Delaney, Molly and a goat

Just Delaney and Molly meeting a goat for the second time.

Just some shots from work

Missing the gardening, but I have to make money to pay for Delaney's shed - and extra winter carrots.
Just click on pics to expand

The top end of Europe, quite literally!!

I think the growing season might start a little later up here somehow

Angry skies, chance of snow later -

2013 and bye bye 2012

Well,, another year and season passes - lets hope the weather in 2013 is a bit better than that of 2012.
The spring was too dry, the summer too wet and overcast to have been called a good one.

Don't forget to plant out garlic cloves now, and inside plant onion seed in trays.

Seasons greetings to all of you and yours, I wish you a happy, peaceful and prosperous new year.

Shed Plans

Well, while Im away I have been thinking a bit about a shed - well, two in fact.
The things one does with boredom and an empty packet of cornflakes in foreign climes!!

One in the future is to be a garden shed - brew house, I just need more space.
The other is for Delaney and his latest girlfriend.

So, stuck out in the middle of the Mediterranean, with nothing more than a box of kosher cornflakes, I came up with a cunning and devious design.

The idea is two have a two part shed, one for food and one for shelter so he can come and go as he pleases.
It will also collect rain water so he has a simple source of fresh water at all times.

An open entrance will be protected by a shelter wall, and also face North East, away from the prevailing winds.

 I hope the bugger appreciates the trouble I go to for him.

I am looking as well at underfloor heating systems, the idea being to use a small wind turbine to heat water that is piped through the floor plate, but that is still being researched.

Anyway, its a plan - and anything I learn from it I may be able to apply to another project.
Certainly the independent water, heat and perhaps even power ideas can have other applications elsewhere for others.

Now to try and get it done as cheaply as possible!!

Any advice on wind turbine to water heater most welcome

Sabbatical - ish

So - there is a time when I need to concentrate on work folks. I'm currently back at work and will be for some time - someone has to work to pay for Delaneys new digs!

I do have a few unfinished or unpublished recipes and when I have time I will try to post them here.

But there are loads of previous posts, and this time of year there are still crops you can put in that grow over the winter or will be ready for next spring.

This is also the time to save seed, make preserves, pickles and make some sauerkraut or equivalent.
Try to store and preserve your harvest, its a shame to waste good food - in particular if you have grown it yourself.

Remember, if you are not growing food, turn the garden over some time between November and January - this allows the frost to break up the ground for you, helps kill off pests and aerated the soil.

One thing I am looking at exploring next year is home brew - the idea being to use my own barley, oats and other veg - so anyone with a bit of skill here is more than welcome to get in contact with me.

Sad thing is things are very tough in Ireland at the moment, with little leadership, vision, imagination or direction - but that really does underline the importance of self sufficiency, self reliance and appreciating what we have.
Growing and foraging food really is enormously rewarding, I started the garden in part to help take my mind off problems, and it has given so much back - and the blog is a way of sharing that -
So thanks to all readers and visitors so far, especially those who have taken the time to comment - next year we will be making booze, so I'm really looking forward to that  - keep on digging.

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Shortlisted for Grafton Media Irish Blog Awards!!

I am delighted to let readers know that Irish Kitchen Garden - A Connemara Croft - has been shortlisted for the Grafton Media Irish Blog Awards 2012 in two categories!!



The two categories are The Best Food/Drink blog sponsored by Glenisk and Best Lifestyle.

Getting on the shortlist alone is something that really delights me, quite chuffed really.
Being selected with some superb blogs, pro, semi-pro and amatuers (like myself) most of them very talented (unlike me)

2012 Grafton Media Irish Blog Awards

To my delight and surprise the blog has been nominated in three catagories for the 2012 Irish Blog Awards which are sponsored by Grafton Media.
This little hobby of mine started a few years back for a few reasons, and its very rewarding to recieve this news.

Whatever happens with these awards I know from emails and comments that my efforts have in a small way have helped others, and thats the main reason I keep it going - however eratically.

I started my garden to do something productive, to reduce my food miles and as a sort of therapy after a serious assault.
The physical work and thought process do help to overcome trauma, and the reward of a good crop is something to look forward to rather than the stress of the past.

A major theme in the blog is the use of home grown, foraged, locally sourced or Irish produce where possible. This includes adapting recipes from other cuisines and their modification, quite often their improvement, in using native products.

For that reason its really brilliant that the sponsors of the food and drink award are an Irish Organic dairy company -  Glenisk - who are celebrating 25 years.
Wierdly I used their whole milk organic yogurt in a very recent recipe that I still need to post !!

A lot of old cookbooks have been browsed over for hours in doing this - I set out to do was to develop my cooking skills, but also to maintain simplicity - I did not want to have to use special equipment in anything I prepare.

It has at times been frustrating, particularly this summer with the lack of good weather and the tremendous abundance of weed growth that has been so bad its even been written about in UK papers!So at least its not just me :-)

The next series of dates are
8th Sept – Short list published
29th Sept - Finalist list published
13th October – Awards ceremony

So, lets wait and see whats next

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Garden on TV

Well, it was fun to make. My garden featured on the Irish Language TV channel in Ireland, TG4, presented by Síle Nic Chonaonaigh.

The series title is Garrai Glas (Green Garden) and can be seen with subtitles in english with theTG4 online player - the series is filed under entertainment.

The first part of program can be seen, without subtitles, at the Garrai Glas home page 

Hope you find it enjoyable

New kitchen garden ideas 2012 - wall gardens, gates and gutters!

Keeping a kitchen garden is as much about experimenting as it is about food - your making your own mark on a small corner of the world.

I have been meaning to better fence off the kitchen garden patch for a while.

A self closing gate as a feature as much as a function. The running gear (rope) will be spliced and tidied later in a more seaman like manner as is appropriate - but its sort of a tribute to - or perhaps a momento mori of - those who went before me.

The gate was welded up by a friend. The gate body is an old drying rack from a Stanley No.8 range my Grandmother got in around 1946.
My Granddad apparently preferred the old open fireplace, so she had it delivered and installed while he was out fishing, fait acomplis.
Hinges and pulleys came from O Malleys shop in Rosmuc, Connemara - a really great family run old fashioned business who have everything you will need from the cradle to the grave. 

The counterweight is pig iron from the old sash windows of Ardmore National school which was renovated in 1987-1988.
My Dad was headmaster and salvaged them for use as ballast in Galway hookers, but I found a few in the garden when developing it.
 They were in the windows from about 1878 until 1988. Now one is still in use pretty much in its original role about 135 years after being cast.

The self closing gate itself was inspired by a dear family friend called James Jocelyn who was an artist from nearby.
As a small child I was fascinated by a self closing gate he built for his garden - much in the same fashion.
The gate was made from materiel's associated with my family, but was certainly inspired by James.
He was a fantastic floral gardener, growing all kinds of blossoms from a hard won patch of stony ground.

I loved to visit him, and even when he was busy he put up with me - how I really don't know.
There was these old swords above the fire place that I would insist on playing with. An old RN sword and a Rapier that had been made in Dublin.

Later on in life as I turned into an adult, I picked up a lot from him about art, literature, culture and history.

James had a friendly but very extraordinarily hyperactive and loud Jack Russell called Noodles, who for some reason would swing a fishing buoy on a rope like a hammer thrower, then release and chase it - In hindsight I think Noodles may have been the origin of the word barking mad.

James was in fact a distant in-law of James Bligh - he of the Bounty, so obviously the accusations of keelhauling, flogging and spread eagling noodles were too tempting to resist. In my defence I think it was only fair in lieu of the fact he frequently told my Mother, and later me, that she must have dropped me on my head as a baby.

James was always supportive and encouraging when I chose to go to Sea as a career, so I do owe him a lot of thanks.
My 21st Birthday present made by him was a wonderful model of St MacDaras church in Connemara marble which still and will always have pride of place.

 

I think perhaps that although the idea for the gate was in train for quite some time that it did not go up until now is a little cathartic - some time back around this time of the year James passed away, he is still missed but having had his humour and intellect as part of my upbringing will always stand me in good stead.

Anyway, there are two more experiments in the garden - the first being the pea gutter.

Old guttering affixed outside the shoring I put in last year over the drain.
I had the guttering re-done last year, so had a load of old, unsightly gutters all over the shop so I recycled them this way rather than driving them all to a recycle centre.

This way I am using both sides of the fence for peas and beans - maybe squash later.
Another set of old guttering added to the top of the supporting posts to grow lettuce/salad type food.
The inspiration for this came from a photo in the US I believe

I have got my hands on lots of climbing legumes so this is pretty much where they will go -
For me its a nitrogen fixer for the soil, and saves a hell of a lot of hassle putting up canes and supports - this is no maintainance once the transplants go into place.
I concentrated on types that do not require shelling like Mange Tout and Green beans, but for good measure I will add some Runner beans and Irish Green peas.

One thing that has defeated me over the years is tomatoes and basil, I dont have and dont thing I really want a polytunnel.
So, the south east facing wall of the house is well sheltered and quite sunny - no trees in the way.

The trellis' came from Aldi last year, very cheap - around €6 each.
The hanging basket brackets came from Lidl this year, €3 each
Using some timber I will be knocking up a few planter boxes for the base, about 1m x 30cm and 30cm deep.
These will be seeded with gherkins, climbing squash and delicate herbs like basil, corriander and quinquilla.
When established and the weather gets warmer they will be slotted in below the trellis to climb away for the summer - and with our short nights I have high hopes.
The black fabric behind the trellis will protect plaster and paint work from the climbers tendrils, and help absorb more heat into the wall.
The hanging baskets will be used to try a variety of tumbling tomato types, we will see which work best.

Anyway, it goes to show with even only a wall, you can still grow your own from the plot to the plate, and even if my peas are in the gutter - they are staring at the stars!

Please feel free to comment if you use any ideas or experiment with something like this

Delaneys new shoes

Farrier just came to see Delaney to have his hooves seen to. He is living a batchelor lifestyle right now - Dotty having moved home, and has moved to winter quarters with open access to a shed.
Things kind of hectic for me right now, having just got back from Guinea, gone home for xmass, caught that bloody stomach bug in Ireland, gone to Holland I'm now in Aberdeen after finishing a HUET course - next stop East Africa!

Since the 21st, Conakry - Casablanca - London - Dublin, bus to Galway on 23rd.
Then Dublin to Schipol on the 30th, Aberdeen yesterday and this morning, next stop London, on to Dubai, Nairobi and Mombassa - joining a new ship there. Busy - too much airport food!

Alcohol and the garden

Two of my favorite subjects, the garden and beer. Alcohol can be of real use in pest control.
If you have a problem with killing bugs with booze, remember, at least they die happy.

Well, first and foremost - beer traps for slugs. I have dealt with this in a past posting but a new simpler design is what I call the dolmen.
Simply sink an old jar or can into the bed until the rim is just clear of the soil.
Then place some stones around it to give some clearance and cover with a small slab of slate or stone.

Alcohol sprays are good as organic garden pest control, especially against aphids, whiteflies, and mealybugs. If you are using meths alcohol spray, use the 70%. Mix one litre of water with 300ml of alcohol.
Never spray your plants with undiluted alcohol.
Do a test, spray a few leaves first and check for damage.
Any injury to your plant should be apparent within a few days.

Then Fruit Flies - they have been known to like a tipple - real rot gut.
Fill up a saucer of some cheap white wine and add a little detergent to it. 
Leave it around for the flies to sip and die 
Finally, although debatable I find this method effective at times. Do you have a problem with cats and dogs? Plan this for when you expect them. Get a skinfull - I find cheap whisky best - then after it takes effect run around half naked, ranting, screaming abuse and chucking random items at the offending animals, works for a short period anyway and at least it gives the neighbours something to talk about- may attract men with white coats. 

While reading this post, why not check out one of the best bands ever to come out of Canada, kinda a theme song for me at times.


 

Delaney delivers

The perennial bed needs a fair bit of prep, and thats where Delaney helps out by providing a fair bit of manure.

I ordered some asparagus crowns from Mr.Middletons, which should be here next week along with some jeruselem artichoke.
What I am using for fertilizer is a mixture of seaweed, donkey manure and compost from kitchen waste.

I realise I am lucky when it comes to sorting organic fertilizer, but at the same time it has taken a lot of effort in tems of providing carrots and apples all year.

As for Delilah, Delaneys friend, we are expecting another delivery - and that I will post as soon as I know

One thing I do want to find is old kreels, or Donkey panniers, I think if Mr D benefits from the garden he should provide a bit of labour in that direction - all offers or ideas welcome to make Delaney work for  living rather - as Mamo Corcaigh would say - sit around smoking fags and playing cards all day.

He has taken recently to braying at any stranger on the road to provide apples and carrots - that kind of behaviour needs to end

Snowbound in Connemara

Just a few photos of the recent snow, worst I've ever seen in Ireland - in particular this far west with the gulf stream.
The Donkeys have moved back to Delilahs place until the cold snap passes, but the cattle seem happy enough where they are given enough fodder.
The Carna/Cill Ciaran region are among the worst affected in the country - no gritting etc. The nearest drivable road is the Clifden/Galway main road, as usual this far west and Galway CoCo dont give a fiddlers.

Nosey Donkey

Its all fairly hard core at the minute - and the most ironic thing is that the freezer just broke down

Moo-hawk

Garden on ice

Snowed in tomb

Delaney and Delilah on the move

Snowbound croft

Talking about the weather

Moonlight Donkeys

Here endeth the road

Pretty Cold!

Waiting for food

Moonlight cows

Fodder fiend

Cool Cats

Whats this?

Whoa! Me no likes

Whahh - Me really no likes!!!