An Organic Lifestyle (Organic Growing Pains)

I went out to the allotment this morning in glorious sunshine but it was freezing cold.There has been snow as far south as the Wicklow mountains and it is still only October!It is definitely glove wearing weather out there from now on.The remains of the sunflower left in situ to feed the birds for the winter, it is growing on the plot next to ours which is used by Liam and William The last rose of summer left blooming alone! Also on the plot next door, there is not a leaf left on the tree just this single bloom glowing in the frosty sunshine. Our winter produce did not look very colourful until I added our pumpkin, which weighs in at 8 lb. Two kids up the country in Co Leitrim I think, grew a 550 lb One!!!We also have the first of the sprouts from one plant and the swiss chard which is still going strong. The celery under fleece to protect from frosts. I was a bit late as we had quite a severe frost last night. Although if the head I pulled up today is anything to go by they are not ...

I was tagged from Annas paints a few days ago.I needed time to figure out this link business for once and for all!I have typed in this line about 10 times so far...But...by George, I think I've got it!! Being tagged has rules 1/ create a link back to the person who has tagged you 2/Tag at least 3 other people, with links to their blogs 3/ Leave a comment on their blogs so that they know they have been tagged 4/ Post the rules on your blog 5/write 6 things about yourself ( another hard part)! I am tagging: Jo ,who blogs from South Africa Margaret another allotment lady in the UK Latane writing about her life and looking after her husband who has Alzheimers I enjoy all my favourite blogs,just because your name is not here does not mean I don't enjoy yours!I think tagging helps to highlight new blogs on the block. 6 Things about me: 1/ I have always loved crafts ie; knitting/sewing/painting, anything creative 2/ I would have loved to do Art after I left school but it was not an...

Our pickle day was a great success, thanks mainly to Chris and Maeve who did most of the pickling and brought lots of goodies! Zwena also produced some delicious calorie laden cakes as usual but nobody complained about the calories! Chris had brought some lovely potato and leek soup with savoury cheese scones, there was apple and treacle tart , festive queen cakes and a deadly but delicious chocolate gateaux.There were dips of various chutnies and jams also.Not a feast for the faint hearted! All served in Zwena's farmhouse kitchen as it was too cold and wet to venture outside. Some of the jams and pickles laid out, Plum & Star Anise jam,onion marmalade,Rhubarb& Ginger jam,Apple& lemon curd,Plum jam,Basil mayonnaise to name a few! Chris and Maeve are still harvesting radishes and white turnips and salad leaves. A close up of the lovely finish Chris had given to the jars. We all save our jars so they have various produce lids on them, Chris bought some hessian fabric and ...

We had put the new strawberry plants into the now cleared out greenhouse to shelter for the winter.I read an article in Kitchen Garden (UK)magazine which said they should be left out to get a couple of frosts and then put in, it is recommended to get strawberries going early next year. So out they have come to await jack frost! The garlic is just peeping above ground and it looks as if it has all germinated! Garlic is supposed to be winter sown so we will have to wait and see the results.Last year we put it in, in late Spring and while it grew to about this height that was it, then it just died back The overwintering onions have also taken off. They are a special winter sown onion,we got them in Atkins seeds in Cork but I'm sure most garden centres will have them but they disappear fast! The birds take a fancy to them and pull them out of the ground but they can be pushed back in again. I only found 2 or 3 pulled up. It gives the onions a head start for next year.

This is actually two posts to cover the final chapter in our pumpkin saga. This is the biggest of the bunch by far, weighing in at 30 KGS and measuring 61 ins in circumference! If we had had a good summer and the compost heap got heat and sunshine it would probably have been even bigger as Zwena has had a 40 kg one in the past! All of the pumpkins gathered in for today, some have been left on the plants to continue growing as there are still lots of small ones and the plants have not started to die back yet.The seeds were just scattered on the top of the compost heap ( horse manure) and left grow away without any further care or interference. Zwena is not just posing ,she did push the wheelbarrow up from the allotment ! A photo shoot of the produce!Ours is the one on the extreme right there are also some lovely gourds which the photos don't do justice to as they are all so colourful ! A close up view, the big one is going into the English market to the Good Food Stall if anyone is...

This is a close up of them still lurking in the undergrowth, before the harvesting operation. Smaller ones further up the bank Another Monster that was not visible until now! Zwena ceremoniously taking the knife to the star of the show Action snap of Zwena unhitching another pumpkin

The title is the comment daughter Aisling made when she phoned me at the allotment this afternoon. Our Blueberries were not performing because they were in the wrong soil! They like acid (Ericacious) soil , I got this advice on http://www.irishgardeners.com/ There is an excellent thread on blueberries for anyone wishing to grow them. I dug over the end of the fruit bed and added the patch where Kathryn dug out the peas so now they have an L shaped des. res. I priced the largest pots around, some shops were charging up to 11e for them but good old B&Q (Homebase in the US) had them for 6.45e. They are 30 cms, which is the largest I have seen. I filled the bases with about 2ins of gravel for drainage, dug out a big hole and added some more gravel for the base of the pots to rest on. Blueberries don't like their feet wet! One of the pots in the ground. The Blueberries in their new bed.They were easy enough to dig out of their original positions as the root balls were not very big,...