tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92208767756221252712024-03-13T19:30:42.042+00:00Veg growing and gardening by an amateur - Me!This blog is a track of my fun and games with trying to grow my own vegetables in both beds and raised beds as well as some of my design ideas for my garden.
There is a lesson in every failure and food in every success!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-4661681533218511212016-08-30T15:20:00.001+01:002016-08-30T15:20:19.955+01:00Website designI have recently setup a new part-time business doing website design for professionals and small business. This should help promote people in the Clare and Limerick areas get their small business online and help promote their business. Web design and working with technology has always been a secret interest of mine. I also enjoy helping others especially helping those that are skilled in other ways other than technology. Can be very trying for others to follow the "tech buzzwords".<br />
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<a href="http://www.webclare.com/" target="_blank">Web Clare</a><br />
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Please let me know what you think of my website - all feedback welcomed.<br />
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<img border="0" height="216" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LiZbaMDsR3A/V8WWCLmzgHI/AAAAAAAADRg/eoxFZlT50rc97DMUQEl7JIZHShlNGbVqQCLcB/s320/Frontpage1.JPG" width="320" /></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-91549786720837953442015-01-17T17:06:00.002+00:002015-01-17T17:06:50.738+00:00A handy PDF guide to growing Vegetables from Teagasc that I found online<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Vegetable Growing</span><br />
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The selection of fresh vegetables now available in shops and supermarkets is<br />
probably greater than ever before. But there’s a huge amount of satisfaction<br />
to be had from growing part of the food we eat. A well managed garden or<br />
allotment is an asset to any family and vegetable growing can rapidly develop<br />
into an absorbing hobby.<br />
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The quantities of vegetables to grow will naturally depend on circumstances.<br />
It can be as simple as growing a pot of parsley on your back doorstep or you can<br />
make it as big and fancy as you like. If there’s only a small area available<br />
preference should be given to items where freshness is especially valuable such<br />
as lettuce, herbs, spinach, parsley, peas and beans. If there’s more ground add<br />
brassicas, onions, carrots, beetroot, rhubarb and early potatoes to the mix.<br />
It will also add interest to try out some new or unfamiliar kinds each year.<br />
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http://www.teagasc.ie/publications/2011/889/Guide_to_Veg_Growing.pdfAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-1708269853893195122014-07-22T16:11:00.000+01:002014-07-22T16:14:02.605+01:00Using Seaweed as fertilizer<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4O1pNiP27Yk/U8557ZU-iCI/AAAAAAAACvs/m_abYjFbm-E/s1600/2014-07-09+13.36.25.jpg" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="180" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strawberry bed with new seaweed addition</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;">I was away on my holidays in Lahinch Co. Clare and decided to bring back a bit of the beach with me. I have been reading for years on the benefits of seaweed fertilizer so I decided to give it a go.</span><br />
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<i><u>Some of the benefits of Seaweed fertilizer:</u></i></div>
<ul>
<li>Saves water, keeps soil moist at ground level</li>
<li>Eliminates the need to weed</li>
<li>Repels slugs and other pests</li>
<li>Enriches the soil</li>
<li>Boosts lethargic plants</li>
<li>Helps lighten the soil</li>
<li>Does not contain weed seeds, unlike bark mulch</li>
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I collected 3 bags of seaweed once the tide had gone out. I put those bags of seaweed on 2 of my strawberry beds (as they have just finished fruiting) - the other I left to do another day, please don't leave seaweed for any length in bags, the stench a day later is intolerable! </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JjdwOM0ATK0/U854p7AKW-I/AAAAAAAACvg/kIE01sXJTP0/s1600/2014-07-18+12.46.32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JjdwOM0ATK0/U854p7AKW-I/AAAAAAAACvg/kIE01sXJTP0/s1600/2014-07-18+12.46.32.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lahinch beach with the tide in</td></tr>
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I had always read how quickly it composts down, but couldn't believe the changes in just a week - see photos below. What was a good mulching of about 4 inches was reduced down to powdery thin covering. I can see now why they recommend doing 2 coverings. Now I just need to head back to the beach.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F-I6kar1aKw/U856Nm_etlI/AAAAAAAACv8/MUqoML4XT2w/s1600/2014-07-21+13.11.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F-I6kar1aKw/U856Nm_etlI/AAAAAAAACv8/MUqoML4XT2w/s1600/2014-07-21+13.11.10.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After one week</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n07cDb1kum0/U856n1MBoYI/AAAAAAAACwE/2G79qrGkgOI/s1600/2014-07-21+13.11.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n07cDb1kum0/U856n1MBoYI/AAAAAAAACwE/2G79qrGkgOI/s1600/2014-07-21+13.11.18.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Close up</td></tr>
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Some links I found useful details about using seaweed as fertilizer:<br />
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<a href="http://eartheasy.com/blog/2010/09/how-to-use-seaweed-to-mulch-your-garden/">http://eartheasy.com/blog/2010/09/how-to-use-seaweed-to-mulch-your-garden/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/seaweed-fertilizer.html">http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/seaweed-fertilizer.html</a><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaweed_fertiliser">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaweed_fertiliser</a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com0Co. Clare, Ireland52.7597753805338 -8.902359008789062552.7405538805338 -8.9426995087890617 52.7789968805338 -8.8620185087890633tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-87865496834835280082014-07-03T22:09:00.001+01:002014-07-03T22:09:26.957+01:00Slugs and Snails ... and keeping plants safe from them! <h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Snails and slugs ... a gardeners enemy!</i></h2>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.15999984741211px;">They attack many kinds of plants, especially young plants and the soft, succulent growth of herbaceous perennials and vegetables. Slugs provide a useful function by eating dead plant tissue and they are more prevalent on soils with high organic matter where manure and compost have been applied. They are more active in wet years.</span></div>
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<a href="http://rateeveryanimal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/snail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQzxaY7PNjueRSTub5nRtp3rqTDFFjuFUEjWWGJbfxzABLatIc1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQzxaY7PNjueRSTub5nRtp3rqTDFFjuFUEjWWGJbfxzABLatIc1" /></a><img border="0" src="http://rateeveryanimal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/snail.jpg" height="224" width="320" /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Don't the thoughts of them slimming their way over your plants make your skin crawl! Personally, I wouldn't </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">mind if they had an odd nibble, but they never seem content unless causing havoc and inviting all their </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">relations and friends over for a good feed until they have damaged the plant. </span></div>
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I think the term snails pace does not do justice to the speed at which they can demolish a young plant after a lovely rain shower!</div>
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There are many ways of dealing with them ...<a href="http://greensideup.ie/slugs-how-to-deal-with-them-organically/" target="_blank"> here is a link to how to deal with them organically.</a> With some of the ingredients of slug pellets being banned shortly, we must look to new methods and or course for our environment. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">New Method - using recycled glass</span></h3>
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I tried a new method on a few plants this year. I was lucky enough to be given a bag of crushed glass ( the type they use mixed with sand for sand blasting) from my friend Donal. See below for some before and after pictures of how successful it was. It would have been more successful if my cat didn't like digging in the bark around the beds! This trial was done over approx 4 weeks. </div>
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Crushed glass:</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jTMzAsUMw9Y/U7W2Yuebi-I/AAAAAAAACvE/xWpZY_bsxMY/s1600/2014-05-26+20.07.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jTMzAsUMw9Y/U7W2Yuebi-I/AAAAAAAACvE/xWpZY_bsxMY/s1600/2014-05-26+20.07.49.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The glass with a stanley blade to show size</td></tr>
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The glass is very fine - there are different sizes you can order. I didn't need any special protection and didn't get cut handling it without gloves. See below for contact details if interested in trying it.</div>
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The before and after photos:</h3>
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<b><a href="http://bonnieplants.com/products/herbs/lemon-thyme" target="_blank">Lemon Thyme</a> ( 2 plants)</b></h4>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><u><b>Before:</b></u></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VCoW2FkmuNs/U7WsABHdVaI/AAAAAAAACug/a4HRePMOeec/s1600/2014-05-26+20.11.57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0r60DWvKo9I/U7Wr8m3YU2I/AAAAAAAACuY/qBizU27gGHM/s1600/2014-05-26+20.11.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0r60DWvKo9I/U7Wr8m3YU2I/AAAAAAAACuY/qBizU27gGHM/s1600/2014-05-26+20.11.52.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></a><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VCoW2FkmuNs/U7WsABHdVaI/AAAAAAAACug/a4HRePMOeec/s1600/2014-05-26+20.11.57.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></div>
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0r60DWvKo9I/U7Wr8m3YU2I/AAAAAAAACuY/qBizU27gGHM/s1600/2014-05-26+20.11.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0r60DWvKo9I/U7Wr8m3YU2I/AAAAAAAACuY/qBizU27gGHM/s1600/2014-05-26+20.11.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13px;">Note - more glass was applied after this photo, but I didn't take a more up to date photo</span></a><br />
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<b><u>After:</u></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E2eX1PAox1s/U7VwWMQDVDI/AAAAAAAACs4/B0hWfP5Jkj0/s1600/2014-07-03+15.30.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E2eX1PAox1s/U7VwWMQDVDI/AAAAAAAACs4/B0hWfP5Jkj0/s1600/2014-07-03+15.30.19.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pnn5MHEQA4g/U7VwVpgBcHI/AAAAAAAACs0/JcitOfNsAxg/s1600/2014-07-03+15.30.30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pnn5MHEQA4g/U7VwVpgBcHI/AAAAAAAACs0/JcitOfNsAxg/s1600/2014-07-03+15.30.30.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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As you can see there is a huge difference in the improvement. It would have been even better, but I didn't notice for the first week that there was a slug hiding within the barrier. Lesson learnt for future to check the inner circle for these pests! </div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupinus" target="_blank">Lupin</a>:</h4>
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For some reason the slugs/snails were only attacking one of the plants - think they were keeping the other plant for the following week. Here you can see how deep the glass was applied - and this was the depth for the others, I just forgot to take the photos again! </div>
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<b><u>Before:</u></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pcJ-n7MZBlE/U4zFp9TSAEI/AAAAAAAABa0/SA4wul9LEEA/s1600/2014-06-01+11.42.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pcJ-n7MZBlE/U4zFp9TSAEI/AAAAAAAABa0/SA4wul9LEEA/s1600/2014-06-01+11.42.17.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Including the lupin that was untouched. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qcpHiCyKDfY/U4zFL5drxqI/AAAAAAAABak/_G4M2FLQYrU/s1600/2014-06-01+11.42.23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qcpHiCyKDfY/U4zFL5drxqI/AAAAAAAABak/_G4M2FLQYrU/s1600/2014-06-01+11.42.23.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">A close up of the slug/snail damage.<br /></td></tr>
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<b><u>After:</u></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tL9Xp3UYD50/U7Vw2OJAPvI/AAAAAAAACtE/LZSfbkKgVJY/s1600/2014-07-03+15.30.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tL9Xp3UYD50/U7Vw2OJAPvI/AAAAAAAACtE/LZSfbkKgVJY/s1600/2014-07-03+15.30.52.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Much more healthy leaves</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8hLIQDpnOd0/U7VxIheqXFI/AAAAAAAACtM/uX5XOu7kWIk/s1600/2014-07-03+15.30.57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8hLIQDpnOd0/U7VxIheqXFI/AAAAAAAACtM/uX5XOu7kWIk/s1600/2014-07-03+15.30.57.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Even a beautiful Lupin flower!<br /></td></tr>
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Summer bedding</h4>
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<b><u>Before:</u></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mIc0imHzJ6k/U7WthxXvw7I/AAAAAAAACus/JhutDtxVgpI/s1600/2014-05-26+20.17.08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mIc0imHzJ6k/U7WthxXvw7I/AAAAAAAACus/JhutDtxVgpI/s1600/2014-05-26+20.17.08.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><u>After:</u></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqL0C9e_iJM/U7WqLtc7thI/AAAAAAAACuM/FT_xLCgTo3I/s1600/2014-07-03+15.32.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqL0C9e_iJM/U7WqLtc7thI/AAAAAAAACuM/FT_xLCgTo3I/s1600/2014-07-03+15.32.13.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After 4 weeks - most of the glass still intact in this bed</td></tr>
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Even some beautiful flowers off plants I had given up for dead which they would have been without the glass protecting them. Here you can see the cat wasn't as active at this bed! </div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Result:</span></i></h3>
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The trial was a huge success as you can see from the above pictures. I found in cat busy areas, I would need to reapply about every 2 weeks, but in the less cat traveled areas, I would only need to apply or touch up every 4 weeks. I believe that if I wasn't using bark for ground cover, this could even be elongated - perhaps even yearly!!! </div>
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The product is pet friendly as it didn't bother my cat around those areas! </div>
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Details of Supplier ( for Ireland):</h3>
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Donal Whelan 086 - 849 8501</div>
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Delivery can be arranged. </div>
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A quick post - just found <a href="http://www.mushroomstuff.com/" target="_blank">this site </a>on foraging for mushrooms in Ireland and I thought I would pass it on. Someday soon I have to get out on one of these walks to learn about how to forage mushrooms - I have picked some from fields in my youth, but would love to know more about which to pick, where to pick and when to pick! Please comment with any good sites on them.<br />
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One great gift idea for those of you that enjoy truffles - how about growing your own! Haven't tried this myself and have no ties with the company, but its definitely one for my wish list!<br />
<a href="http://www.mushroomstuff.com/asp/index.asp?ObjectID=1061&Mode=0&RecordID=39&ParentID=39">http://www.mushroomstuff.com/asp/index.asp?ObjectID=1061&Mode=0&RecordID=39&ParentID=39</a><br />
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Bought a grow your own mushroom kit in <a href="http://www.diy.com/" target="_blank">B&Q</a>, just been waiting for the weather to get consistently warmer to try it out. Will let you know how I get on!<br />
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I can't wait to pick a basket like in the photo - just have to get my knowledge level up - as its a risky business should you pick the wrong mushrooms!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-57145581917561769462013-04-17T14:39:00.001+01:002013-04-17T14:39:46.985+01:00Grand stretch in the evenings!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The weather yesterday was glorious - rushed home from work and straight out to the garden after dinner. So much to catch up on after the cold weather we have had over the past couple of months. Big difference yesterday in the weather compared with the gale force winds the night before and of course today has changed back into heavy showers, so doubt I will get out again this evening.</div>
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Finally we got around to putting up some posts and wires for my fruit bushes. I am growing redcurrant, blackcurrant and raspberries and I have a gooseberry bush and a blueberry bush as well. Some of them were trailing along the ground which made them easy prey for slugs etc ( and also our lawnmower!). Also we had no defined edge for the border against the lawn, so this was needed to be put in. Above is the view along the side of the back garden.</div>
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This is the section behind the garage. I moved a few raspberry plant suckers (daughters) during the winter to this spot along with a blackcurrant bush cutting and so far they have all taken - can see new growth on them all. At the top left is my gooseberry bush which I hope to pick from this year as it was planted approx 18 months ago. </div>
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Good link if you are thinking of transplanting your own raspberry suckers - </div>
<a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_5683713_transplant-raspberry-daughter-plants-suckers.html" target="_blank">How to Dig and Plant Raspberry Runners</a><br />
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This is the other side of the back of the site - the raspberry bushes have gotten very tall in places ( some same height as me 5ft 6"!!). There are still a few suckers I will have to dig out - more presents for friends! </div>
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First posts and wire up - I am using the same wire they use here for electric fences - so it should be both very strong and durable. Also we got the edging in the whole way around.</div>
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I tied up some of the branches to wire to prevent them trailing along the ground. Also, should make picking from those branches a lot easier at harvest time.</div>
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We still need to put down some compost to help feed the bushes and clear the last weeds from around the plants and then we are going to put bark down to help control the weeds and moisture.</div>
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My garlic plants are coming along nicely. Onions planted to the front haven't started yet - but only down two weeks. I had a lot of trouble with birds and cats pulling up my garlic bulbs - had to cover the bed in a net until recently. Thankfully it doesn't seem to have bothered the garlic too much - great tough plant!</div>
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My broccoli is growing well in its mini cloche. I have some Pak Choi seeds planted or which a few have started to germinate under the cloche. </div>
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I just love the colour the purple sprouting broccoli is giving to the garden at the moment - as well as the delicious veg for my dinner! </div>
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In this photo, you can see the stump of the floret I cut two weeks ago and the new florets that grew around it once the space was released by the cutting. </div>
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The rewards - a full bowl of broccoli! Great to have and to share!</div>
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I love self-seeding plants (and I don't mean the thistle in the above photo!) - above I have some <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_(plant)" target="_blank">violas</a> that have self seeded in the bed just inside the gate. I usually buy some winter hardy viola annual plants in mid-autumn and I find that they usually survive the winter to produce a brilliant showing in spring/early-summer far exceeding the showing you get from ones brought in spring time. Also, they love to self-seed - which makes my job all the easier :-)</div>
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Now all I need is the weather to improve so I can get back in the garden!! </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-73036402541996632222013-04-09T13:00:00.002+01:002013-04-09T13:00:25.463+01:00April update 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
What a great start to April. Lovely sunshine last weekend finally which enabled me to get out in the garden. The weather is promised to change to wet, but warmer so now I am going to risk getting the garden started. Ten day weather forecast for Shannon here (time for umbrellas!) :</div>
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<a href="http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Shannon+Airport+Ireland+SNN:9">http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Shannon+Airport+Ireland+SNN:9</a></div>
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As I went around the garden, one thing I did notice was there was a marked difference in the temperature in the soil of the raised beds compared with the ground.</div>
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Of course - I did pull in a favour off my hubbie to get the potato drills started. Planted my <a href="http://www.thompson-morgan.com/vegetables/potatoes/maincrop/potato-sarpo-mira/zww5119TM" target="_blank">Sarpo Mira</a> potatoes on Sat - these are a main crop variety. I spaced them about 12-14inches apart in the ground and covered them with a few inches of soil. I will build up the drills as the shoots appear. Sarpo Mira are supposed to be a good blight resistant potato - time and summer will tell. Fingers crossed! Only doing half the potatoes I did last year as I had such issues with blight due to the wet summer despite spraying them weekly.</div>
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Planted out my broccoli (calebrese) plants too - these I covered with a mini cloche tunnel to keep them from getting too damaged in the wind/rain that is forecast. This will also increase the temp for the seedlings so they should grow quickly. I also planted a small number of radish and pak choi (my first time growing from seed) seeds under the cloche - these will be well gone out of the way by the time the broccoli needs the space. </div>
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My last remaining parsnips were evicted from their bed to make room for the onions which are following them in my bed rotation policy. Great to still be picking fresh veg even at this late stage. I don't think I will grow parsnips in my raised beds again though - they grew too well (poor complaint I know!) - as my raised beds are 2 ft - the parsnips were almost impossible to dig out ( help was needed again) and we had to break some of them to get them out.</div>
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I have now my first raised bed full of garlic, onions and shallots. I will be planting more shallots and onions directly into the soil in a couple of weeks - weather dependant. I am also waiting for my purple sprouting broccoli to finish before I can dig it up and use the space for the onions.</div>
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I brought out my spring onions that I had growing inside on the window sill to my temp greenhouse. Planted a few other seeds in there too to see how they do. As it is only a plastic greenhouse with a couple of holes, it wouldn't be as warm as a glass greenhouse. Also brought out a few other garden plants (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_glory" target="_blank">morning glory</a>, <a href="http://www.herbalgardens.com/archives/articles-archive/nasturtiums.html" target="_blank">nasturtiums</a>, tomato) to start to acclimatise them,</div>
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We got a gift of new gloves and I cannot rate them highly enough - I normally end up flinging my gloves aside to get fine work done or handle small plants, but these gloves above were absolutely excellent. The only thing I wasn't able to do with them was handle fine seeds, but really managed to wear them for everything else. Some of the gardening gloves I have tried in the past are either too bulky or else you still have dirty nails afterwards which often negates the reason for wearing them.</div>
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Found a website below that sells them in the UK (note, I have no connection with the company - just one I found through google and I haven't used them).</div>
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<a href="http://workwearcornwall.co.uk/nitrile-gripper-glove~266">http://workwearcornwall.co.uk/nitrile-gripper-glove~266</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-62814732021891100962013-04-08T21:01:00.000+01:002013-04-08T21:01:12.138+01:00Purple Sprouting BroccoliFirst year ever growing Purple Sprouting Broccoli and definitely not my last!! So great to be able to go out and pick some veg at this time of year. I did get one shock with it which I will describe later.<br />
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There isn't a big large head like calabrese (normal broccoli) to you and me - there is a smallish floret at the top and the rest is spears that grow along the sides. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BdbUcTpk9vA/UWMdbDgL_NI/AAAAAAAABGo/pNhUyaE1HK8/s1600/2013-03-09+11.44.20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BdbUcTpk9vA/UWMdbDgL_NI/AAAAAAAABGo/pNhUyaE1HK8/s320/2013-03-09+11.44.20.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I have managed 4 picks so far from my bed of about 8 plants. It has been largely ignored during the winter and is in good condition considering. There is another month of a couple of picks a week from the plants to go. Great at this time of year!! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">My first pick!<br /></td></tr>
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The purple sprouting broccoli doesn't take as long as calabrese to cook - just took a couple of minutes in boiling water. I cooked it with some parsnips that I had still in the garden ( which had been cooking already).<br />
Discovered then, purple sprouting broccoli looses its purple colour when cooking - the water absorbs it all, and so did my parsnips slightly! Was totally shocked - had people over for dinner and was promising them lovely purple broccoli, but it just looked like normal calabrese! Tasted slightly sweeter, but then again, picking to cooking time was only about 10mins!<br />
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Those of you that are fans of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - he has a couple of recipes for purple sprouting broccoli at the link below.<br />
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/mar/01/purple-sprouting-broccoli-recipes">http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/mar/01/purple-sprouting-broccoli-recipes</a><br />
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More details on the growing of Purple Sprouting Broccoli on the GIY website:<br />
<a href="http://www.giyireland.com/articles/detail/growing_purple_sprouting_broccoli">http://www.giyireland.com/articles/detail/growing_purple_sprouting_broccoli</a><br />
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Definitely one for the plot if you have space!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-11633424746582798092013-03-05T21:48:00.002+00:002013-03-05T21:48:52.782+00:00March update - garlic planted, beds readied, seeds planted<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Spent a few hours planting up a few seeds - ran out of both window sill space and containers. Planted some tomatoes, basil, coriander, spring onion and a new variety of basil which I haven't tried before that is supposed to be hardy for Ireland - <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Sacred </span><span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Basil</span><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> Ocimum Sanctum from </span><a href="http://store.irishseedsavers.ie/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">http://store.irishseedsavers.<wbr></wbr>ie/</a></div>
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Also planted some bedding plants including French Marigolds, asylum and some other plants for different parts of the garden like Morning Glory and Nasturtium.</div>
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Enjoying the lovely spring flowers - crocus and mini daffodils. </div>
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We have our light installed by our house name plate now which meant it was finally ready for planting - I had been holding off as even with the best of meaning, they would all have been trampled with the light installation. Planted some violas and </div>
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My strawberry bed after clearing out. Not looking the healthiest after all the frost the last few nights. </div>
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My strawberry nursery - planted my strawberry runners here ready for moving out and passing onto friends in the next month or so before the bed is needed. </div>
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Got my three varieties of garlic planted - though I did have to re-plant a few after the neighbours cat decided to dig up a few!! Think the chicken manure I spread on the bed attracted the cat! </div>
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These two beds have been cleared down and the manure spread on them in Oct/Nov has mostly broken down in them. Almost ready for planting!<br />
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My first glimpse of purple sprouting brocoli! Can't wait to taste as its one I have never had before! </div>
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New paving stones - just put them out in temporary positions at the weekend. Have to figure out what we will do around them for the future with the beds. It does get so mucky when trying to collect the veg during the lovely Irish summer! </div>
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Just a few views around the garden. Looking quiet well - only second year for the rock garden and even now has a nice bit of colour in it.</div>
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View back up the garden from the raised beds. </div>
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A lot of digging over still left to be done. </div>
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Strimmed the wild flower section - going to rotivate it again this weekend - it had too much grass planted with the flowers and was taking over. </div>
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So much work to do - so little time ... </div>
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For something different - check out <a href="http://strawbalegardens.com/" target="_blank">straw bale gardening! </a></div>
<br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-90420033389318994452013-02-12T20:28:00.000+00:002013-02-12T20:33:02.410+00:00Getting OrganisedI have finally had time to sit down and order my seed potatoes, onions and garlic and figure out what order I am going to rotate my raised beds. And its something that isn't stopped by the weather, so I have no excuses for taking so long!!<br />
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Had another good Saturday in the garden clearing weeds and clearing out the last of the unused veg from the beds. I now only have 2 half of beds to finish off ( but only about 1/4 of the non-raised section ready!) Also, spent a couple of hours on my strawberry bed - it had gone wild with runners. I planted up a whole new bed with the runners as well as filling out the current bed (yes I know it should have been done at the end of the summer, but at least its done now!). A lot of the runners will be donated to friends as there is more that I need once I am sure which will take and which will fail. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the bed beforehand - will try to get some of the finished bed in the next couple of weeks.<br />
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Last year I just picked up my onion sets and seed potatoes from a local hardware store, but this year I decided to order online. I ordered the below from <a href="http://www.mrmiddleton.com/" target="_blank">Mr Middleton shop</a> online:<br />
<b>Potato:</b><br />
After all the blight last year ( even with weekly spraying), I decided to give Sarpo Mira a go for my potatoes. Not going to grow as many as last year, just went with 2.5kg bag. Note - I have searched many of the big name DIY stores around my area and couldn't find this variety which is supposed to be one of the most blight resistant varieties.<br />
<b>Onions/Shallots:</b><br />
Red Baron for my red onions - had these last year and they did wonderfully<br />
Stuttgarter Giant for my white onions<br />
French Shallots - Vigarmor<br />
There is a good selection online - it depends on your personal taste.<br />
<b>Garlic:</b><br />
Going to try 3 varieties this year - all different. And going to resist my normal temptation to shove a few of my own or last years growth into the ground as this gives a higher chance of rust growing on the garlics.<br />
Garlic 'Elephant', Garlic 'Cristo', Garlic 'Solent Wright'<br />
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I had never seen the Elephant Garlic before and got a bit of a shock at the size of the 2 cloves that were sent!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some serious cloves - you would want to love Garlic to eat these!!!</td></tr>
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Anyhow - onto my bed order for the next two years. I have 5 beds in total.<br />
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<b>2012</b></div>
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<b>2013</b></div>
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<b>2014</b></div>
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Strawberries /lettuce</div>
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Strawberries</div>
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Strawberries</div>
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Potatoes</div>
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Spring Onions & Lettuce/ Shallots
– ½ bed each</div>
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Shallots /Spring Onions & Lettuce – ½ bed each rotated</div>
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Onions/ Leeks / Garlic</div>
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Calebrese / Brussels Sprouts/ Radishes</div>
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Carrots / Parsnips / Beetroot</div>
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Carrots / Parsnips / Beetroot</div>
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Onions/ Leeks / Garlic</div>
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Calebrese / Brussels Sprouts / Radishes</div>
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Calebrese / Brussels Sprouts/ Radishes</div>
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Carrots / Parsnips / Beetroot</div>
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Onions/ Leeks / Garlic</div>
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I have retired the potatoes out of the raised beds as my beds are nearly 2 foot high and I found them hard to dig out. Increased Strawberries to a full bed for this year on their own - I also have a bed in the back garden near the garage of Strawberries, but you can never have enough! :-)<br />
So instead of a rotation of 5 beds, I am reducing down to a rotation of 3 beds and just rotating in the one bed for the other. This is also not an ideal order, but is what works space wise for me based on the veg we like to eat most. Please feel free to leave comments or improvement suggestions!! All feedback welcome.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com2Rathlaheen South, Co. Clare, Ireland52.746060760185948 -8.839702606201171952.736449760185948 -8.8598726062011721 52.755671760185948 -8.8195326062011716tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-88170149341295048422013-01-13T19:34:00.000+00:002013-01-13T19:34:07.578+00:00Another year beginsFinally time to get back in the garden getting everything ready. Great to finally have a few dry days, been such a wet winter here. So many weeds have taken over in just a short few months of neglect. Its great that to have at least something still growing - tried purple sprouting broccoli for the first time last year and its looking good so far - hopefully will be able to get a few dinners out of it in a few months. We had a bit of trouble in late summer/autumn keeping the butterflies off it from laying their eggs - fed quite a few caterpillars.<br />
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I dug out my purple bed in preparation for March/April planting and had a lovely surprise. I had left 3 potato plants in the bed that never got picked as all others in the bed were tiny and had left those to grow meaning to pick them at the end of the season. By this stage I had assumed that they would all have rotted but to my great surprise, there was a great collection - easily enough for a few dinners for our family of four. I think as the raised bed is so high, it saved them from rotting.<br />
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Bed ready for some compost - weed free and turned over. Only 4 more beds to go ...<br />
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The last of the leeks - very tasty and they have done well despite the neglect through all the wet weather.</div>
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Started digging over all the outside too - this may not look much, but I have been slowly digging over a section a week - will all be done by the time its needed in March/April. I had compost down and some cardboard in some of the sections to help limit the weeds and I have to say, it did a fairly good job. Taking it slowly to allow the muscles time to remember what its like to do work! My poor hands were a lovely red colour after the few hours work.</div>
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Split my rhubarb plant - probably a month or two late, but better late than never. Covered them both with a nice heap of manure to help protect from the frosts. Picked a nice corner that will get plenty of sun in another month or so when the sun rises. The other has full sun even at this time of year and has shelter on three sides, two walls and the small "glasshouse". </div>
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Time to get planning on what I am going to put in each of the beds this year. </div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com0Newmarket on Fergus, Co. Clare, Ireland52.7606678 -8.8990054999999327.2386333 -50.20759949999993 78.2827023 32.409588500000069tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-62012258345029523102012-07-29T15:57:00.000+01:002012-07-29T15:57:43.150+01:00Update 1 - short - but more to follow<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Sorry I have been away the past few weeks - I finished up work and thought I would have more time on my hands home with the kids, but turns out I have a lot less :-) Trips to the beach, Bunratty Castle and catching up with friends has been dominating my time. I will get some more proper updates up later this week. These are some photos from a few weeks ago - will have more up to date ones uploaded then.</div>
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The weather also hasn't helped - think it has been a record July for rainfall so far in Ireland - and thats saying something!!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Onions are starting to swell</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First carrot and beetroot picked at start of July</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Potatoes and peas growing nicely start of July</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strawberry plant producing runners since start of July</td></tr>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com4Unnamed Rd, Co. Clare, Ireland52.748658557589948 -8.850688934326171952.743853057589945 -8.8605594343261718 52.753464057589952 -8.840818434326172tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-48675163396987924522012-07-28T19:03:00.001+01:002012-07-28T19:03:59.703+01:00Peas<div><p>Picked my first peas today, delicious, but all that shelling is too much like hard work. Anyone any quick tips for shelling them? Growing petit pois so loads of small peas. </p>
<br/><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Q4NsQ91Obwg/UBQpVmMQaLI/AAAAAAAABAE/6yw4oF7LSY8/20120728_175846.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-HOpFXVccs_o/UBQpXTvo4qI/AAAAAAAABAM/ISLFqK7j1tg/20120728_174345.png' /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com1Rathlaheen South, null52.750725 -8.846864tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-21730996800289819052012-06-28T22:05:00.004+01:002012-06-28T22:09:56.538+01:00Stone wall build through the stagesHere are some photos of the wall we put up for our house name sign. As there are all old walls around our site, we went with a similar stone wall build. It is now the main feature of our new shrub beds.<br />
Just click on any of the photos below to see them in larger format<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foundations dug out</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foundations poured - and a rough idea of how the sign will look</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally underway</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZOi64mMwcGU/T-ho-uXFERI/AAAAAAAAA7M/-l0J2oz1zuU/s1600/2012-06-20+12.18.56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZOi64mMwcGU/T-ho-uXFERI/AAAAAAAAA7M/-l0J2oz1zuU/s200/2012-06-20+12.18.56.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How high to have the wall</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Work continuing</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uo-TUaJGBwk/T-hqPTJINxI/AAAAAAAAA7o/x00_rJmmcGM/s1600/2012-06-21+16.36.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uo-TUaJGBwk/T-hqPTJINxI/AAAAAAAAA7o/x00_rJmmcGM/s200/2012-06-21+16.36.09.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protection from our lovely weather</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IMdDWJZ_mxU/T-hpcDCfCZI/AAAAAAAAA7U/Qur87ESrhNk/s1600/2012-06-20+13.43.07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IMdDWJZ_mxU/T-hpcDCfCZI/AAAAAAAAA7U/Qur87ESrhNk/s200/2012-06-20+13.43.07.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The reverse view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c66AU5pcztk/T-hqod_85kI/AAAAAAAAA7w/B4GTKyLl6Vg/s1600/2012-06-21+16.36.26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c66AU5pcztk/T-hqod_85kI/AAAAAAAAA7w/B4GTKyLl6Vg/s200/2012-06-21+16.36.26.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Again more protection needed</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wpy3YBwSknA/T-hraQiYPKI/AAAAAAAAA8E/aEjI5LNMCb8/s1600/2012-06-25+14.16.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wpy3YBwSknA/T-hraQiYPKI/AAAAAAAAA8E/aEjI5LNMCb8/s200/2012-06-25+14.16.25.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center">
The wall is now finished - just need to get soil and plants in to show it all off</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KpUHV1b8nZY/T-zFryIzTII/AAAAAAAAA94/Sj50WJ7wyUs/s1600/2012-06-28+21.01.51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KpUHV1b8nZY/T-zFryIzTII/AAAAAAAAA94/Sj50WJ7wyUs/s320/2012-06-28+21.01.51.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally all potted up </td></tr>
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<br />
We are very please with how it looks - just need to finish cleaning up now after the builder - they do like to leave their messes behind!! We are also going to put in some lights (you may have seen cables in a few of the photos) to shine up on the name plate.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-43311082622959877222012-06-27T20:34:00.001+01:002012-06-27T20:34:06.310+01:00Yum yum<div><p>Look what I picked today. So tasty! </p>
<br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-5eLODOSS6pc/T-tgIjXqdFI/AAAAAAAAA9s/3J_EcHNJw7M/20120627_154759.png' /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-73572139182063763592012-06-26T09:12:00.001+01:002012-06-26T09:12:54.545+01:00Strawberries, Tomatoes, Chilli & Peas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A2gDZe0Bp0o/T-h-EpzOYVI/AAAAAAAAA9E/rn4smOJw8do/s1600/2012-06-25+13.53.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
I love love love the taste of home grown strawberries - even the Wexford strawberries for sale at the side of the road have nothing on these - they are taste sensations! I picked all that were ripe last night so there aren't as many in the photos - but there are plenty more coming that will be picked very soon!! Slugs got to a few where I had them in last years bed, but (so far!!) there hasn't been any slug damage to the ones in my raised bed - I am still believing that the loose stones around the raised bed is really helping - along with the beer <a href="http://vegplots.blogspot.ie/2012/06/slug-trap-make-your-own.html" target="_blank">slug trap</a> that I have installed just beside them!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aZNmllB8Fo0/T-hxsF_xsRI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/C2YXrIBAOA4/s1600/2012-06-25+14.10.41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aZNmllB8Fo0/T-hxsF_xsRI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/C2YXrIBAOA4/s320/2012-06-25+14.10.41.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up view</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fKvEPC8WMqs/T-hyKdL3rwI/AAAAAAAAA8c/oopKNYxQHsQ/s1600/2012-06-25+14.12.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fKvEPC8WMqs/T-hyKdL3rwI/AAAAAAAAA8c/oopKNYxQHsQ/s320/2012-06-25+14.12.14.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just have to be a bit more patient!</td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VvkxaB0a_Uo/T-hysTuRohI/AAAAAAAAA8k/WGMnVmhTw-I/s1600/2012-06-25+14.12.27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VvkxaB0a_Uo/T-hysTuRohI/AAAAAAAAA8k/WGMnVmhTw-I/s320/2012-06-25+14.12.27.jpg" width="320" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They are all hiding under the dense foliage. The runners have just started, so will be watching these for new free plants for next year!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Z4NQxNiY5Q/T-h9AgkkMLI/AAAAAAAAA8w/6muBBbyJAi8/s1600/2012-06-25+13.52.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Z4NQxNiY5Q/T-h9AgkkMLI/AAAAAAAAA8w/6muBBbyJAi8/s320/2012-06-25+13.52.12.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first tomato bunch</td></tr>
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<br />
I have been watching and waiting patiently for my first tomatoes to appear - its lovely to watch as they grow. So far I have a good few flowers and tresses on the different tomato plants. I am feeding them every second day with tomato feed and today I also tried a bit of my nettle feed (as the weather was decent, I had the greenhouse door open - the nettle feed stinks otherwise!). This is my first time trying the nettle feed on tomatoes, but saw it on another blog and had to give it a go!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oUYj8mBB7CQ/T-h9gdODhqI/AAAAAAAAA88/20OQG0YBpu4/s1600/2012-06-25+13.52.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oUYj8mBB7CQ/T-h9gdODhqI/AAAAAAAAA88/20OQG0YBpu4/s320/2012-06-25+13.52.21.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Greenhouse tomatoes</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A2gDZe0Bp0o/T-h-EpzOYVI/AAAAAAAAA9E/rn4smOJw8do/s320/2012-06-25+13.53.33.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Greenhouse tomatoes - growing well</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-flJJbMdkr6I/T-h_b36s0SI/AAAAAAAAA9g/CTBlZQCq1F4/s1600/2012-06-25+13.59.14.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-flJJbMdkr6I/T-h_b36s0SI/AAAAAAAAA9g/CTBlZQCq1F4/s320/2012-06-25+13.59.14.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bush tomato planted outside - not the healthiest but still has a few toms growing! </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7BKhsGvikZE/T-h-itqFN2I/AAAAAAAAA9M/kS-Yj1ctc0c/s1600/2012-06-25+13.55.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7BKhsGvikZE/T-h-itqFN2I/AAAAAAAAA9M/kS-Yj1ctc0c/s320/2012-06-25+13.55.54.jpg" width="240" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chilli plant in greenhouse - still very small</td></tr>
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The chilli plant was bought as a small plant this year - I have in the past grown them straight from seed before. So far I have a good few flowers on the plant, but no sign as yet of chillis developing - I may have to pimp my chilli!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SX1qde0rCJk/T-h-_EKO62I/AAAAAAAAA9Y/_znU4VOARfg/s1600/2012-06-25+13.56.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SX1qde0rCJk/T-h-_EKO62I/AAAAAAAAA9Y/_znU4VOARfg/s320/2012-06-25+13.56.49.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first Mangetout peas!</td></tr>
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<br />
I was up at a friends at the weekend and discovered his first peas - (a few of them found a pleasant home in my belly!) - was delighted to discover my own first peas. They didn't survive for much longer after this photo was taken!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-87035247326142369072012-06-25T09:04:00.000+01:002012-06-25T09:04:00.407+01:00How much land do you need to be self sufficient?<div class="grid_12">
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<h3 style="font-weight: normal;">
This is from the <a href="http://www.giyireland.com/" target="_blank">http://www.giyireland.com </a> website during the year. Food for thought maybe?</h3>
<h3>
Tip of the Day - 21 Jun, 2012</h3>
<h4 class="subhead">
How much land do you need to be self-sufficient?</h4>
What do you think? An acre? Five acres? This is a question many of us
have wondered Im sure and Jim Cronin addressed it in great forensic
detail at his course in GIY Wex last week. Jim reckons one needs the
following to be almost* self sufficient for a family of four all year
around:<br />
<br />
- a polytunnel of 40x14ft<br />
- outside veggie beds covering 30x50ft<br />
- 8 hours a week to give to your GIYing<br />
<br />
*he says "almost" self-sufficient because this amount of land would not
be enough to produce spuds, carrots and parsnips (which require alot of
land) 52 weeks of the year. It would produce enough of these crops to
last until Christmas. A further 200x15ft would be required to be
self-sufficient in spuds, carrots and parsnips all year round. Even with
the additional 200x15ft this amount of land is still less than quarter
of an acre! Of course it may take us a while to be at a point where we
are productive enough and skilled enough with our existing land to
produce such a large amount of food, but still - you have to admit the
potential is breath-taking!<br />
</section>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-17930882363538956032012-06-22T08:49:00.000+01:002012-06-22T08:49:01.443+01:00PotteringWell the weather (again!!!) has changed for the worse here. Only managed a few snaps and essential work in between the heavy showers. Apologies to those of you in drier climates - I would send you our rain if I could - really!!!<br />
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The book that has me hooked at the moment is "The Polytunnel Book" by Joyce Russell - I so want a polytunnel, but reckon that its at least 2 years away for my garden. However, its good to read up and study about which types etc and what and when to plant. The book is a great guide and reference for all experience levels and has a handy month by month guide. Its going onto my recommended books very soon!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salix Nishiki</td></tr>
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This is one of my favourite trees for small gardens or small spaces. It doesn't grow much bigger that when you buy it height wise, but will lengthen and thicken up the branches and foliage wonderfully. All new leaves on the tree ( note it is deciduous) start off white/pale pink and then turn to variegated green as they age. Makes the tree look like it is flowering constantly from spring right through till the end of summer. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Ominous dark clouds approaching - hmm - think its time to head for cover! Any photos of sun appreciated - not looking likely we will see it anytime soon! Managed to get another spray in to prevent Blight in between the showers - seems to be a lot of blight around due to the wet and warm weather we are having here.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-26621444525864259032012-06-21T11:27:00.002+01:002012-06-21T11:27:34.908+01:00Peas flowering, strawberries, and a few flowersFinally I have seen some flowers on my pea shoots. Most of them are still way behind everyone else. I was late putting them out this year and the weather here in Ireland has definitely not helped!<br />
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My first red strawberry too hiding in the foliage - now have to keep a close eye out for slugs, birds and the other 2 legged animals that rob them in me :-) <br />
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My sunflowers are growing well - if a bit close together - about 8inches now. There is a family competition on to see who can grow the biggest sunflower - not a competition I have lost yet, but there is always a first time! </div>
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My hosta bed with a tree fern in the middle, a honeysuckle thats just about to flower with a few other plants - including my monster chives on the far left. Think this bed is now complete - just have to split my chives during the winter. I have some pistachio nut shells around my favourite hosta and it seems to be working a treat at keeping the slugs at bay - perfect excuse to eat more now to protect the rest of them! As this is a corner bed with two walls - plenty of hiding places for the slugs and snails, so I have to be extra vigilant. This bed only gets sun in the early morning and late evening as the old wall on the right is facing due south and blocks the sun. <br />
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This is an old type of rose - I'm afraid, I don't know the name of it, but the smell is unbelievable! I have already had a few requests for cuttings from it for next year. This is its second year in-situ. It really makes me wish that they had smelly vision on the internet. I have cut a lot of flowers from it to bring indoors and the aroma when you walk into the house is amazing.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zxh61aJwCas/T-LsAoum7WI/AAAAAAAAA5w/4SkKyx-vUFE/s1600/2012-06-20+13.44.51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zxh61aJwCas/T-LsAoum7WI/AAAAAAAAA5w/4SkKyx-vUFE/s320/2012-06-20+13.44.51.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My lupins with a bay tree hiding in the back. Gives beautiful colour right outside my kitchen door. The bay tree still has another year or two growing until it fills out nicely - already has trebled in size over the past two years. <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-47603613859501015102012-06-20T08:21:00.001+01:002012-06-20T08:21:50.511+01:00Another pickFinally got to pick something other than my lettuce and radishes at the weekend. There was the broccoli which I had a post on (<a href="http://vegplots.blogspot.ie/2012/06/broccolicalabrese-harvest-and-freezing.html" target="_blank">click here</a>), but also got to pick my second batch of rhubarb at the weekend. This was a pleasant change - I can't wait to pick more veg - patience is a virtue that I need more of !<br />
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As I wasn't planning on using the rhubarb straight away ( which would be what I would normally do), I tried freezing it. I had never done this before ( I followed advice from Piers Warren book "How to store your garden produce"), but it was so simple that I think I will try again later on in the year.<br />
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The difference compared to freezing the broccoli, is that there is no blanching needed ( it can be preformed if you wish to keep the vibrant colour) - all you need to do is chop into usable sized pieces and freeze (similar to the broccoli - I stacked mine individually initially and then bagged them up when frozen).<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pAzrnrDn3mw/T-BYg1UjD3I/AAAAAAAAA4s/R_MDZ8Xr4Zc/s1600/2012-06-16+13.11.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pAzrnrDn3mw/T-BYg1UjD3I/AAAAAAAAA4s/R_MDZ8Xr4Zc/s320/2012-06-16+13.11.12.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Also below is a photo of the potatoes that had the blight (just started on the leaves) in the pot - very small, but after boiling for about 10 mins, they were delicious! So tender.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com3Unnamed Rd, Rathlaheen South, Co. Clare, Ireland52.749593726741139 -8.84262084960937552.711136726741138 -8.9215848496093741 52.78805072674114 -8.7636568496093759tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-78774025294835281042012-06-19T08:12:00.001+01:002012-06-19T12:27:23.045+01:00What is this growing on my old walls?We have this plant which grows in the old mortar of the old high walls around parts of our site. It is giving a lovely colour this year (light pink flowers) - I think the wet weather is helping it a lot! <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6cQB39tzJpM/T95X6IhgimI/AAAAAAAAA4U/DjVx_5ZaJxc/s1600/2012-06-16+11.38.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6cQB39tzJpM/T95X6IhgimI/AAAAAAAAA4U/DjVx_5ZaJxc/s320/2012-06-16+11.38.54.jpg" title="geranium robertianum" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nl3hhnN1deM/T95Y0StHrxI/AAAAAAAAA4g/LAayFL2gcEM/s1600/2012-06-16+11.39.05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nl3hhnN1deM/T95Y0StHrxI/AAAAAAAAA4g/LAayFL2gcEM/s320/2012-06-16+11.39.05.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div>
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The pictures don't really reflect how pretty it is as they were taken on a dull day. Please let me know if you know the name of the plant. You can click on any of the images to zoom in.</div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-67061364407038974942012-06-18T08:37:00.000+01:002012-06-18T08:37:55.745+01:00My failures so farEvery gardener loves to talk about their successes and what worked so well, but I believe we can also learn even more from our failures. And with gardening, sometimes our failures happen due to circumstances out of our control (weather, pests to name but a few).<br />
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<i><span class="st">“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and <i>learning from failure</i>.”</span></i><br />
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<b><span class="st">Ginger</span></b><br />
<span class="st">This was my second time trying to grow ginger and again it was a total failure. I bought the bulb</span><i><span class="st"> </span></i><span class="st">from B&Q and tried it on a hot windowsill - but absolutely nothing happened. May take some more advice from the link below before trying it again with some suitable store bought ginger - but if it fails again, I will just have to resign myself to buying it!</span><br />
<span class="st"><a href="http://www.kew.org/plant-cultures/plants/ginger_grow_it.html" target="_blank">Growing ginger</a></span><br />
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<b><span class="st">Garlic</span></b><br />
<span class="st">Approximately 50% failure on my garlic this year due to rust. I had some store bought garlic and this is still growing strong - but the old garlic that I used from last years bulbs that I grew myself all got heavily infected with rust. In future I will be buying new supplies of garlic for sowing each year. </span><br />
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<b><span class="st">Pumpkin</span></b><br />
<span class="st">This was my most annoying failure - all was going so well - it germinated well, grew quickly on a windowsill, adapted well to life outdoors after hardening off. And then came the storms last week - and the two pumpkins I had sown were snapped off near their bases. If I had known they were at risk, I would have covered them with a cloche ( I will be doing this next year for sure until they are too big for the cloche). The most annoying part was that it happened too late in the season for me to germinate more. I was so looking forward to having my own grown pumpkin soup for Christmas dinner starter as I had last year. </span><br />
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<span class="st"><b>Potatoes</b></span><br />
<span class="st">I forgot my potatoes that were in the pot when spraying for blight (thankfully remembered all the rest, and they are doing well) just before the last batch of wet weather and sure enough - they were covered in blight this weekend. I immediatedly emptied the pot - the potatoes were still usable, but tiny - still nice addition to the salad that evening for dinner. Blight will mean that the potatoes won't store. The leaves etc have been removed off site. Photos below.</span><br />
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<span class="st"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mxOPPyGiu2E/T95GOu-QR6I/AAAAAAAAA4A/jFyAbg0Yspg/s1600/2012-06-16+09.22.58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mxOPPyGiu2E/T95GOu-QR6I/AAAAAAAAA4A/jFyAbg0Yspg/s200/2012-06-16+09.22.58.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-USVR06AAIpM/T95GtdeO0zI/AAAAAAAAA4I/EqHZNhYgh08/s1600/2012-06-16+09.23.07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-USVR06AAIpM/T95GtdeO0zI/AAAAAAAAA4I/EqHZNhYgh08/s200/2012-06-16+09.23.07.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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Click on the images to see them in full size. </div>
</span><span class="st">These are just my failures so far - I am sure that by the end of the season that more will come along with a lot more success (hopefully!!).</span><br />
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<span class="st"><i>"Expect the worst, hope for the best, and take what comes"</i></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com2Unnamed Rd, Rathlaheen South, Co. Clare, Ireland52.747931189928664 -8.8412475585937552.709479189928665 -8.92021155859375 52.786383189928664 -8.76228355859375tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-12448999726136173712012-06-17T21:53:00.002+01:002012-06-17T22:31:00.013+01:00Broccoli/Calabrese Harvest and FreezingCouldn't believe the size of some of my Broccoli yesterday morning. Harvest time beckoned.<br />
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I have included photos of my blanching and freezing of the broccoli to keep it over the next few months. Note - before you start, you should make sure that you have enough space in your freezer to store them all especially if you are trying to freeze them individually. You are better off blanching and freezing as soon as possible after picking to ensure maximum freshness, but they will hold for a couple of days in the fridge if its not a suitable time.<br />
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These were seedlings I bought back in early April and sowed under cloche for the first month. They have turned out so well - I might do some this way next year and also bring on my own for a later sowing.<br />
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You need to watch your broccoli carefully when the heads are formed as they can quickly turn to flowering (which indeed is what we eat - the flower buds!) and you will have missed your harvest after all your hard work caring for them.<br />
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A fine sized pot of broccoli and the headless plants!</div>
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Lovely full heads - ran out of space in the big sauspan bringing them in. Wouldn't be Irish without the cup of tea on the side! </div>
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First batch chopped up into usable sizes. If you have a large amount of harvest, it is better to do them in small batches or else your boiling water will cool too much when you put them in.</div>
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To blanch them, put them into boiling water for just one minute. They retain a lovely deep green colour after blanching as above. The water afterwards looks like the hulk took a bath in it!! </div>
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To cool them afterwards, I place them directly into a bowl of iced water. This helps cool them down quickly to stop them from further cooking ( as otherwise they turn to mush when cooked later on). I then place them on clean tea-towels to dry before starting the freezing process.</div>
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You can just bag them up once cooled and dried, but if you freeze them that way, you may find that the whole lot freeze in one big iceburg and make it difficult to pick out just the few pieces you want at any time. I line them up in trays, any plastic boxes with lids - all separate so they aren't touching. </div>
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This was the freezer once I had the whole lot done - about 8 heads of broccoli freezing here. Give them a few hours in the freezer before bagging up to reduce the space required in the freezer.</div>
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Remember to date and label your bag prior to putting in the vegetable - it is much easier to do when the bag is empty. I'm not sure how long they will store in your freezer, I just know that all mine will be used up before they go out of date anyway!</div>
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They will only require about 5 minutes ( adjust less if you prefer more crunch in your Broccoli) in boiling water to cook from frozen or can be added directly to your stir-fry. </div>
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Broccoli has some great nutritional values - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broccoli#Nutritional_and_medicinal" target="_blank">click here for a link to them on Wikipedia</a></div>
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<br />I have left the plants to continue growing as from past experience, there will be further (although smaller) heads that will appear at the sides of the plants.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-50129433459861445302012-06-15T21:30:00.000+01:002012-06-15T21:30:13.798+01:001000 pageviews - thank you all so much!!!!Thank you all for viewing and occasionally returning to this blog. It gives me great encouragement to continue my ramblings! And a special thanks to those of you that took the time out to comment on some of the posts - its really wonderful to get feedback.<br />
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Now next goal is to reach 10,000 page views - I'm looking forward to the challenge!! The motto of Munster rugby ( of which I am an avid supporter) seems apt to me <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span class="st">"<em>To the brave</em> and faithful, nothing is impossible"</span></i></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9220876775622125271.post-72383703590735219242012-06-15T11:06:00.001+01:002012-06-15T11:06:27.732+01:00The good, the bad and the aphids!Very stormy weather last night and today, but managed to get a quick look out at the patch this morning where I discovered the good, the bad and the aphids! <br />
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Was delighted to find my first cauliflower curd had appeared overnight - looks nice and healthy too. I had began to worry that it was a cabbage plant ( as I had bought them as plug plants) and I thought the label might have been put on wrong, but happy to report all is good! We don't eat much cabbage in our family.<br />
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Also my Purple sprouting broccoli has been growing very well (on sitting room window, will put outside in the greenhouse when this bad weather goes away) - only one of the seeds didn't germinate. <br />
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The bad was my pumpkins getting snapped by the wind - didn't think they would be affected as they are so low to the ground to begin with - just shows how bad the weather was overnight. If I had known I would have put a mini cloche over them. Wonder if its too late to try sowing another batch - I knew I should have kept one on standby!<br />
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On my second cauliflower curd I discovered some aphids - will have to get out my washing up liquid mix now to get rid of them. How did they find it - when I didn't even know the curd was there - nature is always one step ahead!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06384790670841466397noreply@blogger.com0Unnamed Rd, Rathlaheen South, Co. Clare, Ireland52.745021597857722 -8.840560913085937552.725797097857722 -8.8800429130859371 52.764246097857722 -8.8010789130859379