An Organic Lifestyle (Organic Growing Pains)

Our runner beans are coming to the end and as there are 16 bags of frozen runner beans in the freezer the ones I picked yesterday were turned into soup.I found this site on my site surfing everything-runnerbean with all sorts of interesting recipes for the runner bean.I used the ingredients stated and also added potatoes and some leek, all from the plot.I made a big pot of it last night and reheated it today just adding some milk and freshly cut parsley. Runner Bean Soup 500grms runner beans 1 large onion 1 large carrot 700mls vegetable stock 2tbsp Butter salt & pepper to taste. Top & tail the runner beans,removing stringy sides Chop into slices with the onion and carrot Heat butter in pan and add vegetables.Cook until soft and the carrot is translucent not browned Add stock,cover and simmer for about 30 minutes I used a hand blender to puree but left it quite chunky with bits of veg. Matron over on down at the allotment blog has posted her Dog Blog featuring some of our four...

This afternoon brightened with lovely sunshine.We paid a quick visit to the plot between school and music lesson.The harvest is tapering off we got some some small courgettes, a few of the others had developed soft tips so were unusable maybe the cold at night is getting to them.Some more white turnips which are also coming to an end there are only a few left but we cannot complain as they have produced for weeks regulating themselves to a few every week.Sinead wanted to cut some Swiss card but I think she went for tough leaves!A handfull of runner beans which I think are ready to dig in soon as some of the smaller pods had quite big beans in them, some British Queens and carrots. The tops of some of the carrots had a bronze shade to the foliage which is supposed to indicate carrot fly has got to them. We had carrots on 3 different beds this year,we had already pulled the first lot which were not up to much size wise ,Today I pulled all of the remaining ones from the other 2 beds and t...

Just the one photo today as I have been out for most of the day.Rhoda, one of the ladies on the allotment gave me a big bag of pears from her trees at home.Apart from eating bought pears which are usually imported or tins of pears I have never been faced with a bag full to do something with.I have certainly never cooked one. As luck would have it while reading blogs last week, Mangocheeks of Allotment2kitchen blog had a recipe for...A French Pear tart! It is quick and simple to make as it is actually a batter mixture and the pears are arranged on top for cooking.You will have to visit the above link to the blog to see the photo and recipe as I made it while I was offline and did not take a photo!It is delicious and did not hang around too long. That left me with the prospect of 'doing' something with the rest of the pears,Rhoda had taken the trouble to print off some recipes for me but I poached them and the pic above is of the pears in syrup cooling in containers for freezing...

A bouquet for my son in law Rob who spent this afternoon cleaning viruses from my computer.These viruses usually come in on music and game sites which are used by younger people. A box pops up on the site and if they click the box out they are inadvertently opening it!If one of these pops up on any site you are on DO NOT click anywhere in the box just close the site you are on.I have Norton anti virus on this computer since I got it 2 years ago and even though it is set to run a weekly scan it did not pick it up?!Rob downloaded an anti malware thingy for me so hopefully I am clear.Thanks Rob. The flowers are calendula which are blooming around the plot thanks to the spell of sunshine we have had lately.These were on the pea bed which I cleared. I have been out to the plot nearly every day I did not have the heart to take many photos because I did not know how long I would be off the blog. Aoife's pumpkin broke from its stem so we have now put it into the tearoom to ripen. It is hea...

I am writing this post from my daughter's computer as I cannot get into mine for the moment thanks to a trojan virus! How it got there or how to get rid of it is the problem taking up time so I may be incomunicado for the forseeable future! Help....

The morning dawned bright and sunny so Kevin and myself paid a quick (2 hour) visit to the plot.The All Ireland Football Final between Cork and Kerry is this afternoon so I had to be near the TV, tickets to the match in Dublin were like gold so only the lucky ones got that far.Kevin was delighted by the size of his Sunflowers! Our harvest continues..Spuds which still look OK even though on cutting through them some are damaged by slugs and blight is visible.A big bag of pears left for me by Rhoda who even went to the trouble of printing off recipes for me, a post later about these.White turnips and more runner beans!The beans are star performers for us this year. This is the bed where i put in the trench composting all last winter so it seems to be paying dividends and the last red cabbage which is huge even after taking off all of the outer leaves.I pulled some carrots which are more embryo than even baby!This particular bed has not produced very well this year and is one earmarked fo...

Eldest Grandson Stephen finished Secondary School this year and is now starting Bio Medical Engineering in CIT.Their graduation ball is a big night for them as they meet up again and maybe for the last time with friends they have spent 6 years in daily contact with.Stephen's school is one of the few if not the only one in Cork where parents are invited to the meal and usually stay for some of the night if they wish.Stephen brought his mother Kathryn and myself.Stephen with long time girl friend, Deirdre who looked stunning was also celebrating her debs night as she has graduated from the same school and has also secured her college place. The grad buys a corsage for the girl and these wrist worn ones have become very popular in the last few years. Full length! With Mom Kathryn Myself! Money is spent on some frivolous accessories like stretch limos and even stretch Hummers....but who needs them when you could have a Stretch Mini!! Stephen has been learning how to jive with me sinc...

This is a metal garden table which has been outdoors for the last 3 or 4 years. It survived the winters OK but I think it was the bad summers got it!Rust spots were showing through parts of it and in some areas the paint was peeling showing rust underneath. It did get a wire brushing and a quick coat of metal paint for the wedding but the paint had begun to peel again. This is the before photo today and the after one is taken as the light is fading a little so the colours are not very bright.The few days of warm sunshine meant the shed got its annual clear out, things were pulled out and left out so the air could circulate around the inside of the shed.These sheets of mosaic tiles were left over from various jobs inside the house and were put into the shed in case they would come in 'handy'. They have been in and out of the shed for a number of years but this year is finally their 'handy' year! Aldi were doing DIY specials this week and I got a big tub of tile cement an...

Bilbo has reached nipitinthebud in Gloucester ,if you are interested in seing what he got up to. Continuing warmth and sunshine, its too hot to do too much strenuous gardening so I have been tidying around the plot.Christy was putting in some onions and garlic yesterday but still undecided if we will put them in over winter yet. Harvest yesterday, more British Queens, (no Blight)!runner beans,white turnips and the side shoots from the broccoli plants. Action Woman! Zwena catching up on the grass cutting as the ground has been so wet it has been impossible to get much of it done. We have about 40 new strawberry plants from runners. Whether they will all survive to next year remains to be seen.I potted the remaining ones today. The 4 Lavender plants have been tidied up for next year, I cut back all the flowering shoots and just clipped them into a neat shape. I just took the tips off of the shoots as to cut into the woody stems could impair growth for next year. The first lot of Leeks a...