My Garden: 11th August 2014

If I ever forget the beautiful weather of 2014, this blog will be a sure reminder. And I ask myself, why haven't we installed an outdoor tap yet? The only good thing about relying on a watering can is that I make sure to empty all my waste water into it. Still though, my plants are definitely under-watered. I don't currently mulch for fear of creating a haven for slugs but talented gardeners would insist it is essential. Next year will be my year for mulching - and it'll probably be a wash out!

My tomatoes came on in leaps and bounds from the scraggly beginnings:

That first blush of red is exciting:

I am growing borlotti beans this year. It's a venture into the unknown, however timid:

It's not the best photo of the borlotti flowers. I wish I had captured them at their best because the delicate pink and white blooms are beautiful:

My remaining beets are big!

New generation of carrots and beetroot that were planted in July. I hope it's not too late in the season.

One of my carrots is sitting too high up and has gone a funny colour. Happy to say I ate it and it tasted lovely.

I was too cocky and uncovered my brassicas weeks back to make it easier to weed and because it looked better. Well I under estimated the prowess of the white butterfly because I've been inundated with caterpillars. I re-covered them and rid myself of the green pests many times a day.

Sweet peas peak out among the mangetout:

My leeks are gaining girth but they still have a long growing season ahead of them. And I need to weed that patch!

I ate the first cut of my broccoli, which was divine, but was sorely disappointed by the speed of regrowth. A closer look and I found horrible black aphids on it, plus some hungry caterpillars. I've sprayed it with a mix of water, garlic and ginger and also spotted a ladybird (predator of the aphid) on the plant so hopefully I'll see progress.

I am growing jalapeño peppers outdoors as an experiment. They have received plenty of warm sunshine in a south facing position so hopefully we might get a few little peppers!

Saving Seeds

Saving seeds seems to be a lost art. I have certainly only entertained the idea playfully in my mind until recently. This year I allowed an over-wintered brussels sprouts plant to go to flower in the hope of saving the seeds but on seeing that the plant had been infected by a blast of spring aphids, I pulled it up and threw it in the compost heap.

Turning my mind from vegetables, today I noticed that the wild flowers 'Honesty' I had enjoyed last season were looking prime for seed harvesting. Even though they had finished blooming their pink flowers months ago, I rather liked the appearance of the papery seed packets that remained so I left them to stand until now.

It only dawned on me today that the dried flowers were my ticket to the elusive practice of seed saving. Peeling open the seed shells was a very satisfying feeling and you could feel that the pods were ready to burst apart at the lightest touch. Inside were two layers of three seeds, six in all. 

All the sunshine we have had for the last few months proved to be the perfect natural dryer and the seeds felt ready for storage. I thought about how to package them and finally decided to pop them back into the box of mixed wildflower seeds that their parents had come from.

How to Store Berries

Being healthy is so much fun in the summer months and popping sweet berries in your mouth one after the other is one of the more joyous ways of eating. This summer we have been gorging ourselves on blueberries, red currants and Wexford strawberries. Unfortunately once picked, they can deteriorate rapidly and more than once I have cursed myself as I dump a punnet of fruit that looked perfect yesterday. Next time instead of letting them sit on the kitchen counter, a few minutes simple preparation will keep your berries fresh for longer

1. Remove any mouldy fruit - it only takes one bad berry to infect the rest.

2. Chop off bruised spots. For larger berries, you can save many damaged ones by removing the softened bits

3. Place in a colander and rinse under cold water. They should not be soaked.

4. Place in a sealed lunch box in the fridge

I have been doing this with great success all summer.

Simplicity is Freedom

It's the dilemma of modern families across Ireland - how to balance work and family life in a way that you can meet your expenses and the needs of your children. Tradition suggests that a couple should marry, buy a house and have children, in that particular order. Unfortunately, for many, that now translates to being tied to a job to pay for an expensive house in a location that no longer suits your new lifestyle as parents. And if you are not committed to a mortgage, do you choose where to live because you can get a higher paid job, more amenities, shorter commute, cheaper area? How can a family thrive if both parents have to work five days or more a week? Less time means you make bad decisions - fast food, buying things you could make, looking for the quick solution, compensating for time lost with your children by lavishly spending money on them. Then there is the guilt and emotional strain.

The massive personal choice that the developed world offers to us brings freedom and potential for happiness but also so much complication and stress to our lives. We have so much available to us but is it really making our lives better? I hear so much negativity around me every day, so much illness and stress. Even though the choice I'm making is a good one, is it the best one? Have you ever spent hours online comparing products and agonising over them? Each one looks good, but which one is the best!? By the time you've finished, you've forgotten what the first one was like. It's not our fault, we are part of a bigger machine. The machine of society that we design. The chicken and the egg situation?

Rather than work a full week to have more disposable income, I would champion less work, less money and more time. I believe that no person, no matter what your situation, should work a 40+ hour week. Part time work for every one means that no person should be without a job, and all the work will still get done. It would cut down traffic, work related stress, sick days.

If only it was that simple... I realise that everything would have to change, cost of products and services, the way businesses are run....

But still, my dream is a three day week for workers everywhere!