An Organic Lifestyle (Organic Growing Pains)

Sunday was beautiful and mild with bright sunshine, Kathryn and the two girls were on the plot early to begin the big dig, I arrived later and we set about transforming last years potato patch into this years onion beds, alliums follow pops in the rotational scheme of things. It always amazes me that no matter how many times or how deep you dig you will always find more spuds that were missed and some still come up through the subsequent crop! 1st onion bed In the foreground are the overwintering onions or what is left of them after the birds. The other beds have green manures and we can leave these beds for another few weeks.The lush green one is Landsberger,it did go in earlier than the other two which are sparse enough Red Duke of York, a first early in their egg trays to 'chit' it is the method of sprouting the pops before planting to give them a head start. They are covered with the fleece to deter pests and in case of frosts. The onion beds covered with netting in case th...

I went out to the allotment today for the first time since before Christmas which seems like months ago so much has happened and changed in that time. Sinead and Aoife came with me and spent some time checking out what had changed around the site since we last saw it. Zwena has some fantastic plans for the Hydro Farm not just for this season but the coming years, it will be a very exciting place to be! On 24th March Brown Envelope Seeds are visiting us and advising us on seeds and planting etc and we will also get a discount on the seeds we buy. They have been selecting over the years for varieties and individual plants that work here as they operate in West Cork. Their seeds are open-pollinated, or open source seeds, which means that you can save your own seed from them. The farm is certified by The Organic Trust so that the seeds may be used by certified organic growers. There are no chemical treatments carried out on the seeds or the plants they are harvested from. (IRL-O1B3-EU Symb...