An Organic Lifestyle (Organic Growing Pains)

I would like to say a big 'thank you ' to Lynda http://foodfunfarm.blogspot.com/ for giving this online award to my blog.Especially as I am new to this 'art form' and still learning the basics! If you’d like to read more about the Arte Y Pico Award , you can do so by visiting the website here. (In a nutshell, it is an award given to creative blogs with interesting material and design who’s writers contribute to the blogging community.) These are the rules and regulations, followed by my nominees for the next five deserving winners of the Arte Y Pico Award : 1) Pick five (5) blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language. 2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone. 3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the awar...

My own mother Catherine ( Nana Percy) R.I.P. 25/04/2008 with her Yorkshire terrier Percy. My mother in law Alice ( Nana Mopsy) R.I.P. 3/04/2008 with her boxer Mopsy Nana Sam! Myself with Sam, a cavalier King Charles spaniel. When My grandchildren Stephen and Gemma were small they were lucky enough to have all of their grandparents and great grandparents alive. This caused some confusion especially in my own case as my children had called my mother in law Nana Murray, but now to their children I was Nana Murray! So... to distinguish which Nana they were talking about my mother in law became known as Nana Mopsy after her dog and my mother became Nana Percy after her dog, I was still Nana Murray as I had no dog! I recently acquired H.R.H Cavalier King Charles Sammy. He used to live with my daughter Kathryn, then the kids had got another dog, a Golden Retriever called Shila. Sam and Shila got on fine but then Shila had puppies ( 7)! They were Retriever/Labrador cross and all went to good ...

The globe artichoke is related to the thistle. Its leaves are eaten, along with the bottom part of the flower. It makes a delicious starter or lunch ,simply boiled whole and served with melted butter, or a vinaigrette for dipping the leaves into. Break off each leaf and draw the soft fleshy base through your teeth. I knew it had to be related to something nasty! I think it is the armadillo of the vegetable world, almost daring you to eat it. We have them growing around some of the allotments, I don't, as they have never appealed to me as a vegetable. There is one big violet tipped one on the patch next to ours and most of the others are 'babies' off of this! They seem to take root and grow at a tremendous rate. The lady who has that patch told me to take one and try it out,which I did! I used a very basic recipe, just boiled in water with lemon juice for about 20 minutes. I also bought the real butter...Kerrygold.. as it is salted and melted some of this. When the artichoke...

Aisling said the photo on the left reminds her of the old joke " how many does it take to change a light bulb"?! Kevin and Ben showing off their work. Kathryn naming out whats planted in this bed. She put in Beetroot, Radishes,and seeds of Leeks and Brussels Sprouts,which are up already! By accident more than design we may have the Leeks in at the right time as they are a winter vegetable. Parsnips were late going in as seed but they are up, and they can be left in the ground for the first frosts. Kathryn also has Pepper plants in the small green house.

Kevin and his BF and cousin, Ben. They love getting down and dirty! I dont think they know they have made earwig traps or else they have been watching gardening programmes on their own! Ben lost his snazzy headgear to the scarecrow.

This is daughter Kathryn, who is my allotment partner. I am showing her the fronds of our Asparagus which we are leaving to die back again this year. Stephen came up to see how we were coping without him this year.The girls just come to brighten up the place!

Our near neighbours on the allotment, they are usually in the field next to us, but they were probably safer in the stables on the Open day.

Yes, Scarecrow making is a spectator sport!! Michelle and Aisling

The weather recently has been warm and humid (some days)! This can lead to blight on potatoes and tomatoes. We were told that blight had been seen on some allotments ...not ours, at the end of May. I have been told by more experienced gardeners that the 15 th of June is the time to be on the look out for blight. We have two beds of potatoes, one of second earlies and one of main crop. The main crop are to the left of the embryo scarecrow in the photo. I had hot footed to the garden centre to get the Bordeaux Mixture which is recommended for organic spraying and sprayed the early bed two weeks ago as these were in flower. I was told the flowers are a sign that the potatoes have set in the ground when the flowers develop on the plant, they are not just decorative! We had our open day on Sunday and we had a great turn out of very interested gardeners. Some were interested in growing and a few had land which they were thinking of setting up in allotments. It was very informative both for t...

I have been trying for ages to get the captions next to the relevant photo, but they do not publish in the correct order! So.... From the Top 1: Myself, weeding while waiting for someone to turn up who can hopefully turn the post next to me into a passable scarecrow! Ed secured the post on Sat evening. 2:Grandson, trapper Ben meditating, while I wonder if a leather football..( soft )..( the football, not me) would make a suitable head for our scarecrow? 3:Grandson Ryan has taken control of the hose so Kevin starts the long trek to the next hosepipe with his trusty watering can. 4: Son in law Rob gets to grips with the 'head'. 5: Daughter Linda giving hubby Rob a helping hand, while Ryan demonstrates the overhand method of watering!

6: Rob trying desperately to look as if he knows exactly what he is doing. 7: Our friend looks slightly 'disjointed'! 8: Linda trying out her chat up lines...he does not seem to be responding! 9: Me, watching Linda giving him some final 'tweaks'. 10: Me, with the new man in my life! He looks far too cute and cuddly to scare anything away!

Had put hay underneath the plants the last day we were out to keep the fruit up off the ground.I had also left the plastic tunnels over them. all of the plants had ripe fruit and a lot more to ripen! They looked and smelled lovely! I weeded around the plants and picked the ripest fruit ,watered them and put the plastic tunnels back over them as we are having a cool spell of weather again. I brought home the strawberries and weighed them, there was half a pound, 230 grms, not a lot but all our own! I read somewhere not to put them in the fridge as it kills the taste ,and do they taste sweet !! Some runners for new plants are shooting out,but I dont know if we should cut them off or plant them. We have not bought any plants, so we do not know the name of them or how old they are. Do strawberry plants have a dig up by date? How often should they be renewed?

GARLIC Choose a site with well drained soil which has been previously treated with a general purpose fertiliser. Plant; Sept to Oct is the best time to plant garlic but it is possible to plant Feb to March. Split the bulb into separate cloves and plant 2” deep and 9” apart. Garlic needs little attention only weeding or hoeing to aerate the soil and watering in dry weather. HARVEST/ STORAGE Lift when foliage turns yellow and allow to dry before storing in a frost free place in trays or nets. Sounds Simple? Foolproof even? Read on ! Planted bulbs Sunday 24t h Feb. Used Unwin ’s garlic bulbs, bought in Ravensdale in tower. The site is sunny and well drained but according to the instructions it should have been previously treated with a general purpose fertilizer. There was manure dug into this bed last June but that is all that has been put into it. Ed and I went out to allotment on 17 th March ( St Patrick's day)! did a lot of clearing and tidying, planted more garlic bulbs and t...

Mahon Point Farmer's market update! This market takes place every Thursday morning from 10.00am to 2.00pm in the Plaza in front of the lower entrance to the shopping centre. We were there just after 11.00 am and it was just getting busy, by the time we left it was packed and I would think some of the stalls would be sold out before 2.00pm! There is about 36 stalls listed in the Spring brochure which I picked up, from organic vegetables to cheeses, free range chickens/eggs, plants and all things homemade and/or handmade. The main benefit of all of the markets is that nearly all of the producers have samples of their foods available. So if you have ever wanted to just taste something these are the places to go. I did just that myself when I spied the jars of Goats Cheese and samples laid out on crackers at the Magpie Cottage stall. Their cheese is produced in east Cork from their prize winning herd of anglo nubian goats .I had a preconceived idea it would be smelly and strong but ...

Sunday 15th June has been designated Scarecrow day! We had arranged a family day out in the allotment to construct our scarecrow ,now we are also having an Allotment Open Day from 3pm. We will have to go out early to get a head start and at least look as if we know what we are doing before anyone arrives. We also need to clean up the beds as with the recent sun and showers the weeds are flying! All the allotmenteers will be present and everyone is bringing donations for tea. We are expecting visitors from the Castlemartyr Allotments and the Cork free choice consumer group also.It is also open to anyone who just wants to see what allotment are all about, they dont have to be a member of any organization. It should be a good day, weather permitting. I will have lots of photos up by Mon. hopefully.

I have taken the following information about the markets from the Cork free choice Consumer Group website. We attended the May meeting which covered Allotments and community gardens and were astounded to know these meetings had been going on for years! Their website is full of relevant information and links to other websites. They have meetings on the last Thursday of every month - except June, July, August and December Meetings are held at the Crawford Gallery Cafe at Emmet Place, Cork at 7.30 pm.Producers and experts talk on each topic.They have produced a Cork local producers booklet which is available here. Check the website to see whats coming up and read up on past meetings to get an idea of what is discussed. Admission: €5.00 including tea, coffee and tastings.

Farmers Markets First established by the Cork Free Choice Consumer Group in 1996. Since then they have spread throughout the county. They are held outdoors. Markets are held during the morning, usually starting by 9am. Get there as early as possible. Bantry, Friday, Main Square. Blackwater Valley , 6 miles from Mallow on Fermoy Rd. at Nano Nagle Centre at Ballygriffen, near Killavullen. Open every second Saturday. Dates for June 5, 19; July 3, 17, 31; Aug 14, 28; Sep 11, 25; Oct 9, 23; Nov 6, 20; Dec 4, 18; Contact: Nora Foley - T. 022 26177 Castletownbere First Thursday, (monthly). Clonakilty, Thursday, Old Market Hall, McCurtain St. opposite Church. Cornmarket St., Cork Saturday, Cornmarket St. in Cork . Inchigeela, Last Saturday 2pm, (monthly), Creedons Hotel Macroom , Tuesday, Main Square. Midleton, Saturday, Hospital Rd. Behind the courthouse by the roundabout on Main Street. Mitchelstown , Thursday, Main Square. Schull , Sunday 11am - 3pm, June to Sept, Pier Rd. Carpark. Ski...

Country Markets Established by the Irish Countrywomens Association in 1946 for the sale of home produced food and handcrafts. Markets are held in many small country towns. They are very popular and sell out very quickly. They are held indoors. Ballincollig, Community Centre, 9.30am - 11am, Fridays DIrections - Signposted on Main St. near traffic lights. Bandon, South Main Street, 10am - 1pm Fridays and Saturdays Directions - In Weir St. opposite Garda Station. Carrigaline, GAA Hall, 9.30am - 10.30am Fridays Directions - From the Cork Road, take 1st exit on roundabout just outside village, signed for Crosshaven. Continue on the Crosshaven road for about 5 minutes, the G.A.A. grounds are on the right. Fermoy, Youth Centre, 2.00pm Fridays Directions - From the Cork Road, proceed to The Square in centre of town. Turn left onto quay, before the bridge. The market is held in a pink building at the end of the quay. Macroom , Castle Arch, 11am Tuesdays Directions - Beside archway, just bey...

Kevin wanted to make a scarecrow last year to keep the birds from our fruit. We did not get around to it but this year we are organising a family day to do it.My son in law Rob is in charge of planning,the kids are in charge of getting the stuffing and 'bits' together. We still were not sure of how to actually put one together so Kevin's Mom, Aisling volunteered to go online and 'Google' scarecrow! I might add Aisling is 8 months pregnant so this her contribution. Lo and behold she found Scarecrow instructions on a New Zealand website! http://www.bestgardening.com/ I have been on the site and even though it is mainly for the climate in New Zealand there is a wealth of general information which can be used by any gardener ie; A Caffeine Fix for Slugs and Snails In one of the best pieces of gardening news in recent years scientists have discovered that slugs and snails detest caffeine. Pouring the dregs of your morning coffee on the ground will drive them away. Even ...

Just sand and water, what more does a girl need? Aoife mixing it!

Kevin and Aoife, action snap!

This is Robert's Cove, a small beach about 30 minutes drive from Cork city. I have a mobile home which we use during the summer. It is in a park up on the cliffs to the left,but not visible here. This is Kevin, Sinead and Aoife trying to 'surf ' outside the seaweed! This little sandy bay is covered in seaweed for most of the summer for some reason.Sometimes it is worse than others. The tide was fully in here so it looks bad. We have to collect a bag of the stuff to put on the Asparagus out in the allotment, I dont know who is going to take it home?! We were the only ones on the beach that day. It is near enough to go to if the sun comes out unexpectedly, which happens here regularly! Kevin and his Mom Aisling spent the weekend down there and had beautifull weather. It is safe for children and they love the rock pools and the stream that runs down the beach at low tide. They collect crabs (dead) and various shells.