A new season has begun…

Well, after a very hectic season in 2009 we took time over the winter to think through our plans for the smallholding. After much thought, debate and calculation during the cold and dark months we have decided to press ahead with developing the smallholding with the kind support of Clare Local Development Company – leader funding.

So far we have added a new polytunnel which will replace quite a few of the outdoor beds which were difficult to make good use of with such poor summer weather. We are delighted with our new tunnel which gives us lots of room to grow loads more tomatoes, chillis, french beans, corn etc – all crops that depend on having protection and warm growing conditions. It is ready to be harrowed (with the kind help of Jim Cronin again). Jim is coming with the horses this week and we are looking foward to getting started on preparing the ground for this season’s crops.

Other developments on the holding are a woodturning workshop for John and a log cabin alongside the new tunnel that will be used for packing veg boxes and direct sales. So, from May we will be open for customers to call on Friday and Saturday every week – either to collect orders or to buy from the week’s harvest. More on that closer to the time, and we will put signs out with directions for anyone interested in calling.

So, all in all the Spring has sprung for us here – work is well underway, both on the new projects and in the tunnels. We are sowing and starting to plant the new season salads, spinach and herbs and, despite the cold weather all the tunnel crops are looking good.

I will add photos of our new setup when I get a chance – and hope to get back to adding recipes for all our new season produce.

The pig’s departure…

The tunnels are full of salads, herbs, rocket and spinach – as green as any time during the summer. It is a lovely contrast to the outdoor beds, that are looking a bit cold and empty compared to the height of the growing season. Our winter crops are doing well – leeks, cabbage, kale and cauliflower all growing well, but the summer crops have all finished outdoors at this stage and it is only inside that young leafy plants will do well. Our brussel sprouts are coming along nicely and hopefully will come into their own in December.

We still have work to do outside (surprise, surprise) – the empty beds have been ploughed and need harrowing and manuring for next year. We are hoping to sow green manure, but time is running out now, so it may be that we manure and cover the area in preparation for Spring. I have daily growing respect for all growers who have the skill and energy to keep up with the forces of nature in the garden… weeds never sleep!

It is the pigs that have us feeling a bit lonely this evening though – they went today to the factory and we are missing them around the place. I don’t think I would be a good livestock farmer – I couldn’t look them in the eye for the past few days and spent most of today feeling a bit tearful. It’s not like they were in the living room as pets, but they lived beside the tunnels, and were great company as you worked – you could always hear them snuffling around, particularly if they realised you were there. Don’t get me wrong – we are looking forward to the excellent meat they will give us, it’s just that it does feel a bit empty outside now that they have gone…

Pea picking

Ryan and Fionn spent a good deal of time this summer standing in front of various pea beds stripping them clean of their fruit…. it was one of the only ways to get them to stand still if we had to get a (very quick) job done in the garden. They love picking, opening (with their teeth mostly) and gobbling the peas inside. They do get a bit confused between round pods that need to be opened and sugar peas that you eat whole (pod and all)… so have given up trying to stop them chewing the whole pod – they like it  and doesn’t seem to do them any harm… and who am I to challenge a two year old doing something that they like?

Bees in the garden

The world bee population is in dire danger, and with it, so is plant life everywhere – anyone who has seen ‘bee movie’ knows what happened when the bees stopped working…no bees, no pollen carrying, no plant pollination, no plants. We planted flowers everywhere we could this year – because we like them mostly, but it is great to see the bees buzzing around the sunflowers on a (rare) sunny day – gives hope that we can make a difference!  SO – GROW FLOWERS!!!

Pumpkin hunting

One of the jobs that the children love the most in the garden is looking for the pumpkins – it is a treasure hunt and there is great excitement to see who will find the most/biggest hiding under the huge leaves that spread over more than 4 feet for each plant.  There are some great ones ripening (hopefully) on the beds now – with our wet weather the beds are soggy, even with the ground cover fabric, so we have put broken slates under each pumpkin stop them from rotting on the ground….

Apple harvest

After a couple of years nursing new apple trees and losing most to birds we are delighted with our apples this year – on the trees planted in 2006 we have had a great crop of elstar apples that looked gorgeous and tasted really delicious. Quite a few were eaten straight from the trees – and they didn’t last long, but they really did taste how an apple should! I recently heard that it has been a bad year for apples in Ireland (no doubt weather related) – so feel even luckier for that.

As Autumn rolls in…

The change of the season is well underway and we have changed over most of our tunnel crops. The tomato plants are still cropping well – most of our other crops had to go to make room for new season planting. The new winter salads, orientals, spinach and herbs are all in place and getting established while the days are still fairly long and relatively (?) warm. Even though the weather has been so wet the growth in the tunnels has been very good for the last couple of weeks.

The new season of root vegetables are coming in – Irish carrots, parsnips and swede turnips are all available now.

We have two beds of pumpkins that the boys love to search for under their huge leaves – they are ripening now and will be ready in October.

There is a calm (at last!) in the garden – everything is growing away steadily, but the intense growth has definitely passed and you can feel the change of the season clearly.

I never thought I would look forward to winter – but, having chased the garden since last March (and not been able to keep up at times…), we need a quiet patch to enjoy what has grown, to think about what we have learned from our efforts (alot!), and to plan how to use our experience to do it all better next year!

Two little piggies…

Well, the best fun we’ve had in ages was the trip to Dundrum, Co Tipperary last weekend to collect two young pigs to complete our livestock (for now) for the smallholding. John Paul Crowe introduced us to his young pigs – who all look very happy and healthy on their farm outside Tipp town. His farm is in conversion and will have organic certification later this year. The breed is pietron – and the pigs are very cute – pale pink with black spots and stand up ears.

We decided to go for pigs for a few reasons – firstly because we need lots of manure for the garden and it is hard to get in any quantity (by the way, if you have any you would like to get rid of please get in touch!). Pig manure is one of the best sources of fertility of all the animal manures when it is well rotted on straw bedding. Also we do eat pork, ham, bacon etc… so we would be happier to know that the meat we are eating came from an animal that had a happy and comfy life. Lastly, we all really like pigs… is that too simple a reason??? John quite likes the idea that you can have a pet that can be eaten (I think that’s based on having to put up with two badly behaved dogs for a number of years)…

So, the highlight of the trip to collect the two new additions was when one of them climbed out of the boot of the van and sat on the seat beside Ryan (one of our toddlers)… all the way home!

They are so very sociable and friendly – and really nice to have around. I know I don’t sound like someone who plans on eating them – will have to see how we all feel when the time comes…

Sowing herbs

If your time and space are limited you can still add great flavour to your meals and great colour to your garden with a simple variety of herbs. These can even be grown in pots or window boxes – you don’t have to have a dedicated outdoor area. The following herbs all like to be started in the same way – coriander, parsley, thyme, sage, oregano, chives, chervil, basil… the best way to sow these is:
1. Fill a plug tray (tray with several small sections) with good quality compost (organic available from Jim Cronin, Bridgetown). Use another tray to compress the compost a little.
2. Water the tray well – avoid heavy waterfall – try to make it like rain – turn the rose so that the holes point upwards.
3. Sow a pinch of seed into each plug (approx 6 seeds – could be more for tiny seeds like oregano).
4. Sieve (sprinkle if you don’t have a compost sieve) compost over the seeds so that the final level of compost is level with the top of the tray.
5. Keep in a warm, light area – ideally a polytunnel/glasshouse or bright sunroom, until seeds germinate.
6. Grow on in the plug tray until the white roots are peeping out of the hole at the bottom of the tray. If you are going to plant outside, harden off the young plants (outside by day, covered or in at night for 5-6 days). NOTE: some plants eg basil are tender and will have to be kept indoors.
7. When hardened off you can move the plants into their final growing spot (eg. bed in garden, window box, large pot).
These herbs can all be used as cut and come again crops – so you can cut as you need and let it grow on.
Another note: Although kitchen window sills are warm – they are often too warm with not enough light – which leads to the problems many people have with whitefly or leggy weak plants. If you are keeping plants inside try to find somewhere as light as possible but not too warm.

Sowing & growing… in or out?

There are many tips that help to make growing easier and more successful. It has been amazing to learn how each crop has it’s own preferences for how to sow (eg courgettes are sown using a single seed in a pot but coriander prefers a pinch of seed in a plug tray), how to grow on and when to plant. With a few minutes spare I am hoping to note a few of these on this blog.

Our two tunnels are now jam packed with trays, pots and plants at various stages. Most frustratingly at the moment there are a number of trays of young plants waiting to get into the prepared outdoor beds, but delayed by the wet weather. Growing outdoors in Ireland really is a game for the hardy and very determined… So, my first tip is – get a polytunnel! The range of crops possible is fantastic – from tomatoes to chillis – and the growing season is year round – wtih winter salads in January and early sown potatoes ready in the next 3-4 weeks, as opposed to four weeks later for outdoors. They are available in many sizes – you don’t have to be a commercial grower, and they really make growing much more exciting and varied.

If you are going to grow in outdoor beds – many crops can be planted through ground cover fabric – eg. cabbage, onion sets, courgettes, which minimises the amount of weeding later on, and deters some of the most common pests (eg, cabbage root fly).

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