A sneaky peek.

I couldn't resist checking on the progress of the rhubarb I've been forcing. It's only under cover since paddy's day so I must say that's an impressive growth rate.



The visible green leaves are the unforced plants beside, they will be harvested at a later date.



I just might have some rhubarb a bit sooner than expected, although this plant is in the ground since last summer !! I'll keep it covered for a few more weeks.

Batten down the hatches !!

Well I came home this evening to a scene reminiscent of the movie twister, no flying cows to report but my fleece for protecting the veggies was blowing about like some giant flag of surrender. There shall be no surrender this time, so I quickly weighed it down with whatever I could lay hands on.



There's a good four inches of water lodged at the bottom of the garden now, but at least the raised beds offer some bit of security for the veggies. They've got their own little ark !



I've been promising to dig a drain here with over twelve months now. Must get that done .................. within the next twelve months.



And more of this deluge to come. A noticeable bite in the air this evening seems to be heralding another cold snap. Gardening in Ireland, I suppose if twas easy everyone would be doing it !

A game of chance.

I was itching to get planting the last few weeks and once again I threw caution to the wind. Well I awoke this morning to an all out assault by the wind and rain ........ my poor seeds ! The bit of sunshine we've been enjoying the last few days lulled me into a false sense of security and I took a chance with some planting. I'm not too worried about the parsnip or the shallot sets that went in a couple of weeks ago, but I do have concerns for the seed I have sown in the raised beds. Here's what went in : 1 row of swede, 1 row of turnip " purple top milan ", 3 rows of carrot " nantes 2 ", 3 rows of spring onion " white lisbon " and 1 row of a welsh red bunching onion. There's a deluge of water hitting the garden at the moment and I do hope my optimistic sowing doesn't prove to have been foolhardy. I have another twenty or so trays hiding out in coldframes at the moment with various veggies, so at least I have a good subs bench ! Apparently this weather is to get worse and a cold snap will then follow. Oh well that's Ireland, a lovely country if only we could roof it !!

A recession coldframe.

As the song goes " Money's too tight to mention " so a bit of lateral thinking goes a long way. Here's a cold frame I made recently from some scrap bits of timber and some 500 gauge clear plastic. It ain't pretty folks but it should give shelter to some of the vulnerables around here.



The whole thing took about four hours to make and the total cost of material were it to be bought, would definitely come in under the thirty euro mark. You don't have to be a carpenter to make this , just be willing to have a crack off of it, mistakes are a great way of learning ! Ask any government minister ....... actually don't !



Here's a two storey version I made last year, patent pending !!!

I've got thirty greenhouses !

OK, they're not quite what you imagined upon reading the title and perhaps you thought I was being boastful. Well I can assure you that eating spaghetti bolognese and lasagne for a month in order to collect enough glass jars, is in my opinion worthy of a boastful post ! It's a simple yet effective idea, remove the labels from the jars and place over the seedling. That's it no more to write. Except don't forget to water of course.



These jars are covering some parsnip seedlings I recently transplanted, the mouth of the jar is sufficient to fit over the toilet roll insert that I used to grow them in. Obviously the bigger the jar the longer you can leave them over the seedling. Normal hardening off rules apply, don't just remove the jars, the shock may very well be fatal.



How's your Dolmio day ?

The egg shell mulch.

" If dere's wan ting worse than the black and tans, " tis slugs ! There's something about those slimy horrid little creatures that brings out the serial killer in me. A proud gardener can spend weeks nurturing their seedlings along, even abandoning ones own children to lovingly coax to life a future crop of tender lettuce. Only to have it wiped out in one nocturnal orgy of destruction by our foe the snail. Somehow this seems to gall us more than having a full plate of lettuce rejected amid upturned noses and pushed away plates, why is this ?

So I've been collecting egg shells with quite a while, the quizzical wonderment of my long suffering wife will hopefully be rewarded with a plate of lettuce or maybe a parsnip or two. You see the crushed egg shells if applied around the young seedlings will go some way towards discouraging the hordes of snails looking for easy pickings, by lacerating their soft squishy bellies. Yes, lacerating, a fine word when applied to a slug. So I look forward to following the trail of slime and at the end of it instead of finding a missing row of seedlings, I hope to find a writhing, twisted, but still alive slug. There will be an interrogation, something Jack Bauer would be proud of ! And if he gives up his friends, I'll see to it he gets a fair trial and a quick death.

Anyway, egg shells, crushed, around plants, slug deterrent. That's all I meant to say !

Power to the parsnip.

I think the parsnip is a hugely underrated winter veg. When exposed to a little hard weather the flavour actually improves and the humble parsnip can become one of the tastiest ingredients in any winter dish. Some guide books bring to our attention the erratic germinating habit of the parsnip while recommending a February sowing. Now I wouldn't be inclined to come out of hibernation myself in the frozen miserable ground of an Irish vegetable plot. Sow in March and watch those germination rates skyrocket !

Parsnips grow best in deep friable soil. Hitting a stone can cause the root to fork with many an interesting parsnip resulting. But truth be told they will grow successfully in most soil types. Pest and disease management is the same as for carrots, with the " divils " of rabbits and carrot root fly being the biggest culprits, while at seedling stage the slime ball slug brigade need constant attention. With Russell Crowe as this years inspiration I planted " Gladiator F1 " So I'm expecting big things from these guys.



I used two methods of sowing, just for the sheer hell of it ! Method one was started about five weeks ago indoors. I put three seeds into a toilet roll insert filled with compost covered with plastic and waited impatiently. I thinned out to one seedling per insert and removed the plastic allowing it to grow on. I then planted them out in raised beds at the weekend. Method two was the traditional sowing in rows an inch deep with about an inch between seeds to be thinned later. I warmed the ground with fleece for both methods and the seeds will be kept under fleece until germination at least. I deliberately kept the rows close together partly due to lack of space partly as an experiment. Most guide books recommend anything from a foot to two feet between rows , I went at nine inches, maybe I'll have smaller parsnips who knows ?



So that's it parsnips in, I will go with a single sowing this year and take the gamble of leaving them in the ground. It worked last year although one must watch them in case they try to regrow as this destroys the flavour. The battle lines are drawn, fresh ground to be conquered ...... " On my mark unleash hell !"

The cookbook.

With a squeal of delight she tore frantically at the Amazon packaging, the smell of new book wafted upwards and was greeted by the beaming smile that swept across her face confirming my worst fears, the cookbook had arrived. " I'll get started right away " she announced, the sensations now beginning in the pit of my stomach were telling me even my bowels wanted to evacuate. " Which would you like to try first ?" I avoided the question while silently hatching a dastardly plan to make this intruder disappear. " Cheesy chops and chips it is then " followed by another beaming smile. Recklessly I retorted " Why not try something more adventurous ?" Another quip I would soon regret.

Later that evening I came home to an alien smell escaping through the slightly open kitchen window. I cautiously peered around the door to behold a sight that would make most men go weak at the knees, my wife clad in her " Don't mess with the chef " apron lightly beaded with sweat and with a determination in her eye that I haven't seen since those long hours spent in the delivery suite of the CMUH a few short months ago. I looked around the bombsite that used to be my spotless kitchen, every pot and dish we own was strewn around, some at very precarious angles with various substances bonded to their once pristine interiors. " Sit " she said " I've a surprise ." Obedient puppy that I am, I sat. I was now weak at the knees anyway so the chair was a welcome support. The place setting told a tale of no escape, no one to share the pain with. The dinner scene from silence of the lambs flashed across my minds eye and the panic was exacerbated when the dish was proudly plonked on the table in front of me with the shrill announcement " Kerala prawn curry." I think I hid my disdain. But I couldn't hide my disbelief as I tucked tentatively at first, then as the chillies and turmeric numbed every taste bud I ever had, I ate heartily while praising the chef and the exposition of her hidden talents.

The clean up took an age to complete but there's nothing quite like snoozing contentedly on a full stomach. Thinking happy thoughts and planning adventures for the following day. Blissfully unaware.

Some time later it happened, the most unpleasant evacuation process one will ever be involved in is the evacuation of ones own self ! I thought my teeth would come out ! Oh the stinging.... I shall never forget it. My only consolation was my darling wife was on the other toilet with only a wall between us, the consequences of her poor attention span could be heard and smelled by all and sundry. Thank god for that wall it not only spared the blushes, it also spared me the custodial sentence that would surely have resulted were I to enact even a portion of the thoughts that filled my head. Through gritted teeth we jeered and cheered each other on only leaving our enforced refuges to fill up on the liquid of life and try to reassure baby that mammy and daddy still loved him and would indeed return one day, albeit a shade paler and a few pounds lighter.

So now fully recovered from this life changing experience my wife has announced the expected arrival of " 101 cakes and bakes." The old feelings of panic returned as I looked into the eyes of the woman who calls rice krispie buns her specialty and realised...... she's not joking. I suppose the upside to this is the collection of toilet roll inserts which I use in the garden has increased dramatically.Every cloud has a silver lining and all that, this one though was lined...... in brown.

Tis very currant, you know..........

All the cool kids seem to be planting fruit bushes lately, so here I am trying to keep up with currant trends !!

I planted three new fruit bushes in this bed of imported lime free soil. A redcurrant " Red lake ", a blackcurrant " Ben lomond " and a blueberry " Goldtraube ". My only previous experience with berries is the strawberries I grew last year in hanging baskets. They yielded some nice fruits and I now have about sixty new plants to find homes for after successfully rooting the runners !! Any unsuspecting visitors seem to leave with strawberry plants whether they want them or not !

The birds will be the biggest threat to the crop so I will net these prior to fruiting time. If time permits maybe a proper fruit cage will be constructed. I'm looking forward to harvesting these, and the muffins and pies that herself has promised to cook will be surely temptation to plant some more.

Forcing the rhubarb

I grew this rhubarb " Victoria " from seed last year and was delighted to see it peeping above the soil around December. Although it tolerates severe cold very well I buried it under a thick layer of homemade compost as a precautionary measure. It's now ready for forcing.



To force rhubarb simply exclude the light from a number of stalks. Purpose made forcing pots are available but to be honest any pot will do, even a large bucket will get it started. I used an old bin held in place with a large stone. The petiole ( thats the stalk to you and me ) should grow about an inch a week for the first eight weeks and increase significantly in vigour thereafter.



The crowns will need dividing every four to five years or when the stalks get small and spindly. Cutting out overcrowded crowns will encourage nice thick stems to grow. Flowering will steal the vigour of the plant so cut the flower and seed stalks as soon as they're noticed. Also one must not forget the leaves are always poisonous so remove from the stalk after harvesting. Rhubarb and custard ....... here we come ..!

Lots and lots of shallots !

A close relation to the onion, possibly a first cousin depending on uncle Alberts lineage. The shallot is easy to grow and gives good return ( between 4 and 8 bulbs per set planted ) It's also a little milder than the onion which can sometimes take over a dish if left unsupervised.



I planted these guys in a raised bed, There is eight inches between rows and six inches between each set. I simply made a hole in the earth with my finger as the sets are small and popped them in covering them over so as to leave a little of the growing tip visible above ground.



Keeping the sets in straight lines is an aid to weeding, I have an uncle that prefers to scatter the sets, you should see the torment when it comes time to weed !! What I like about these guys is they are relatively trouble free apart from the risk of white rot that is, even the the voracious slug will not bother too much with them.




So with fifty sets planted I look forward to a decent harvest in five to six months time, when they can be pulled, dried and stored providing tasty shallots until next spring. Well hopefully !

First earlies.

I dislike planting potatoes in raised beds, although I believe the beds to be a superior system for veg growing the earthing up of potatoes causes spatial problems due to the confines of the bed. Nevertheless against all common sense and reasoning ( you will see quite a bit of this here ) I went ahead and planted 5kg of Homeguard first earlies in this bed measuring thirty two feet by five feet.



I hoped to overcome the lack of space by digging deep into the bed and creating a flat furrow like area and then planting the seed a further five inches into this. The potatoes were planted a foot apart with a foot between rows.



When the time comes for earthing up I will simply level the soil across the bed, a further earthing up will entail drawing soil from the sides or importing some if the need arises. This will pain me !



There's a lot to be said for planting potatoes in open ground but due to a lack of space my options are limited. I will however be able to plant the rest of my crop in my uncles garden which has plenty of space but is a ten mile drive from here. Ya can't win em all I suppose.

A blank canvas.

Who doesn't love a blank canvas ? I know I do. This is one of the reasons why gardening appeals to me. In the vegetable garden the coming of the seasons brings life and surely death. Plants will grow given the right conditions, if they are successful the reward is to be harvested and eaten, failure to grow brings death. Either way the end result is inevitably the same. It's a cycle that brings a blank canvas to us each year, mistakes are rectified and lessons hopefully learned.

Last year as an absolute beginner I started a vegetable patch, I suppose it went OK. Mistakes were made and things got on top of me. I spent more time planning and building raised beds than I did actually growing veg. This year however with a renewed vigour I shall attack this little plot of ground and propel it into the annals of veg growing !! Well hopefully I'll get a few carrots out of it anyway. So this is it my blank canvas, watch it grow.

Well I guess it's not blank anymore ........... it's not even canvas !!