year in the offing and the sowing sap is rising! I got out all of my seeds and culled anything out of date or anything which I had bought with the intentions of 'trying' and didn't.The recession is biting everyone this year so feeding the family for as long a season as possible is the aim for this year.Successional sowing will be the buzz words for the allotment.Keeping records will also be on the agenda as I usually cannot remember from year to year what was sown and performed well or failed.I plant seeds at home which is about 5 miles from the allotment, moving the seedlings to their growing position has often meant tags become lost on the way!
This mornings labours were brought about by taking a look at the garden at home. I had been raking up leaves and discovered daffodils peeping through the soil!Some of you may remember our monster parsnip which weighed in at over 4 lbs!I found a half empty seed packet which is probably the one I used.Tender & True, exhibition quality with long roots will definitely not be going in this year, White Gem parsnip for shallow soils will be our parsnip of choice. Parsnip seeds are recommended to be bought fresh each year as they do not last from year to year.
I have various carrot seeds but after poring over them I have decided on the following to begin sowing as early as possible and have carrots right into next winter.
Amsterdam 3 Sprint: sow outdoors from Jan to July
Sow every 2-3 weeks for a continuous supply of young carrots.These are specially selected to grow in containers or small spaces.
Chantenay red Cored 2;Sow march to June, again sow every 2-3 weeks for continuous cropping. Sow thinly and when harvesting select young roots alternately, no other thinning should be required.
Autumn King2, sow march to July.these last right up to Dec.
Sowing -cropping 22-26 weeks
Carrots are a really versatile veg and used all year round from salads to winter stews so as long a crop as possible is needed.
I pulled all of ours back in Oct and cut and blanched them, they froze very well.
Buds already forming on the Kilmarnock Willow.We only planted a few beetroot last year but will definitely plant a lot more this year as it is a veg we have now developed a taste for other than pickling!
Boltardy as its name suggests is resistant to bolting and going to seed.
Sowing - cropping 12 weeks, I think this should be on all seed packets as it is a great pointer for anyone growing for the first time,wondering when a crop is ready to harvest.
I planted Sweetcorn Sundance last year, (found the half empty seed packet)!We had a great crop and this will be going in again this year.

Grape Hyacinths under the willow tree.
I found a half empty packet of cauliflower 'All Year Round', this was one of our disasters last year, golf ball sized heads!It may not have been the fault of the seed but a different variety is in order for this year.
Oregon Sugar Pod peas did very well, they are a Mangetout pea and will be another one going back in with plenty of netting to keep the birds off!
Broad beans 'Meteor'can be sown indoors from Feb,grown on and hardened off to plant outside in April which give an early crop without winter sowing.
I have Evesham Special Brussels Sprouts, they are supposed to give a heavy early crop over several months with large old fashioned flavour sprouts.
Cabbage, probably greyhound which can be started indoors in Jan.
Tomatoes, I have the ever reliable Moneymaker but we had such a glut of tomatoes last year it is the one we will be trying for different tastes and flavours in a few varieties this year.
I came across a envelope marked 'Matron'.When matron visited me here in Cork last year she brought me some of her own saved seeds and I am looking forward to having Dog beans (dwarf Broad beans)
Crimson Flowered beans
Lazy Housewife beans
Queensland Blue Pumpkins.
I will be following her very informative blog for growing and harvesting tips on all of the above and much more!
I have not mentioned potatoes or onions which will be bought as seed /sets in the coming weeks.
We are looking forward to another season with old and new friends on the Hydro Allotments in 2011.

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T17:04:00.003Z

Happy New Year to all in Blogland, may it be a peaceful wherever you are.

A Robin's Winters' Tale

2010-12-23T11:23:00.018Z

My first attempt at collages simply because there are so many photos to tell the tale!
Click on pic to enlarge and then click on individual photo to see what the robin is up to!
After the last freeze on the Tues it was sunny and I headed out to the plot, this tiny robin hopped along beside me to see where I was going.He hopped into the shed because during the summer there were usually crumbs etc to be found after the various picnics.I threw him the remains of my sandwich which he pecked at for a few minutes. I left him hopping around where I had dug out the parsnips as the ground was soft after all the frost had thawed.
Tues of this week was a different story, I made it out to the plot as I had no snow photos of the allotments.The robin met me in the car park and hopped ahead of me, stopping every now and then as if to say forget the photos and start digging!He knew exactly where I was headed and was there before me!He got into nearly every photo I took as I moved he moved in front of me.
I did get a fork from the tool shed but could make no impression on the frozen ground, even the snow was frozen hard.
Then he hopped over to our small compost heap which had the wheelbarrow tipped over it and I wondered if it had been protected from the big freeze.

I was able to loosen up the soil which for the most part had broken down and was frost free. The robin was getting quite excited maybe he understood what I was trying to do?! He hopped within about 4 ins of my boot because I had to put down the fork to take a photo.
Success! He flew up to the top of the heap and nabbed himself a nice juicy worm, there was a bit of a tussle as the worm was not giving in without a fight.I had seen a few worms as I dug but whether they escaped deeper down I don't know.
One happy Robin!
This is my last post before Christmas so I would l like to wish all of my readers who have followed the blog over the year a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas where ever you are in the world.