tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29775092614297416522024-02-25T07:30:16.497+00:00An Organic Lifestyle (Organic Growing Pains)A Blog originally about trying to grow organically on allotments, now growing flowers & veg at home on a smaller scale and living an organic lifestylePeggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.comBlogger552125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-57701161810192165452019-01-17T23:44:00.001+00:002019-01-18T00:32:47.329+00:00Instacrafting/ crafters and DIY <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I set up an Instagram account a few years ago and promptly forgot about it until some months ago and began browsing and got hooked enough to start posting, mainly about gardening. I noticed some DIY crafting posts and began following them as I had always knit/sewed/made and done etc as many of my generation did because we had to , to look after a family and make ends meet. It was immediately very clear this new generation of crafters enjoyed the creativity and colour in each DIY project they did<br />
My monks bench was vintage white with a pale grey stencil, after looking at the colour and style of Joanne Mooney whose blog and instagram account A PROUD HOME has won followers and awards I stepped outside my comfort zone and went for Petrol in Colortrend paint and some mad colours in cushions<br />
of the plain greys I had originally intended! <br />
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Another award winning Blogger is Catherine Colton better known as Dainty Dress Diaries, Catherine had made a Pom Pom cushion in one of her Youtube videos, Joanne began making multi colored Pom poms and when I saw wool on sale in Aldi the idea of a brightly colored Pom Pom<br />
cushion took shape and quickly became this technicoloured triumph<br />
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Catherine has a huge number of how to videos on her YouTube channel</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWw9anwldW5XSg7NPMbPuvMIHj4DZQqHLv7aStJyv8EHQX2ZTrwf9Y3jsgs4D_9XAZrUkizztbD3aC2_XZ-nOLXenOSyel20r4RgqdXkUvZ0dQCXhgLfOovwO9LaSDxT5rMyQO0f8Q9Ps/s1600/53CF129D-E26E-4CD9-9550-432160F0915C.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWw9anwldW5XSg7NPMbPuvMIHj4DZQqHLv7aStJyv8EHQX2ZTrwf9Y3jsgs4D_9XAZrUkizztbD3aC2_XZ-nOLXenOSyel20r4RgqdXkUvZ0dQCXhgLfOovwO9LaSDxT5rMyQO0f8Q9Ps/s320/53CF129D-E26E-4CD9-9550-432160F0915C.jpeg" width="320" /></a>Vintageirishkat, the clue is in the name</div>
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, all things vintage, craft orientated and some hilarious videos are the hallmark of this Instagrammer ,Katrina. These are some Christmas tea light holders made from sticks, which look fantastic and for free, Just one of many craft ideas !</div>
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Wioletta Kelly of Abbeyfeale Interior Design and another Instagrammer craft and DIYer, these lovely gnomes are made from a Penny’s sweater!<br />
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Aileen from Shabby.ie for all things paint effects, moldings and decor ideas and live how to videos</div>
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Joanne Condon author of Furniture Crush, painting not just furniture but PVC doors and windows and would probably give yourself a coat of paint if you stood still long enough!</div>
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These are just a short sample of some of the Bloggers and Instagrammers I look forward to seeing new posts from. Spring is in the air when we all look forward to refurbishing our homes and look for new ideas so give these ladies a look see on Instagram, you won’t regret it ( or maybe you will when you get hooked on DIY) </div>
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I would tag everyone and make it simpler if I could but I haven’t got the hang of those technical thingys </div>
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Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-59724318840247677592018-11-13T22:26:00.001+00:002018-11-13T22:26:50.148+00:00Solo Travelling in IcelandThe Northern Lights/ Aurora Boreallis were on my bucket list for a while and I decided this was my year to tick them off, especially since Icelander<a href="http://www.icelandair.com/" target="_blank">Icelandair</a> are offering very good rates to fly from Dublin to Reykjavik.<br />
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The photos are uploaded in no particular order, it was cold so layers of clothes and waterproof walking boots were in order! I had booked my flights back in May, booked my B&B through Booking.com, prices in Iceland are more expensive than at home or most places I would think!<br />
I had also booked an evening tour to see the Northern Lights on the Sat night, pick up at 9 pm from the BSI bus Station which as luck would have it was only about 7 mins walk from my B&B also very handy getting from and to the airport.<br />
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Reykjavik is a colorful city, brightly painted homes, most of which are of this corrugated exterior presumably for insulation? Heating, all of their hot water and electricity are supplied from Geothermal springs, which are harnessed for the benefit of the people of Iceland not sold off to some faceless conglomerate. Iceland suffered an economic crash in 2008 at the same time as Ireland and other European countries BUT they left the banks crash, jailed the bankers,suffered crippling inflation but are coming out the other side with their heads held high and seeing their country prosper all without the interference or so called help from the EU<br />
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The underground springs come overground in spectacular fashion here, geysers bubble and steam with the daddy of them all Strokker erupting approx every ten minutes<br />
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Another typical Icelandic house, there are very few really old houses in Iceland most only dating since the 2nd WW and the amount of new apartment blocks under construction amid towering cranes is changing the face of Rekjavik. Iceland has an almost non existent crime rate?! <br />
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Myself, with an extinct volcano in the background, the volcanic lake in the Kerid crater is estimated to be over 3,000 years old<br />
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As I said, the photos loaded up in no particular order, we ended our day long tour in the amazing Blue Lagoon, coming up warm from deep underground, a deep opaque blue with a slight whiff of sulphur! I had booked the tour but then entry to the Blue Lagoon has to be booked separately. Its approx 60 euros, all you need to bring is a bathing suit. Everything else is supplied, shower gel,shampoo,conditioner, lockers,hairdryers, one drink, mud mask and towels! There are restaurants, bar and snack bar onsite. crowds pass through all day so its very organised and you will only be allowed in the time you have booked for. You dont actually swim in the pool just float around, float over to the poolside bar to collect your drink or over to the mud mask table and just relax, it was dusk when we were there and very cold so the ensuing steam made everything look surreal<br />
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The Hallgrimskirkja which dominates the Reykjavick skyline by day and night, the main religion of Iceland is Lutheran, you can, if so inclined climb to the top of the tower<br />
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Iceland is divided by the Mid Atlantic Ridge, which separates the Eurasian and North American plates and it is one of the few places it can be viewed on land as most of it is deep under the ocean. The tall cliff on the left of the photo is the American plate which towers overhead, the eurasian plate is much less spectacular and is about 7 klms away, they move apart approx 2 cms a year so the part we are walking on is known as the middle of nowhere as, it belongs to neither plate! it will be recognisable to Game of Thrones fans as a lot of the series was filmed here.<br />
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there is a big fleamarket , selling everything from books to food to antiques and clothes market held every weekend down by the docks<br />
The northern Lights,did I get to see them? yes an amazing display! I had booked my tour for the sat night but on fri I thought it looked a nice clear day and the forecast was good so I thought I will would contact the tour company to see if I could change from Sat to fri night. The particular company will give you another tour free if you dont see the lights the first time and will honour that promise for up to 3 years!<br />
The lights are a natural phenomenon and while October to March is the best time to see them there is no guarantee they will appear! They can appear around 11 or even midnight but that night they began at 10pm, they come across the sky moving continuously growing greener then fading and you wait maybe 10 to 15 minutes for them to start again, the show went on for about an hour then stopped by which time we were frozen! I took some photos but quickly realised as did everyone else that no mobile phone could capture or do justice to the celestial display so we put them away to just enjoy what we were looking at. Some had actually taken cameras, lenses, tripods etc but I felt I could look at photos anytime but maybe never see the actual Aurora Boreallis ever again.<br />
As it happened the weather changed for the worst and the Sat and Sun night tours were cancelled!<br />
I loved my 4 days in Iceland but stayed mainly in Reykjavik and the south of the island, tourism is big business in Iceland from surfing to sledding, hiking to swimming there is something for everybody, I could actually write 3 or 4 posts about my visit to this amazing countryPeggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-46277845097861185562018-10-13T21:25:00.000+01:002018-10-13T21:27:36.207+01:00Birthday Musings from the Great Wall of China, the Camino and the Northern Lights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So another birthday reached, maybe not regarded as a milestone one but, every year is a milestone now as they seem to come around quicker and quicker! I began thinking of a bucket list a few years ago, having been lucky enough to have travelled a bit I had seen a few places,such as Venice and New York where we visited ground Zero which at that point was still a hole in the ground, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.<br />
One evening I opened FaceBook and there was an advert for trekking the Great Wall of China, something which I had always found fascinating from the time I could read about it, so I signed up, began training and duly set off with an organised group called Earths Edge on my birthday 2 years ago to undertake the adventure of a lifetime<br />
Earlier this year I set off on another undertaking, walking the Camino in northern Spain, photo, I am standing on the steps of the cathedral de Santiago with my certificates and my pilgrim shell.<br />
I did the last 100 klms from Sarria to Santiago, walking for 5 days to cover the distance, I travelled alone but the camaradrie of the Camino saw me meet up with a lovely Australian lady and we walked together each day. The northern Spanish countryside is much like Ireland but we passed through villages which had buildings which had stood for hundreds of years bearing witness to a constant stream of pilgrims retracing the steps of St James. We reached Santiago and were very lucky to see the famous Botafumerio swinging across the ceiling of the cathedral<br />
In 2 weeks time I set off on another adventure, to visit Iceland and hopefully see the Northern Lights (Aurora Boreallis. Weather conditions will dictate whether I get to actually see them or not as being a natural phenomenon they are not guaranteed to appear on the weekend I happen to be there.<br />
I will share my experience and would love to hear from anyone who has been to Rejkavik and seen themPeggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-66739012335223094392018-09-06T23:09:00.000+01:002018-09-06T23:09:19.468+01:00A long Hot Summer Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-12956806001312105862018-07-23T20:25:00.002+01:002018-07-23T20:25:37.195+01:00Saving some Summer Goodness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I don't grow Beetroot anymore as I no longer have the space to do so but, I would buy fresh at a Farmer's Market or where I know its local and organic.<br />
Saturday was one of those days I saw a bunch of Beetroot and decided I would pickle some.<br />
We are currently having a heatwave with near drought conditions and water rationing, YES, in Ireland!<br />
Vegetables are in short supply and may even get scarce unless we get rain. Potatoes have failed in some places due to lack of rain at a very crucial period in their growth.<br />
Anyway, back to my Beetroot. I have been doing a very short term pickle recently, just roasting the beets, slicing them into jars, pouring in red wine vinegar, and keep in the fridge for a week or two.<br />
This time, to make store cupboard pickle I Googled for a simple ,quick recipe which I found. I think its from a Blog so if anyone reading this thinks it looks familiar or knows the Blogger please credit in the comments and I will add as I screenshot it and now cannot find the source.I roasted the beets wrapped securely in tinfoil, in a roasting dish with water,took about an hour<br />
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Next, wash and heat the jars, I just put them in the oven at a very low temp, guessing I will have enough in 6<br />
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The recipe, I just used the Preserving Liquid and method, simples!!<br />
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Added benefit.... it smells like Christmas, reminds me of Mulled Wine<br />
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The filled jars, I sliced and divided the beets between the jars and topped up with the still hot liquid ( just slightly cooled). The lids should pop after a few minutes so you know the jars have sealed properly and will keep.<br />
If any lid does not pop then use those jars first.<br />
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The finished jars labelled and dated, just in case I decide to do some more at a later stage. if you were doing these as gifts or to sell then a nice decorative cover would look good.<br />
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On a footnote, I have not Blogged for a number of years and am finding Blogger a bit complicated for uploading photos etc, its taken me all of 2 hours to do this muchPeggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-26392541149832187362018-06-12T23:05:00.000+01:002018-06-12T23:05:08.642+01:00Family Occasion<br />
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A much anticipated family occasion took place recently, the wedding of my grandson Stephen to Hayley in the UK, almost the entire family decamped to Kenilworth for a few days of laughter and merriment.<br />
The sun shone on the wedding party for the whole day, which was wonderful as it was all planned outdoors in the hotel gardens!<br />
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Stephen and Hayley are the proud parents of my great grand daughter Aoibhin, a thoroughly mischevious, adorable funny little Miss<br />
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here she is twirling the train of her Mom's dress around her, literally running rings around her.<br />
It was a beautiful family weekend as both families were staying in the hotel together and we got to know each other and have some great memories of a wonderful weekend.<br />
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We had time to tour the locality over the few days and Kenilworth is an old English town steeped in history. Thatched cottages,and typical English cottage gardens were photographed and enjoyed.<br />
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Kenilworth Castle is an amazing ruin, it is closely associated with Queen Elizabeth the First who had a romantic friendship with Lord Dudley who built the castle and she had her own suite of rooms in one of the towers.<br />
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Gardens, naturally came into my visit! This is the Elizabethan garden which was lost for over a century but has been brought back to life and planted as it would have been back then<br />
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Our second days sight seeing was the city of Coventry which was not too distant.The ruins of the gothic cathederal stand as a memorial to the Blitz during WW2. Only the outer walls and the tower still stand of this beautiful building, still beautiful in its sombre remains. The new cathederal is built beside it.<br />
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The Guidlhall, just across from the cathederal has stood since the 1670s, the roof was set on fire with incenderies on the same night the cathederal was destroyed but the building itself was saved. It is amazing inside, the old panelled walls amd tapestries still survive.<br />
There is one small room off the main hall where it is believed the tragic Mary Queen of Scots was imprisioned for 2 months<br />
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Myself, looking slightly the worse for wear and great grand daughter Aoibhin, ( Irish name, pronounced Aiveen) this was on the day we left to come back home.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSK_6bOOuavNvm5Tp09yltXkb6fgMo_O0Bq95VDRxu80Im8UFGgHt-0ZqrrD_C7_RtIbuRe6PmitJxidB2nJth9gxzF5SLENFeiA-EJrbcF_36ClenOT9cXwBMBE6DdpPwJAJrHXZy1Co/s1600/IMG-20180607-WA0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="720" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSK_6bOOuavNvm5Tp09yltXkb6fgMo_O0Bq95VDRxu80Im8UFGgHt-0ZqrrD_C7_RtIbuRe6PmitJxidB2nJth9gxzF5SLENFeiA-EJrbcF_36ClenOT9cXwBMBE6DdpPwJAJrHXZy1Co/s320/IMG-20180607-WA0003.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Bubbles were distributed (for the children) as a cleaner and fun alternative to confetti but some of the adults got as much fun out of them!<br />
this is daughter Aisling happily blowing bubbles, pretending they were for the little one!<br />
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Well we are now back home, gardening etc ongoing and I will catch up in the next post.Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-42347742127840606452018-05-31T21:53:00.000+01:002018-05-31T22:06:44.683+01:00Gardeners Green Soup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslN9Xu_9LMu_25c4DYt-xAiL7FMkHQE47G-9O3hx2lNyWtrJy2qJEhAIq1yZFC0gttnSj198gyXAGjiJ2XL-_-KiqRTBasMvLAuODHWNANB-mE_nDw3P2Op_c8kF7oITbaRwRYTaw3A4/s1600/IMG_20180527_125351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslN9Xu_9LMu_25c4DYt-xAiL7FMkHQE47G-9O3hx2lNyWtrJy2qJEhAIq1yZFC0gttnSj198gyXAGjiJ2XL-_-KiqRTBasMvLAuODHWNANB-mE_nDw3P2Op_c8kF7oITbaRwRYTaw3A4/s320/IMG_20180527_125351.jpg" width="320" /></a>Well, post number 2, if I get one post up per week it would get things moving with some continuity once again. The annual Mallow Homes and Gardens show took place last weekend which I attended with two of my grandchildren Jack & Heidi. the weather was a little unkind and some of the time we spent indoors was at the Taste of North Cork. these are a group of artisan producers who showed on the day but I was quite taken by Nibbles Food Emporium, award winning bakery based in Millstreet, Co Cork.</div>
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The Gardners Green soup with Bluebell falls goats Cheese crostini was intriguing, Chef Eleanor Leahy runs the business, is quite interested in foraging and using natural ingredients in her restaurant. The thing that struck me about the ingredients for this soup is, the greens are free and widely available if picked at the right time,when young and tender.</div>
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We often mention the Hungry gap, that lean time between the end of last years crops and the beginning of the new seasons, this is probably how our ancestors coped with it, knowing what was edible and freely growing in the fields and hedgerows.</div>
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250grm of young edible plants, nettles ( ankle height)!<br />
Plantain, the young leaves of what we in Ireland call black soldiers<br />
chickweed, goosegrass or better known as Sticky backs<br />
Bitter hairy cress<br />
a few young dandelion leaves.<br />
Gather these first and prepare, put the nettle leaves in a bowl and pour boiling water over, this removes the sting.allow them to sit for about 30 seconds then drain, cool slightly and discard any stems.<br />
Clean all leaves by soaking in salted water and then under running cold water.<br />
Roughly chop all leaves and set aside.<br />
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daisy flowers are edible and can be used for garnish or in a salad, as can the flowers of chives which are easily grown in <u>a pot at home.</u><br />
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<u>Ingredients for Soup</u><br />
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250 grms of leaves prepared as above<br />
50grms butter<br />
350grms potatoes, peeled and chopped<br />
100grms onion chopped<br />
100grms leeks chopped<br />
Salt & freshly ground black pepper<br />
1 litre of good quality stock or water<br />
125 ml cream or full fat milk<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVr-C0vDQJ-q3oSPc9dx-sP-VjUfqneFJlsm7WcZMfevlLo_VBYZVhcaTCGnBoM1X3zgsynzeKeIxLphU2IQG1JYfrayHAAPBhgNs07g4qufO40qaNYBOt5wRPrGCw7LrYWHKcqURT6tM/s1600/IMG_20180527_132552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVr-C0vDQJ-q3oSPc9dx-sP-VjUfqneFJlsm7WcZMfevlLo_VBYZVhcaTCGnBoM1X3zgsynzeKeIxLphU2IQG1JYfrayHAAPBhgNs07g4qufO40qaNYBOt5wRPrGCw7LrYWHKcqURT6tM/s320/IMG_20180527_132552.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<u>Method</u><br />
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melt the butter in a large saucepan, ideally one with a tight fitting lid, over a medium heat.<br />
add the onions & Leeks and toss them in the melted butter until well coated<br />
season well, cover and cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes<br />
until the vegetables are soft but not coloured.<br />
add the chopped potatoes, cook for one minute,add the stock and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until vegetables are tender<br />
Add the chopped ,prepared leaves and simmer uncovered for just a few minutes more.<br />
Be carefull not to overcook at this point as the veg will lose their colour and flavour<br />
Liquidize the soup, then add the cream or milk if using but check the consistency of the soup first, you may not like a thin soup!<br />
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<u>Crostini</u><br />
These are ones I made at home.<br />
100ml (31/2 fluid ozs)Olive Oil ( I used a seaweed oil)<br />
Salt & freshly ground black pepper<br />
2 cloves of garlic ,finely chopped<br />
1/2 baguette<br />
Bluebell falls Goats Cheese<br />
preheat the oven to220C,425 F, gas mark 4<br />
Season the oil with the salt & pepper<br />
cut the baguette into thin slices at an angle<br />
toss the slices in the oil<br />
place them on a baking tray, cook for about 5 mins until a pale golden colour<br />
Allow to cool and they will keep for up to a week in an airtight container ( mine didn't last 2 days )<br />
Spread some goats cheese on each slice, place under grill or in a hot oven until slightly melted<br />
The soup can be frozen in single servings, before adding the cream or milk<br />
I find nowadays I like to have a cook- in evening preparing a number of meals and have a meal ready to defrost in minutes when I want it.<br />
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<br />Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-1778608922617236542018-05-22T21:51:00.001+01:002018-05-22T21:51:48.351+01:00Back Growing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I can’t believe it’s been nearly 4 years since I last uploaded a Blog post! </div>
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Blogger became more complicated, smartphones became the norm, Face Book became the media of choice to share news etc. </div>
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Son Billy had to travel more for work and also took up marathon running, 17 clocked up to date. It was usually late in the evening by the time I got to the allotment and between being ate by small flies and not liking being alone there I didn’t continue. I did garden at home but that was mainly flowers. I actually didn’t even think of the Blog for months, lately I have logged on and caught up on some blogs and am delighted to see some of the same familiar names.</div>
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This year I also felt the need to grow again, albeit in very small amounts just for myself and because my garden at home is not suitable for veggie growing I have utilized various sized bags and began my hashtag #backyardandbalconybags</div>
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The photo shows what is known as a Skippo bag for lifting waste etc. I used home made compost and set seed potatoes, a first early Red Duke of York. I have earthed them up with commercial compost as they grew and so far so good 😊 </div>
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I have other bags with other veg but they are for another day</div>
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<br />Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-42105199406272016042014-08-25T22:48:00.002+01:002014-08-25T22:48:12.158+01:00Between the Showers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLAhy_hZdPRwtfBgHXag7Ct4RvhJAO-L9dxU_iU3TEMmp0lRa_4ub0UP-TTku29Lu0BW-Jqxqa6EUVcp_gLrayKG1nnZLlSA4MAABkGkyaluU27qqcJku2LzDwQNl5yctPTwT7kcjiRA/s1600/end+of+beetroot++end+of+beetroot+harvest.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLAhy_hZdPRwtfBgHXag7Ct4RvhJAO-L9dxU_iU3TEMmp0lRa_4ub0UP-TTku29Lu0BW-Jqxqa6EUVcp_gLrayKG1nnZLlSA4MAABkGkyaluU27qqcJku2LzDwQNl5yctPTwT7kcjiRA/s1600/end+of+beetroot++end+of+beetroot+harvest.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
There was nothing done on the plot since Friday due to the worsening weather over the weekend.The greenhouse needed watering so I went out this evening. I intended pulling the remainder of the beetroot and the carrots and clearing the bed for the winter.The carrots had been very slow germinating and I thought not a great return from them, until I removed the Enviromesh which has sheltered them all summer.<br />
The beetroot has been fantastic all year, all from one sowing ,I have been using the thinnings as baby beetroot in Balsamic vinegar but they have now grown tennis ball size, I think they like being under the mesh the same as the carrots.<br />
I had pulled some carrots to thin them out and I didn't think they were doing at all well, did I get a shock?!<br />
I began pulling them but then found that some were in bunches and it would be better to thin them out and leave the others grow on a bit longer.There is a bunch of baby carrots, a bunch of full grown carrots and a bunch of the purple skinned ones and as much more still in the bed.<br />
I thought I may have over done the sand mix in the bed as it seemed to dry out very quickly in the hot weather, it did help to grow straight ( for the most part) well shaped carrots.<br />
Sweetcorn, tomatoes and more Sugar snap peas completed the harvest.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDw8CcxcuY2cNSUriUPkPTZOjQkyj1vRFPkViI_-A3XKcDswyE5y-GM7Pf2BSUlWUbTCVnAZikYvPfCmJKNI15XRk3FmvWi2JnuflL43td0zQqjU2_zPKdPkssljwn7HTxHe_BIT5dnw/s1600/carrot+bed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDw8CcxcuY2cNSUriUPkPTZOjQkyj1vRFPkViI_-A3XKcDswyE5y-GM7Pf2BSUlWUbTCVnAZikYvPfCmJKNI15XRk3FmvWi2JnuflL43td0zQqjU2_zPKdPkssljwn7HTxHe_BIT5dnw/s1600/carrot+bed.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
I weeded the bed ,cleaned it up and recovered it with the enviromesh as there is a second wave of carrot fly due in September I think?<br />
The carrots are clean and unmarked from carrot fly or slugs so hopefully the remainder will escape too.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZBvfySIJwe1X9-SWR_UiCJB2dizcjV84RctTJ2m178x39BWdPxzyZkWwHffkTqK8hrrzPGnWD2bUveJxeWkqdQ0w78aevxcuoi3T4whH0CJ3hcZ-VXJjEf6xOHvr8D50HsL5B_V1iGgg/s1600/covered+onion+bed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZBvfySIJwe1X9-SWR_UiCJB2dizcjV84RctTJ2m178x39BWdPxzyZkWwHffkTqK8hrrzPGnWD2bUveJxeWkqdQ0w78aevxcuoi3T4whH0CJ3hcZ-VXJjEf6xOHvr8D50HsL5B_V1iGgg/s1600/covered+onion+bed.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
The onion bed put to sleep for next season. I covered the bed with old mushroom compost, cardboard and today finished off with Mypex to keep nutrients in and have the bed ready to go next year as soon as the ground warms up.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYTnedSBMO0_Y4sM14SCzjVUyZRhZkfePQiJ0GB2LcUGPvY0jT7eBek67AFn6UhIyEHR95swoxjXpmhXKEALuofmMa-8f-lurZc1plVtJjjZmCut80tRDlgOm3M4QGWrgzsK8InEffj_w/s1600/Seaweed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYTnedSBMO0_Y4sM14SCzjVUyZRhZkfePQiJ0GB2LcUGPvY0jT7eBek67AFn6UhIyEHR95swoxjXpmhXKEALuofmMa-8f-lurZc1plVtJjjZmCut80tRDlgOm3M4QGWrgzsK8InEffj_w/s1600/Seaweed.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
The seaweed is amazing after all the rain, the two lots which I had put down early in the week had completely dried out and shrunk but I was surprised to see today that it is all back to its original bulk as it seems to have soaked up the rain?!<br />
There was a programme on RTE1 this evening called Gliondar about unusual hobbies and this episode was about growing potatoes!<br />
A competition was underway in Co Kerry called Spud Off to see who would grow the best potato. They were using sea weed as a mulch and digging it in with the seed potato also. I had missed some of it when I turned on the TV so now I must check on the RTE player to see if its on there.<br />
<br />Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-31222773109373816452014-08-20T22:00:00.003+01:002014-08-20T22:00:49.950+01:00Getting a Headstart on Next Year!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgocO5cePVW58C0jmrr6GBni9zwVilcnPyukwvuFDK5V7UznpOT2wmGCPKCxsT9C4o6MlJV_xn4Xg4IJmCXJGe8PX5myVj61RmC1CGs8ZXh5BOlf0axsHEh_m4acP84icRjUwpxMiW1I_E/s1600/seaweed+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgocO5cePVW58C0jmrr6GBni9zwVilcnPyukwvuFDK5V7UznpOT2wmGCPKCxsT9C4o6MlJV_xn4Xg4IJmCXJGe8PX5myVj61RmC1CGs8ZXh5BOlf0axsHEh_m4acP84icRjUwpxMiW1I_E/s1600/seaweed+3.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
We have finally dug out the last corner of the plot, its been sitting under plastic sheeting for months to break down the high grass.The plastic was removed and the dead grass could be easily pulled away making it possible for a fellow plotter to come in with a rotavator to break up the ground.<br />
We then dug it over thoroughly and removed the scutch grass roots and the stones.<br />
I went on a road trip near Kinsale on Mon and brought back 4 bags of seaweed in the boot of the car!<br />
Wellie boots are compulsory for this task. I did'nt want to get seaweed from the harbour area as it is possibly polluted with diesel from boats and various other unmentionables.<br />
The seaweed was not loose at the waters edge so it meant collecting it at low tide, and taking conservation into account. I took a large scissors and cut approx half of each plant leaving the roots still attached to the rocks.The 4 bags only covered about 1/3 of the proposed potato patch for next year so at least 2 more foraging trips are necessary.<br />
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It is thickly covered with the seaweed which will act as a mulch over winter and is good for potatoes also, the ground will be ready for planting seed potatoes instead of playing catch up as we have been doing all of this season.<br />
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I had covered some of it with this large cardboard box but this evening that was removed to cover the cleared onion bed. The onions have been drying over the past weeks and are now plaited to hang in storage.<br />
The bed has been cleared and covered with old mushroom compost and covered now with the cardboard so that is one more bed ready for next season, we are clearing and readying as we go.<br />
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The brassica cage which is in the corner of the above pics. Brussels Sprouts , Kale and cabbage are doing well but the netting has served its time and a few holes have appeared through which the white cabbage butterfly got in so some caterpillar damage is visible on the sprouts and cabbage. We are not pulling the Kale just cutting leaves carefully from each plant and trying to make them last as long as possible.Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-60880355828714007782014-08-14T20:36:00.001+01:002014-08-14T20:36:26.118+01:00Summer on the Plot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have been on holidays abroad, enjoying the summer sunshine here at home, spending days on the plot and while taking some photos did not turn on the computer to upload so, not to bore anyone, collages are the way to go.<br />
Various harvests, you will notice courgettes feature in all of them, but getting more colourful as the season progresses!<br />
Beetroot,carrots, courgettes,cucumber, chillis,Kale,lettuce,Mange Tout,onions,sweet peppers,sweetcorn and potatoes, not bad for such a late start on a new plot!<br />
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The onions drying in the sunshine.Chilli peppers (our first attempt ever at growing these)!Tomatoes reddening on the vines at last, our first red pepper is in there too! I love how colourful the harvest gets as the season unfolds.<br />
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The story of our pumpkins. they were started off in pots at home and repotted as needed, they were finally planted out on the plot in early June.Clockwise from top left is their progress, it was slow until we got some heavy downpours of rain and then they just took off!<br />
These are Rouges Vif d'Etampes "a large, flat, heavy ribbed pumpkin with bright orange red skin.The fruit can weigh 10kg and stores well, very unusual variety. The kids just want some to hollow out and light candles in for Hallow'een!<br />
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Some edibles I remembered to take photos of! Top left, Ginger, Lemon & Courgette jam. Roasted Beetroot in Red (Ruosso)Balsamic Vinegar. Chocolate & Courgette Cupcakes.<br />
The final pic maybe should have gotten its own space but however!<br />
This is Jim Mc Namara of the Organic College in Dromcolliher who featured regularly on my favourite gardening programme Garrai Glas. A down to earth programme which gave the warts and all stories and film of real people gardening , the slugs ate their veg, blight got their spuds and they all got their hands dirty kind of programme.The programme was presented by Sile Nic Chonaonaigh, I had all 4 series recorded on my TV box but then had to get a replacement and lost all of them! They can be viewed on Youtube if anyone is interested.<br />
I was at the Charleville Agricultural Show and bumped into this lovely gentleman and he posed quite happily for his very first selfie, I was not letting him go anyway!<br />
The <a href="http://www.organiccollege.com/" target="_blank">Organic College website</a><br />
That is the story of the summer so far as we continue to enjoy sunny days with the odd thunder shower in betweenPeggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-13320116317736289862014-07-22T13:37:00.000+01:002014-07-22T13:37:20.209+01:00Pumpkins & Pests<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Pumpkin patch after the recent heavy rains. There are 4 plants here and at the moment romping all over 'their' patch.I have usually planted pumpkins where I would have dug up the first early potatoes but this year we didn't have any earlies so seconds and main crop are still in the ground and the pumpkins needed their space out of the pots.<br />
This is a patch which was under plastic to kill off the overgrown grass, it has just been roughly dug to loosen the earth and some compost from the Municipal site put down.<br />
Some of the grass is beginning to come through again but hopefully the pumpkin foliage will keep most of it down.<br />
They are stretching out at least 4 to 5 feet now from where they were planted with loads of flowers and small pumpkins along their length.<br />
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This is the largest at the moment, about tennis ball size, the rest are less than golf ball size. We are now wondering how many to leave on the stalk to mature and will we cut the stalks at a manageable length?<br />
According to the seed catalogue they are;<br />
Pumpkin Rouge Vif D'Etampes,<br />
a large ,flat, heavy ribbed pumpkin with bright orange-red skin.The fruit can weigh up to 10 kg.A very unusual variety<br />
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As for the pests, I put down the organic Slug Gone fibre (see previous post) not on the peas as I said originally but at the end of the Brassica bed where the first 4 Brussels Sprout plants were being nibbled.<br />
The length here is approx 4 feet by about 1 inch deep, after the rain it has hardened into a crust and we will see if it deters the slugs from going munch in the night!<br />
It was €5 for the smallest pack which did stretch but if it lasts all season and works then it is value for money.<br />
Major drawback is the smell of sheep, not for using close to the house I would imagine!<br />
The very heavy rain has improved the soil considerably because no amount of watering was wetting it enough in the continued warm dry weather.<br />
Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-59149360112903761562014-07-14T14:39:00.000+01:002014-07-14T14:39:17.287+01:00Green, Irish and Organic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The best thing about garden shows is you can see any new developments and ask questions, these are some I saw while browsing around the Mallow Garden festival.They are also interesting as 2 of them are completely Irish made and even further recommendation is they are based in Cork!<br />
The first one is Wormcast, I have not used but intend to use it soon.It is 100% pure wormcast and a natural organic fertiliser.It is also child and pet safe, very important if you are using it around the garden at home.<br />
They are on Facebook (who isn't these days)?! www.facebook.com/gsfertiliser<br />
Their website for more info is <a href="http://www.gsfertiliser.ie/">www.gsfertiliser.ie</a><br />
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I have mentioned this before and have also used it, its a bit pricey but I have to say an excellent product. it was also available at Mallow at a special show price but it is also in all good garden centres. I was not aware this was manufactured in Cork and is owned by a cooperative of about 30 farming families in West Cork, based in Bantry.It is a probiotic fertiliser and soil improver.<br />
They also have a website with a rather romantic title!<br />
<a href="http://www.celticworm.com/">www.celticworm.com</a><br />
Both of these products are totally organic and as I said made in Cork!<br />
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The third one does not have that distinction but I found it fascinating all the same.Its a product called SlugGone, contains no chemicals and is totally safe for organic gardening,is environmentally friendly and is pet safe.It is actually made from wool as it is a byproduct of the wool textile industry.<br />
It is a slow release fertiliser, forming a mat when wet which suppresses weeds and the fibres make it 'uncomfortable' for slugs to wander around on it!<br />
It does not kill them so presumably they live to munch somewhere else, it is not new to the market in the UK as some of the recommendations mention using it for 30 years. The only Irish supplier was in attendance at Mallow and was very informative about his product.<br />
I did buy this and as yet have not used it but on Sat on the allotment I noticed a few big black slugs around so it will be put out in the next few days.<br />
Contact for this is Mr David Brennan, email slug.gone@hotmail.com<br />
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For something completely different, our harvest on Sat. The radishes were gift grub from a fellow plotter, baby beetroot thinnings which were roasted, cooled and pickled in Balsamic vinegar. Spinach, mange tout, the first of the courgettes and some of our Charlotte second earlies. We have had a glut of lettuce of all things as the plants outside caught up with the ones indoors in the polytunnel the weather has been so warm!Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-57131204331823925932014-06-29T23:44:00.000+01:002014-06-30T21:28:09.263+01:00Mallow Homes & Gardens Show 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Mallow is unique as a show as it has 25 permanent gardens since the very first show back in 1999 and they have been maintained and improved each year as different companies take over a garden for the show but the basic structure remains intact.<br />
My moan which I may as well get out of the way now is the almost complete lack of vegetables on show or on sale throughout the show!<br />
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There were 5 million plants on sale this year ( I wonder who counted)?! , the Show gardens, various garden furniture & landscaping companies, pets were well catered for with pet shows and retail outlets plus all the usual stalls.<br />
The best things are, the number of specialist plant nurseries who all bring along their plants, who are immensely knowledgeable and will advise and talk about their plants they are not just employed to stand there all day and sell.<br />
There are a number of free hour long talks by well known gardening experts, who live and grow here in the South and are fully conversant with any problems which may arise.<br />
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Two of our best, Peter Dowdall, who is a well known author on gardens and all aspects of gardening and Charlie Wilkins who is the well known Irish Examiner gardening columnist for many years.<br />
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I did not get to any of Charlie's talks but I did get an hour of Peter, on shape and structure in the herbaceous border.Passionate about plants would best describe him!<br />
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Some recycling!<br />
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I would love a secluded corner like this<br />
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Primrose Vialli, we bought these at Bloom last year as they seemed to be the 'must have' plant, sadly none of ours performed like this!<br />
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Nice way to cover an old pipe or tree trunk<br />
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My shopping, for another day!<br />
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<br />Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-91115148368860600252014-06-27T22:33:00.002+01:002014-06-27T22:33:33.576+01:00Pumpkins & Courgettes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A short post, we have had much needed rain for the past two days and the sun has come back out this evening. A visit to the plot was on the cards, while it was raining lightly when I went out , by the time I came home the sun was shining from a clear blue sky.<br />
The Courgette and salad bed is becoming a jungle as the plants jostle for space, the inter planted lettuce has come on as much as the lettuce planted in the polytunnel.<br />
There are 5 courgette plants but so far this yellow one is the only one bearing fruit. This one is Parador F1, recommended as probably the best yellow courgette available, high yielding with a nutty flavour. Its a first for us so not sure how large they will grow or even how large to allow them to grow?<br />
The green courgettes plants are reliable Defender but no fruit or even flowers to report as yet despite the hot weather!<br />
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We have a Pumpkin patch! These 4 are Rouge Vif d'Etampes.Bright orange skin and can grow up to 10kgs and can be used for soups, pies etc, even the seeds can be toasted and eaten. They were growing in pots but were about 4 foot long and needed their space. We didn't have a fully cultivated spot for them or wouldn't for another week or so by which time they would huge and cramped in the pots.<br />
This evening I removed the square of plastic which has been covering this ground for a number of weeks, the skutch grass had died off and I was able to pull it up quite easily but the roots are another matter. I cleared the surface vegetation and covered the ground with bags of Bord na Mona farmyard manure. I dug quite deep holes and added the Celtic Gold soil enricher as they are very hungry plants. It was easier to plant them this large as I could see which direction they were growing in and was able to plant them with the trailing stem going the way I wanted them to grow, the stems are about 4 foot long at the moment!<br />
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Baby Pumpkin at the base of the flower, each plant has at least one of these.We will have to decide how big to let the plants grow and how many pumpkins to allow grow to full size, quality or quantity?! It may all be decided for us by the weather,the slugs and all the other predators and pests!<br />
Lots of pumpkins have been brought home from schools in tiny pots and I wonder how many of them will make it to October? They are sitting on kitchen windowsills drying up in the heat!<br />
Pumpkins are big plants and will need space to grow as they romp through the flowerbeds!<br />
They need watering and repotting as they grow very fast under the right conditions.My rule of thumb is ,when the roots are visible through the end of the pot it is time to repot meaning a larger size pot with fresh compost without disturbing the rootball .These were in large 12 ins pots before planting out today.<br />
It will be an interesting experiment to see how they grow where the skutch grass is bound to come through soon, or will they keep it down if they are strong enough plants?!<br />
Watch this space!Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-7477784397098606572014-06-17T23:45:00.001+01:002014-06-19T22:09:00.506+01:00Bits & Bobs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The weather has suddenly become glorious, sunny days with temps up in the late teens and forecasting early 20s! It brings its own problems with watering young plants, especially in the polytunnel or greenhouse.</div>
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The tomatoes have found their permanent home at last, I think they are smaller than they should be for this time of the season, they are setting blossom and have only one truss to each plant?!</div>
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This Celtic Gold is being touted as the new wonder compost, guaranteeing stupendous growth !It has been enriched with worm cast, a bit pricey at €17 for 2 bags. I bought 2 at <a href="http://www.thepavilion.ie/" target="_blank">The Pavilion Garden centre</a> in Ballygarvan and added it around the tomato plants and lettuce in the tunnel. I will be expecting a huge improvement immediately!<br />
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After the Blight scare of last week the potatoes actually have recovered and grown new foliage and there has been no further discolouring of the leaves. The Charlotte have sprouted lovely lilac flowers so heres hoping it was just a scare.<br />
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Lettuce and Spinach takes up the other side of the tunnel, lettuce is being sown every two weeks to keep a supply going over the season. I have planted some outside also to slow down the growth as we don't want all of them maturing together.</div>
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A pleasant surprise this evening in the tunnel, strawberries turning red almost overnight!</div>
Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-41627580054807377602014-06-10T23:50:00.001+01:002014-06-10T23:50:18.832+01:00Blight?!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We had been warned of possible Blight conditions on last Sat and the optimum day for spraying was thurs but as we had a yellow weather alert for up to 30 mls of rain on fri that did not seem to be a good idea.<br />
I bought the mix for Bluestone, which is what is in the off the shelf spray Bordeaux mixture which is a recommended organic remedy.<br />
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Ravenscourt garden centre supplies the ingredients ( Washing crystals & the blue Copper sulphate) and the mix ratio, it suited me as we only have a small amount of potatoes and of them only the Pink Fir Apple are not Blight resistant. The rain stopped on fri evening and I thought I would go out and spray as the weather had turned humid and misty, ideal blight conditions.<br />
I was stopped in my tracks as soon as I reached the plot as the leaves on the Sarpo Axona were discoloured and seemed to be getting worse as I was looking at them! The worst affected were at the right hand side of the potato patch, a few were affected on the other rows and the Pink Fir Apple seemed relatively unaffected?!<br />
I had dissolved the washing crystals in hot water and allowed to cool at home, I added the bluestone and sprayed the whole plot of potatoes.<br />
We were out early on sat morning and I was amazed to find they did not look any worse than they did the previous night, I thought they would be wiped out!<br />
A couple of others arrived with the same intention of spraying, all plots had some slight damage but none as bad as our Sarpo Axona?I was told by someone who always grows the blight resistant varieties that their foliage may get damaged but they grow new leaves and the tubers remain unaffected!<br />
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Close up of some leaves.<br />
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The courgettes seemed to be damaged also but as far as I know they don't get blight?<br />
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2 Sweetcorn plants had leaf damage, again I don't think they should be affected by blight but I would love to know if anyone else had the same problem.<br />
The rain on fri was absolutely torrential and quite cold for this time of year and may have caused the blackening but then is it blight on the spuds or not?!<br />
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While I was cutting off damaged leaves and clearing them Billy was moving down the perimeter with the fork and turned over a fair amount of ground, 3 corners of the plot are now cleared which leaves around 1 third to be cultivated.<br />
The weather has continued changeable and wet but summer is supposed to begin on wed!<br />
<br />Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-88638458145717982362014-06-03T23:17:00.002+01:002014-06-03T23:17:41.166+01:00Sweetcorn & Salads<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Another photo to compare to the header pic, taken from roughly the same angle!there are now 4 raised beds completed and in use plus the potato section and the polytunnel.<br />
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Son Billy made the bed for the sweetcorn on Sat morning and filled with compost. I have discovered an organic local compost supplier, our local City Council !`I took my own bags and you fill yourself and pay €2 per bag. It is composted completely from green waste brought to the recycling centre, still affectionately known as 'The Dump' on the outskirts of the city.<br />
I topped it up today with 2 bags of Farmyard manure ( bought prepacked).<br />
The Sweetcorn was sown in seed trays then potted on into 3" pots then into 6" pots, if the bed had not been ready in the next few days then they would have been repotted into even larger pots.My rule of thumb for repotting is, if any of the roots are visible through the end of the pot then it is time to move on as it holds back the plant.<br />
Sweetcorn is recommended to be sown in a square formation to aid pollination. Ours are sown in a staggered rectangle which hopefully will work too!There is a fleece barrier around the bed as sweetcorn does not like wind and our new allotment is definitely windy, they got a good soaking with an organic seaweed feed and now we just wait!<br />
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The Pea & Courgette bed also got a makeover, it has been covered with fleece up to now so I think its time to harden them up a little.There is a pea support netting behind the row of peas, kind of hard to see here, they need horizontal as well as vertical support. The whole bed has been encased with netting to deter the rabbits, only one plant was nibbled down so far and we want to keep it that way.<br />
The Courgettes are growing slowly, but I don't think we will be having a courgette glut anytime soon !<br />
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A panoramic view into the polytunnel, the sweetcorn bed, courgette bed and in the polytunnel itself there are lettuce and Spinach to the left. Tomato plants are still in pots on the right with sunflowers and pumpkins all in pots as yet.<br />
I removed the cover from the carrot bed temporarily to weed the bed.The beetroot is definitely well up and easy to see to weed but the carrots are almost invisible so far!<br />
I was at Kilmallock mart & market yesterday and found a lady selling herbs and I was delighted to find she had Comfrey so I bought a plant off of her, she assured me it is not the one that takes over the garden!<br />
The weather began beautiful and sunny this morning but a very heavy thunder shower changed that to dull and sporadic showers for the remainder of the day.<br />
<br />Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-52900062859801718722014-05-28T20:58:00.003+01:002014-05-28T20:58:53.014+01:00Filling the Beds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The onions were moved out to a bed and were covered with plastic for a night or two but are now facing the elements but its not too bad as the weather has really improved . We don't have a lot of onions this year as they were planted in modules awaiting a plot!I left a bed of autumn sown onions on the old allotment, I am sure the new owner will appreciate them.<br />
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Another bed up and running!The onions went into what was going to be the courgette bed but at Billy's suggestion we made yet another bed and popped in the courgettes, sugar snap peas and random lettuces as they were all in pots in the polytunnel and needed their own space.They are draped with fleece overnight and left to enjoy the sun for a few hours during the day.<br />
They were planted out yesterday morning and this morning one of the peas was nibbled down despite the fleece and netting around the back of the bed, definitely rabbit damage!<br />
There are 6 courgette plants, 3 green and 3 yellow. We did not have any luck with the yellow ones last year they just died off after producing a few tiny fruits.<br />
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The base for another bed dug out, this one is for the sweetcorn as they are overdue to go out. Skutch grass is a nightmare and stones and more stones!This will be raised bed number 4 and that will take the pressure off the polytunnel<br />
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We planted 24 Sweetcorn seeds of which only 17 have germinated, they were planted into seed trays and then into 3" pots and then into these larger pots. The remaining plants are strong and ready to be planted out. I put them out in the sunshine today measuring them up in their bed. The seeds could have been planted directly into the 3" pots and saved on some of the work but at that stage the bedroom windowsill couldn't cope with any more pots!<br />
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The victim of all that skutch grass and stones! This is a very cheap fork bought for €5.99 in Woodies DIY, it has done trojan work, bending but not breaking, Billy can straighten it out again and it will live to dig another day.<br />
We are heading off on our annual visit to Bloom in Phoenix Park in Dublin, it begins tomorrow and runs until Monday.Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-29987611439070432432014-05-23T20:34:00.001+01:002014-05-23T20:34:19.620+01:00Things are looking up!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A couple of hours spent on the plot today, yielded an onion bed or almost an onion bed.Digging out skutch grass is back breaking and time consuming, not to mention the stones! We have a lot of plants in pots waiting their turn to get a home but with our time constraints its slow going and time is running out for the plants.<br />
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All of the potatoes are up and have now been earthed up twice, they may have been late going in but the recent combination of heat and rain has driven everything up.<br />
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The onions loved the polytunnel but today they have been put outside to harden off. They are in the shelter of the polytunnel as this new plot is a very windy spot.The modules have worked well and the onions will planted out with very little if any root disturbance.<br />
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This pic was taken last week when they were inside with the tomato plants and sweetcorn which by today had really put on a growth spurt.</div>
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Lettuce was transplanted into the border and a row of Spinach was sown on the inside, I am actually enjoying the polytunnel and looking forward to seeing what we can grow in there.<br />
The weather has reverted to cold and windy after the recent Thunder storms, we have not had very much rain here in the south but other parts of the country had.<br />
Dublin and the east are on an orange weather alert for tomorrow when there will be hundreds of kids heading up for the One Direction concerts!<br />
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<br />Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-57709619976427284282014-05-13T20:47:00.000+01:002014-05-13T20:47:20.793+01:00Getting There<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The allotment is beginning to take shape albeit very slowly, due to time constraints and the weather, but today the sun shone and I had time to spend there even though it was a bit wild and windy.The top third of the plot is now productive!<br />
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The carrot bed in the centre was remade as the boards of the previous one was nearly rotten so leaving the bed more or less intact, new boards were put in place around the sides.There seemed to be an awful lot of earth so most of that was shovelled over on top of the potato drills this morning.<br />
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I got 2 bags of sharp sand and a bag of compost from the home compost bin and dug it into the bed and removed what seemed like hundreds of stones from the bed.Carrots like light sandy soil which is loose and as stone free as possible, they are the divas of the vegetable world!<br />
I planted 2 rows of 'Carrot Purple Haze' which has a purple hue to the skin, and 2 rows of Early Nantes from Quickcrop. I had space to plant 1 row of beetroot Pablo, the seeds are a bright green colour! they are so easy to sow and space and any that are dropped are easily seen.The whole bed is covered with Enviromesh as I found both carrots and beetroot grown under it last year grew better.<br />
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All of the potatoes are up, some more than others. There are 5 different varieties in total.I used the excess soil from the carrot bed to cover them up as frost could still be a problem if we get high pressures. Raise the soil covering the potatoes, flatten the top of the drill or even make a slight depression in it so any rain soaks down to the potatoes not running off the drill.<br />
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In the polytunnel are, sweetcorn, tomatoes, courgettes, pumpkins and I started the onions in modules until their bed is ready.<br />
On the bedroom window at home are Sugarsnap peas and lettuce so things are moving along nicely!Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-47804988786476142982014-05-05T21:07:00.000+01:002014-05-05T21:07:18.720+01:00Getting Started<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I took the weekend off so decided this evening once the rain had dried off to get some onions started. I know they should be in by now but the area earmarked for them is under a sheet of plastic until we get time to clear and dig it out for them!<br />
I planted them into compost in module trays so they will not have their roots disturbed when planting out. The modules are in the empty tunnel for the moment, it may as well start earning its keep. The heat may bring them on as they are behind other onions I have seen planted already.<br />
There is condensation in the tunnel each time we open it up which will create humidity which may or may not be a good thing?! Its our first time using a tunnel so this season is going to be a learning curve.<br />
All of the seedlings on the windowsill are well up and will need repotting into separate pots now from the seed trays, more about that soon.<br />
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<br />Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-85026841961005174682014-04-29T22:11:00.002+01:002014-04-29T22:11:37.143+01:00Polytunnel in place<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The polytunnel is in place but the ground needs to be dug out and enriched before bringing out our tomato plants.They will not be ready for another few weeks anyway as they are incubating on one of the bedroom windowsills.<br />
I had been on Done deal a while back looking for a polytunnel and after investigating various models re: prices etc I settled on one and when I clicked into their website I found the company was based a few miles away from me!I phoned them up, got directions to their store and son Billy (who is growing with me again this year) did a road trip and picked up our tunnel for €129.00. We got it erected in about 2 hours on Sunday .The<br />
measurements are in metres but it is approx 9'x6' in good old Imperial! If anyone is interested the company is based just outside Carrigtohill, Co Cork and their website is <a href="http://www.inthemarket.ie/">www.inthemarket.ie</a>.<br />
The two raised beds are being replaced as the timbers are really rotted and while we would probably be able to use them this year, we may as well get the construction over and done with. While going to pick up the polytunnel we travelled on the old Cork to Waterford rd and passed a small business selling scaffolding boards for gardens!Stopped off the enquire and found untreated boards 8' long were € 4.50 and boards which were treated and finished in a brown colour were only €6 . They also had to be ordered as there is such a demand! Full marks to them for seeing a niche market as there must be thousands of these scaffolding boards lying around since the demise of the building boom of the Celtic tiger years!They were collected on Fri afternoon and the first raised bed was constructed this morning, this pic was taken on last Sunday.<br />
Compare to the header photo, it is taken from roughly the same angle!<br />
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<br />Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-81069377124717602642014-04-25T21:37:00.002+01:002014-04-25T21:37:47.976+01:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Jack came to the allotment with me on Wed, it was sunny but cool. I told Jack there was pirates treasure buried in one of the raised beds and it kept him occupied for ages digging!<br />
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One side of the overgrown plot had been dug over by a mini digger and sods were piled up roughly around the edges.<br />
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I spent the time digging a trench around the edges and sinking some tiles I had found languishing in my shed at home, hopefully it will deter some of the skutch grass roots from finding their way onto the plot, fingers crossed anyway!<br />
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We bought some plants to fill up a pot which we found buried under the grass, they are to attract and feed the bees who live.....<br />
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here at the end of the line of plots! The Beekeeper paid for the plot just to keep one hive on it, I hope it will be a case of live and let live for the summer months. The bees seem to be dormant at the moment with just the odd one buzzing around.<br />
The weather has changed drastically today with strong winds and lashing rain so work planned for the weekend will have to be put on hold.<br />
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<br />Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977509261429741652.post-2762754794143236872014-04-23T23:21:00.001+01:002014-04-24T00:25:43.429+01:00Back to Basics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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New season, new allotment! I have been a very lazy Blogger and then became a very absent Blogger. I cannot believe how long it is since I logged in.I have debated with myself whether to even bother continuing with the blog as it is easier to FB photos as I take them, and Blogger has not gotten any easier since the last time I used it.<br />
As regular readers will know I left the Hydro Farm allotments where we had a plot for 6 years and where I began plotting and blogging.D. Kathryn moved so S.Billy came in with me and we took a plot nearer to home, got it into shape and productive but had a few problems and again thought of giving the whole thing up but have now moved to another allotment in the same area more or less and will give plotting and blogging another 'go'.<br />
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It is a very secure site but some very overgrown plots on it, we picked one and then discovered there were two raised beds buried beneath the grass ( see header pic) We cleared one bed and covered it with enviromesh to heat up a little before planting carrots in here.<br />
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Potatoes are the first crop to go in and we were running out of time as the wet weather curtailed our time on the plot and clearing skutch grass and picking out the roots is slow work.<br />
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We got there and the last of the spuds went in on Easter Monday! We haven't given over too much space to them just enough to taste our own home grown ones.There are 5 different varieties, Charlotte, a second early and Setanta, Pink Fir apple and 2 blight resistant Sarpos (Mira & Axona)<br />
How often will I update the blog ? Hopefully more regularly than last season!Peggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.com1