An Organic Lifestyle (Organic Growing Pains)

I began researching our family tree a few years ago,it is a slow process as I cannot give it a lot of time. I knew  some of my late Dad's relatives had emigrated to the US way back. When our census went online for 1911 and 1901 I found the family with some names I had not heard of before.One was his uncle  Michael and when I enquired back in the homeplace in Johnstown Co Kilkenny I discovered Michael had emigrated to New Jersey and had been conscripted into the US army during WW1.We searched online and eventually found his name on the American Battle Monuments Commission site listed as missing in action or Buried at sea. Michael's name is inscribed on the Wall of the Missing in Meuse Argonne cemetery in France . I contacted the American Vets Assoc for information only to be told his files were probably destroyed in a fire back in the '20s. There were no further developments until last Nov when my eldest son Kevin phoned me to about a programme on our TV chann...

 Kevin and myself went out to the allotment on Fri afternoon, it was not just sunny but absolutely roasting! I watered all the plants in the greenhouse and it felt like a sauna. The tomatoes are ripening slowly.Harvest included: 2 courgettes lettuce Small Red Duke of York potatoes 2 cucumbers some french beans & small tomatoes blackcurrants,strawberries,red gooseberries & blueberries.The strawberries and cherry tomatoes went to Jack who eats them like sweets!.Not enough fruit to make a summer pudding so the gooseberries & blackcurrants were added to apples to make a summer fruit tart.The blueberries go on my cereal in the morning. The long green plant at the top of the photo is a Brussels sprout plant gone to seed, the 4th of 10 to go.It was brought home to the hens and I tied it to the fence.Within a very short time it was a skeletal shape hanging from the fence! Waste not want not. Kevin noticed some of the globe artichokes and asked to take some home...

Harvest for today, the camera makes it look bigger than it actually is.Some of the cauliflower is turning pink and the heads are separating into florets so they are being picked and eaten as is.Carrots from the barrel were divided between myself and Kathryn.Lots of lettuce still going strong.There are onions from the lot drying in the greenhouse and some french beans.The half pot of Red Duke of York were on the small side ,the larger ones were about the size of an egg! The darker soil at the top of the bed is where the bumper crop of spuds in the pot came from! About 9 stalks would have been here before the blight hit them, some of the potatoes were tiny not even marble size but so far no blight down into the potato. The carrots in the barrel were varying sizes also and none of them huge even though they would have weathered out the worst of the weather in the cold greenhouse  The Elegance tomatoes photographed through the greenhouse window, they are a good size but no s...

I will start with the heart warming sight of the first decent harvest I brought home this year, it was over a week ago and we have now returned to wind and rain. Kathryn is off work for a few days and has been pottering in the allotment, she sent me this pic today of the courgettes which look as if they are finally getting their act together. The first of the trial tomatoes are just beginning to turn red. it may be unfair to judge them solely on performance this year but Kathryn picked the red one and was disappointed with the taste. It may very well be back to the old reliables next year. We have 10 cauliflower plants and had all but given up on them and then discovered 8 of them are producing florets! yeah!! The lettuce plants have been under plastic for weeks and put in a spurt of growth at last. I planted another lot of them to have a continuation of salads The sweet corn have taken to allotment life with a flourish, these were kept in pots at home until nearl...