A dash of colour.

After having a few " grey " days what better way to herald the long week-end and look forward to a bit of brightness than by having a jaunt around the garden to appreciate whats already blooming. Here's a few shots of colour.











Enjoy the week-end and hopefully the sun will shine for you.

Shallot update.

A quick update on the shallot bed, The current spell of fine weather has caused an explosion of growth in the garden with the shallots being no slouch in this department. Having lost quite a few bulbs to the slug I was a little worried as to whether we would have any left, not to worry now anyway as all the remaining bulbs seem to be tootling along at a fine pace.

King of the sunflowers.

The above title is not a reference to myself ( although we'll see by years end ) the variety of sunflower I have chosen this year is called " Kong " and hopefully it will live up to it's name. This giant branching sunflower can apparently attain a height of fourteen feet and with flower heads an awesome twenty centimetres in diameter ! I sowed these guys on the twenty sixth of February and the tallest are approaching the two foot mark already. I will probably put them in the ground in the next week or so and hopefully they will take off. As with last year the staking is always a pain in the ass job, and last year my sunflowers only reached nine feet !!



The record for tallest sunflower is currently twenty five feet, five and a half inches. Largest head is thirty two and a quarter inches in diameter. And most flowers is eight hundred and thirty seven flowers on a single plant. I Don't think I'll trouble those records anyway especially not with my " Firewalker " as I failed to germinate a single seed. Damn amateurs !!

Early cabbage.

Today I was able to plant out some " Golden acre " early cabbage in one of the brassica beds. Unfortunately the slugs have been gorging themselves on some of the previously planted cabbages, so much for my crushed egg shell mulch, but I shall persist.



I have some more in reserve that are not yet hardened off, but they should be ready in the next couple of weeks. I also potted on the " January king " winter cabbage, they seem to be coming along nicely but won't be going out for some time yet. In other brassica news, the brussels sprouts that I took a chance and planted out early are doing just fine, the swede seedlings are thinned and growing good but the slugs have nearly wiped out the turnip seedlings so I must sow again this week. You win, you lose, I guess !!



I also net these beds as there is an amorous couple of wood pigeons about at the moment and they only seem interested in courting and raiding my garden........... Ahhh, reminds me of my youth !!

The proposed extension.

I sprayed off this area last september and let it lie for the winter. The intention was to plant some potatoes here this year but instead I opted to plant my spuds in another area. So now the question ; what to do with this piece of ground ? I reckon I could get in six decent sized raised beds to add to the ones I already have. I intend to get the rabbit proof fence up in the next week or so and also a gravel path between the beds is begging to be laid add to this the planting, weeding,watering,sowing and all the rest and the year has suddenly got very busy. aahh looking forward to eating my Brussels sprouts at christmas already !!

And yes that's me with the handsome divil shadow !!

A day of planting.

I had to send these guys to the beds this week end as things were getting a bit crowded in the cold frames. There was a bit of pushing and shoving going on between the marigolds and the lettuce, the brussels sprouts were lording it over the others because of their height.The competition to have the most colourdy leaves between the chard and the beetroot was frankly becoming ridiculous and the spring onions said they could take no more taunts about being skinny. Round table talks failed so nothing for it but a spot of early planting.

Out went the swiss chard, beetroot, brussels sprouts, two trays of carrots, three trays of lettuce and two trays of spring onions. Things are much more relaxed around here now !! Phew......

The hide and seek champion !!

Introducing the All-Ireland hide and seek champion, the humble parsnip. I found this guy lurking beneath a fleece in a bed full of turnip seedlings I had recently sowed. The suspicious bulge was mistaken for a weed but on further investigation, What did I pull out ? an almost two foot long parsnip !! Sadly it was covered in rust and the slugs had taken the better part of it rendering it inedible. Still it proves that parsnips if left in the ground over winter will regrow in the spring.



I don't know how I missed it as the bed was dug over twice during winter and again when the compost was added and then raked and prepared as a seed bed ! Osama Bin Laden wouldn't have a patch on this guy !!

Patriotism.

For many Easter is a time of remembrance, a time when the supreme sacrifices made by the men of 1916 are to be acknowledged and appreciated. Yet every year we have politicians laying wreaths at memorials and sites of patriotic significance the length and breadth of this country. This year it sticks in my throat more than usual, why do we tolerate such tokenism ? To have the corrupt engage in theatrics for the cameras. They spoil the wreath with their very own greasy palms, they pay lip service to long dead heroes and swiftly return to plans of self enrichment. They trample on the very people they vowed to serve. To want to stand on the shoulders of giants, is ambition, but to walk on the faces of the electorate to sneer at the commentators with an air of invincibility while they live beyond our means is way beyond disgraceful. Isn't it a bitter irony that through our hard work we pay the wages of the people who gamble and fritter away ours ?

While bursting with apparent national pride they read the proclamation, the words of the proclamation. They ring hollow now, for once they invoked a passion that put fire in the bellies of men, men who wanted to achieve, achieve for the good of the nation. Not just himself. Did all those men die in vain ? Will we see true patriots again ? The word is bandied about amid useless rhetoric. To part the curtains of patriotism and glimpse the avarice underneath is truly a depressing image. Luke Kelly's timeless poem captures the atmosphere of a nation in a far more eloquent manner than I could ever hope to achieve.

For What Died the Sons of Róisín, was it fame?
For What Died the Sons of Róisín, was it fame?
For what flowed Irelands blood in rivers,
That began when Brian chased the Dane,
And did not cease nor has not ceased,
With the brave sons of ´16,
For what died the sons of Róisín, was it fame?

For What Died the Sons of Róisín, was it greed?
For What Died the Sons of Róisín, was it greed?
Was it greed that drove Wolfe Tone to a paupers death in a cell of cold wet stone?
Will German, French or Dutch inscribe the epitaph of Emmet?
When we have sold enough of Ireland to be but strangers in it.
For What Died the Sons of Róisín, was it greed?

To whom do we owe our allegiance today?
To whom do we owe our allegiance today?
To those brave men who fought and died that Róisín live again with pride?
Her sons at home to work and sing,
Her youth to dance and make her valleys ring,
Or the faceless men who for Mark and Dollar,
Betray her to the highest bidder,
To whom do we owe our allegiance today?

For what suffer our patriots today?
For what suffer our patriots today?
They have a language problem, so they say,
How to write "No Trespass" must grieve their heart full sore,
We got rid of one strange language now we are faced with many, many more,
For what suffer our patriots today?


Far be it for me to instigate a call to arms, this is not a politically motivated post nor am I affiliated to any political party, I have far too much respect for my untarnished name. It's merely an observation, and I believe the more good people in this country that observe, the closer we will come to a viable solution. Should we march ? should we shout ? Ninety four years ago we had a rebellion.

Coldframe crowding.

Space is becoming a much sought after luxury in my coldframes at the moment, a few over enthusiastic bursts of seed sowing have produced a bit of a pile up. Oooooh the pressure, how will we cope ? The temptation is to lob a few of the bigger lads into the garden and see how they manage. Does gardening sometimes feel like playing God ? Albeit on a much smaller scale, I have the power to decide who lives and who dies. Actually it's more like who dies and who lingers in the world between life and death before finally succumbing to the inevitable ! But I digress.....



Back to the seedlings, the cabbage " Golden Acre " and the Brussels sprouts " Bedford Darkmar 21 " are doing quite well. The " Ailsa craig " onions and " White Lisbon " spring onions are proving to be a worthwhile sowing. Don't you just love spring onion sandwiches ? The Swiss chard is flying up as is the beetroot " Boltardy ". I grew this last year as the wife loves beetroot, but somehow she was unimpressed by my crop so I gave it away to more appreciative folk who showered me with compliments, saying that the pre-boiling of the beetroot really brought out the flavour. I tried to hide my ignorance, as idiots that we are we ate it raw !! I have three varieties of lettuce this year " Little gem ", " Cos parris island " and " Red oak leaf " What can I say ? ... wifey likes lettuce ! " Bambino " and " Nantes 2 " are the carrots although sowing in modules may prove a pointless exercise as they don't like to be transplanted.



The over spill has landed in the front porch, not ideal as temperatures are difficult to control but will have to suffice for the moment. There's more cabbage " January king " and some leeks " Autumn mammoth " lurking about, I sure hope the leeks live up to their name ! This year I vowed only to grow what we will eat, the radish incident of last year reinforces this mantra. Something I may share on a later post perhaps.