Purchases Made for the Growing Season 2021

I made three deliciously satisfying orders in the last two weeks and now I must stop. I purchased the seeds from Green Vegetable Seeds, which is the business of Klaus Laitenberger who is very knowledgeable and sensitive to the particulars of the Irish climate. The rest were bought in Future Forests in Bantry, which is the most wonderful business and I will go no further than them for any of my trees, fruit and shrubs going forward. A lot of my existing seeds were grown and harvested in Skibbereen by Brown Envelope Seeds and others were generously free from GIY Ireland. Enjoy reading my additions to my inventory.

Trees

I focused on fruit and native trees and purchased everything bare root, which is cheaper and easier to transport.

1 x Irish Peach apple tree (I already have 1 x Bramley Seedling and 1 x Beauty of Bath)

2 x pear trees (1 x Concorde and 1 x Doyenne du Comice)

1 x Stella cherry tree (I already have 2 x Reginas)

2 x Hazel

2 x Hawthorn

2 x Sessile Oak

2 x Rowan

Shrubs

3 x honeysuckle

4 x holly

2 x wild rose

2 x dog rose

We have a lot of trees and shrubs in our garden but not many to be overly excited about. The Elder trees are extremely important and can be used by us, as well as the wildlife. We have some crab apple trees that haven't done too well the last two years we have lived here but last Spring was quite dry and windy so it might have affected the blossoming. Other trees did poorly last year also. We have lots of tall conifers (I think Leyland Cypress) which are great for privacy and wind protection as we are quite high and there is a (lightly used) lane running behind our garden. The view would be fabulous without them but I have to thank them for giving me an extremely sheltered area to grow food. There are lots of gaps and dead trees (conifers that were severely pruned before we came along) to one side of the garden and this is where I am concentrating on. I want to create a mixed native hedge that is good for wildlife. We have contoneaster in the front garden which supplies the bees with flowers in the summer and then produces berries in the winter that are very popular with blackbirds.

Soft Fruit

10 x Glen Ample raspberry canes (I already have 2 x Autumn Bliss)

10 x Elsanta strawberry crowns

1 x rhubarb

Vegetable Seeds/Tubers

Potatoes - Miranda for first earlies and Pink Fir Apple for maincrop

Tomato - Kalavrita

Spring onion - Ishikura Bunching

Parsnip - Javelin F1

Carrot - Chantenay Red Cored

Kale - Nero di Toscano

Courgette - Nero di Milano

Jerusalem Artichokes

Cucumber - Passandra F1

I already have garlic, broad beans and purple sprouting broccoli growing. 

My existing seed collection contains:

Leek - Solaise Blue

Pak choi - F1 Rubi and F1 Yuushou

Peas - Sugar Snap and Irish Green Pea

Carrot - Rodelika and Autumn King. I wasn't impressed with the flavour of my carrots this year so I am changing variety

Tomato - Sungold

Lettuce - Baby Gem and Mizuna

Beetroot - Detroit Globe 

Squash - no idea of variety, I harvested the seeds from a squash I bought at our local farm stall.

New Zealand Spinach - this was a staple of our meals all through the summer, autumn and early winter, until the frost killed it. It will grow as a perennial in mild climates. It is a very fleshy leaf that has to be cooked before eating as it contains oxalic acid. The reason I chose it over standard spinach that can be eaten raw is that it is the one spinach variety I can buy that is bred in Ireland, by Brown Envelope Seeds. Sacrifices for keeping it local!

So I have a lot of work ahead of me this year. I have been gardening long enough to know just how much work is involved in growing a wide range of vegetables. I won't be planting everything at the same time. I think I'll keep the details of the sowing times I have in mind for another post.

Garden Diary: 9th April 2020

It has been very warm and dry lately. The late evenings and nights can still get cold, but tonight was the first time when I did not feel any bit of cold approaching with darkness. It's the second night this year that I did not light a fire. It's all over the news now and goes without saying, but should you be reading this years down the line I'll have to point out that we are in a lockdown at the moment to curb the spread of Covid-19 or Coronavirus. Apart from rare trips to the shop for food and walks within 2km of the house, I am at home all the time. It's definitely a test of how well equipped a person's house is. I am very grateful for my massive compost heap and my boxes of seeds. I have lots of plant pots too but I seem to be using old plastic fruit containers mainly as they are ideal for seed sowing, with drainage holes and all.

Some recently sown seeds outside including cabbage, pak choi, leeks, various flowers and beetroot:

I have been referring to Klaus Leitenberger's book Vegetables for the Irish Garden this season and his recommendations for outdoor seed sowing times is much later than what seed packets (often of UK origin) would have you believe. I have seeds planted in the porch but I do prefer to wait a bit later and do most of it outdoors. Once the temperatures have risen beyond likely risk of frost, our combination of sun and rain usually provides quite an agreeable habitat for seedlings.

In the porch are spinach, peas, early cabbages, pak choi, leeks, borage and sunflowers, all planted between 14-17 March. Only some peas and sunflowers have germinated as of today.  I've been taking them outside during the recent warm days to feel a bit of direct nature on themselves (make them feel like free plants!) and back in again in the evening. In the last week I have also done an outdoor sowing of the above vegetables. It will be interesting to see how indoor fares v outdoors.


Seedlings in the porch:

In the vegetable beds, the broad beans are the forerunners as usual. Some were planted in December, others in March. My Achillea are looking healthy and I cannot wait to get some flowers. These plants were grown from seed last year but were slow to grow and then halted over winter. They are thriving now and as they are perennials, it is worth the wait. Peas are planted beside a wood and wire frame and protected with lots of small twigs to deter birds (it is pigeon country here, lovers of peas!). Garlic has been planted around the edge of the beds but I am not feeling encouraged by the growth so far. I am annoyed with myself for not sourcing good quality bulbs and not planting in late Autumn. I guess my beds weren't ready at the time, I'll have no excuse next season! Also sown are corn salad, pak choi and wong bok (a Chinese cabbage). Last year's pak choi were magnificent, I'll be deeply sore if I cannot replicate my success this year. Raspberries are in there too.

The beds with most activity plus containers in the background growing queens potatoes (the lifebuoys were found floating at sea):

Other perennials I am excited about are coneflowers which have a similar story to the Achillea. They were planted from seed last year, didn't amount to anything and never made it from the pot to the ground. I wasn't sure if they were still alive, as they hibernated in pots over winter in the porch but they are coming back strong and I cannot wait to get them into the garden beds.

I have planted Queens potatoes in the same bed as Early Nantes carrots, and parsnips will also be sown here in a few weeks (not pictured).

In the front garden, my tulips are looking good and an area of grass I stopped mowing last spring has brought lots of primroses. My perennial flowers are starting to come back:

The same patch ten days previously:

Anything else......oh yes I planted courgettes today and they are residing in the porch.

Actually some musings on compost....it is very difficult to buy compost at the moment. I'd love to have some good quality seed compost but have to use what I have in the garden so I am taking the stuff from the back of the heap. As we only moved in here a year ago, it is not my making. It is very crumbly and reminds me of a forest floor. In the Autumn, this part of the heap is covered in mushrooms, which I  *THINK* are Clitocybe nebularis, or Clouded Agaric. Good edibles apparently if you are not in the percentage of people that can get awful gastro problems from them. I have no idea if this soil is suitable for seeds but it will have to do.

In Search of Satisfication

I have spent about €100 on plants this year. That's much more than I would usually spend. So I got all these beautiful healthy plants that were already in flower or just about to come in to flower. Instant colour and effect. So I put them in the ground, after spending a lot of time preparing the soil and then....deflation! It was utterly unsatisfying. It was too easy.

What I am excited about is the cornflowers and chamomile seeds I've planted along the edges, the lupins that won't flower until next year, the sunflowers I raised from seed that are slowly coming along and the wildflower seed bombs I have scattered.

I planted many flower seeds that didn't germinate but a few stragglers are hanging in there and I am ecstatic that this Dianthus that I sowed at the end of April has survived it's failed companions. Its tiny and weak looking but the joy it is giving me is immense! What's even more exciting is that I cannot remember what variety of Dianthus it is. I have Sweet William but I have a vague memory of another packet of a white variety that I may have planted. No idea! I won't get flowers until next year but I have lots of patience.

Similarly the Echinacea pow wow wild berry seeds I've planted are starting to germinate. I bought a pack of ten seeds for €5, which is expensive (although it is a perennial plant) and then a few days later I saw that Lidl had them as plants for about €4 each I think. I was momentarily annoyed but then I remembered that ready made plants were not filling any void for me and reminded myself that if I get even two plants from my seeds, I'll have saved money and earned satisfaction:

Other flower seeds I have planted that have successfully germinated include the following (some mentioned above):

Other plants in my nursery include courgette and squash as photographed below. I've far more flowers than vegetables this year as I am deliberating where to position the edibles, taking the septic tank into consideration:

That's it for today!

Community Spirit and Buying Local

I've been thinking a lot about "community" the last few years - the almost unseen efforts made by ordinary people to keep a town or village alive. Suddenly I realise those pretty flowers in the middle of the roundabout didn't grow wild, those educational talks didn't organise themselves and that farmer's market didn't appear out of thin air. Did you ever wish a certain group or class was operational in your area without realising that maybe you should be the person to make it happen? Many of us are now living away from our family and the friends we grew up with. We have to create our own community support, and this can be difficult. A mutual hobby is an almost effortless way to meet like minded people. I've always held the belief that a single hobby goes a long way to enriching a life. It gives you something to feel useful about, something to talk about and something you can teach others about. Overall, it can give you confidence and that spills over into other aspects of your life.


How can you find out what is happening in your area?

Think small. The library is a good place to start, the local area/church newsletter or the noticeboard in the local supermarket. An internet search probably won't be the most effective way but maybe your town or village has a Facebook page that keeps up to date with local goings-on. The amount of [often free] interesting events organised might surprise you.

What prompted this post? Well I was in my local library recently and the librarian, on seeing that I had checked out a book on healing gardens, gave me a flyer for an upcoming talk in a local hall. The event was organised the GIY fraction in Passage/GlenwoodMonkstown and the speaker was Madeline McKeever of Brown Envelope Seeds, an organic seed producing company that operates out of Turk Head, near Skibbereen. The subject was seed saving - something I have started experimenting with. It couldn't have come at a better time for me. Having a young nursing toddler I am happily limited in my socialising. If given the choice, I'd much rather meet people at something interesting and educational and be home before ten! There was a great turnout of at least 50 people, much more than expected, we donated a few euro each, got tea and cake and were able to buy locally produced seeds after hearing from the grower herself about her history and methods.

It's one thing going to your local garden centre or co-op and buying a bunch of seeds - the choice is overwhelming and the prices can be cheap - but to listen to someone speak about how they choose, grow, nurture, harvest and clean the seed in your local environment is far more inspiring to be a part of. It makes sense that the seed should thrive in your back garden as it was reared in the same conditions. I'll let you know in a few months!

So what did I buy? Firstly I bought two varieties of cherry tomato - Sungold Select and Black Cherry. Since I am still obsessed with beetroot, I had to expand beyond the comfort of the popular Bolthardy and bought a pretty breed called Chioggia which is pink skinned with pink and white flesh in a concentric circle design. Lastly, I looked ahead to the winter months and bought seeds for a salad leaf that any reader of Joy Larkcom will be familiar with - Winter Purslane. By all accounts it grows like a weed and is frost hardy, making it sound like an ideal source of vitamin C. Putting them into my seed box and seeing all the cheap multi packs of seeds I've bought over the years made me slightly wish I was starting off again so I could buy local as much as possible. I'd buy less but hopefully increase the quality of my seeds.

If you want to start buying Irish produced seeds, check out Brown Envelope Seeds and Irish Seedsavers. If you know of any others, let me know!

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.