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| A little chef for pollinators |
I'm always wishing the weather was better here and we do seem to get such a lot of rain. This year of course has beaten the rest with some rotten weather and I have done my fair share of complaining. However, I have heard of some real disasters regarding the garden and on farms with many people suffering complete failures of potatoes from blight as well as other problems which must be so disheartening especially if you are only starting out. Our family did small amounts, mostly because of lack of space and it being our first time but as I type this I am reminded that when we went to get garden bits and bobs at our local centre this is exactly what the lady at the counter suggested. Too many people go mad and plant so much that when things go wrong they give up altogether.
Anyway I am rambling away from what I really wanted to say. All in all I am very proud of our efforts and have had some real successes in the veg patch even though the produce was in limited supply. In fact its been so rewarding that I am definitely going to try and grow produce over the winter months to keep some snack or two on the plate. It will take some real planning as I dont know where I will get seed at this time of year in Ireland as most people seem to grow summer veg as a novelty so I need to check this out.
For anyone who is like me and wants to start out on the path to sustainability (of some degree anyway) then I must recommend the
"Grow it" magazine. Forgive me for name dropping but if something works for me then I believe in passing it on and apologies if I have mentioned it before (i dont remember doing it). This magazine is a little pricey at €5.98 but with 5 packets of seeds to try each time it really works out quite well and I would have been lost without it.
Here are quite a few pictures of what has been going on in our garden over the summer months despite the bad weather and what I believe were slug conferences on many occasions!
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The Squash Patty Pan having been put out in the soil
was looking well.. |
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| ..and it continued to flower .. |
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Result! our first squash. The slugs attacked another plant
but this one held on and is now quite big |
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| Our cold frame was adapted to protect the strawberries form birds and it worked . We now have trailers to get more strawberries next year. |
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Tomatoes looking divine on the chopping board
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| Tomatoes looking divine on the vine |
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| Peas, mums favourite veg to grow |
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| Mange tout size here but we have since picked a couple of full ones |
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| Tasty little carrots |
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| Fabulously delicious potatoes which have since been eaten |
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| Something for the wildlife |
Well done you! The veg looks fab and so natural, not like the stuff u buy in the supermarket where everything is exactly the same size and shape! I bet it was all yummy! I promise to find a patch in my new garden to try out some veg etc for myself. Andy did have to comment tho, he said the carrots needed some more space! Has to have his say eh.
ReplyDeletekeep up the good work lesley, x
Thanks Margaret. I was really pleased with them. The carrots surprised us as we thought they should be longer but apparently they were a different type and short and stubby. A great one for kids to grow as they dont take long. Unfortunately many of them split but the ones in the pic were the best. Thanks for commenting!
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