An Organic Lifestyle (Organic Growing Pains)

 I went out to the plot today, it was bleak, windy and wet and I was the only one there! I gathered most of the sprouts and some of our Rosemary.The sprouts were divided up between 3 houses for Christmas dinner and there are still quite a few left on 5 plants that are producing. Rosemary is going wild as I keep forgetting it is there! Garlic and Rosemary roasties for dinner. The carrots in the barrel did not make the grade for dinner, lots of green growth but minuscule carrots!I think I should have brought the barrel home to be close to hand for watering regularly.We have a bit  of upheaval coming up with the plot in the New year, explanations later!  Some Christmas preparation at home, cranberry sauce made last night. I am not a lover of Cranberry sauce on my turkey but like it as more of a chutney! Christmas cake iced, the 2 halves are D. Michelle's who divides a cake between 2 people who just like a little 'taste' of Christmas cake.The cake was almond ice...

Sometime ago ( about 2 years ago ) I mentioned we had a real live author visit us on the allotment. Fionnuala Fallon is a well known gardening writer who has written a long running gardening column in the Irish Times.The fabulous walled victorian garden in the Ashdown estate in Dublins Phoenix Park  was the subject of the column 'The Urban Farmer'. Fionnuala has now published her book 'From the Ground Up'. The book is not your common or garden (excuse the pun) gardening book.There are 15 chapters and each one is a story about a particular gardener(s) growing in a very different environment. Some have overcome huge problems such as boggy ground, growing near the sea etc. Most gardening books are a list of what to do and when, this book can be read as a book of short stories, there are gems of information scattered throughout and what you learn along the way can be put to good use whether you have a balcony as in Eight Square Metres where a young couple grow their o...