Bon voyage alliums

At last, some of the plants that I've started this year have travelled down to Leitrim :-)

Today, Sam took the garlic, onion sets and leeks down with him in the car.

I still won't be down until next week - but they are hardy enough to manage until then.

Sam was down last week, working on the vents for the heat recovery system and setting up for the plumbing. He didn't take any pictures. Mind you, pictures of tubing / piping might not seem to exciting - but I'll remind him to take pics this week.

Here's what the car looked like before he went down.

Garlic and onions in the boot.

More garlic (including 2 elephant garlic) on the back seat.

Some leeks .. and some more garlic (with more unseen in the footwell) on the front passenger seat.

That should keep any vampires away for a while. I didn't mean to plant THAT much, but every time our shop bought garlic started sprouting, I just had to plant it, especially the scrawny ones that are hardly worth peeling. So, garlic is in good supply.I might add some of the tiny ones to the flower bed and keep the 'proper' ones (2 cloves of Flavor) for the vegetable bed.

There are still a lot more seedlings to be moved down. This picture is just SOME of them. I fancy sticking to my planting plan, even though I'll have more ssedlings to bring down next week. I've also purchased some more flower seeds (tagetes, poached egg plant, nigella) to sow in situ soon - to divide patches of bed and make the place colourful.

Here are some of the broad beans waiting to go down.

All we need now is to get the Bongo van cheered up and running again. Otherwise it'll be a few trips in the car, especially with ducks and cats, which could be quite a juggling act.

I'm sending the Bongo Van good energy and trusting that Sam can get it sorted when he comes back at the end of the week.

Meanwhile, I'm busy trying to source paint - and we need a LOT of paint that is benign to us and nature and also affordable - and source other materials, while I have good internet access.

I reckon we can have the phone line in soon - a good neighbor came today (impromptu) and helped Sam feel the telephone cable down the piping . Luckily it was sorted easily (he put some flexible water pipe down it and ran the cable through with it - then removed the water pipe).

We'll need to remember the rope when we lay the piping for the electric - the ESB won't touch it if you don't.

I'm really looking forward to getting the phone in, as the mobile signal is very weak and I fancy conversations that last until the end without breaking up or dropping. It will make ordering things a bit easier when we're down.

And the electricity - well - it'll be party time when we have that in - and can run the well properly and easily run gadgets, lights and things other than tools (which naturally get priority with the generator).

My fingers are crossed that the good weather will remain (or at least return by next week), so I can go re-aquatint myself with the garden whilst basking in cheery sunlight. The sunshine lately just makes everything look lovely and lush and gorgeous. Long may it continue.

Ready To Spring Into Action

We've had two sunny days in a row up here in Castlewellan - bliss.

Sally has been taking advantage of the good weather and has taken to sunbathing on the doorstep. Good move methinks.

I have been joining her as often as I can. I'm nursing myself through a cold right now (I rarely get them) and although it is cold morning and evening the warmth of the sunshine is delightful (and with all the sneezing and nose blowing I haven't really been fit for much else).

I'm glad to be on the mend, for its really time to spring into action with the house building again.

Our official letter, the one they send a month after the initial decision - giving time for people to comment etc, was apparently sent out today. That will be 'the end of it'.

The couple of days of sunshine has been a morale booster - I'm dreaming of a sunny and warm Spring and Summer, with picnic lunches on the grass and moments of caught sunshine inbetween flurries of activity and general getting on with things. (Sally will be morale officer - usually found snoozing, as below)

We'll return next week - Sam wants the letter in his hands before he starts anything!

There are stud walls upstairs to put up, taping and jointing for me to do, the reedbed changes to sort out - it won't be dull, thats for sure.

Leo, another doorstep sunbather, is head supervisor - and cats are no pushover, so the work will have to be good.

In between my snufflings and sneezings, I've had moments of pure excitement - that we'll have a home again, that we can actively make progress and be where we want to be.

Until then, fingers crossed that there will be some more sunshine for Sally to enjoy.

Of course, it wasn't only the animals soaking up the rays. I've been tending to a few plants too. Here are the broad beans that we'll bring down to Leitrim to plant out.

Here's some garlic that will come down with us too.

Here are some saladlings that I sowed late last Autumn, as a trial. Now, there isn't a lot there, but they are coming on. There's pak choi that I might use soon and I'll probably pot on the lettuces and other wee orientals.

I did a similar trial, sowing last autumn, in the glass roofed barn. These are really coming on well (even though there isn't a huge amount, its good fun to see how well they do). Again, I have a mix of orientals - pak choi and mizuna, some lettuce and corn salad.

I also started some broad beans inside the barn early in the year and I've kept them inside until now. I'm not yet sure if I'll keep them in, for a very early crop, or harden them off - so they get to experience the great outdoors. I've interplanted them with some white viola - just for fun.

Earlier in the year, I sprouted some peas, to test their viability, and I used the tips as pea shoots. I decided to stick the remaining shoots in a pot in the glass barn. I don't know if they'll grow well - as the tips have been trimmed - but I intend to find out.

Last, but not least, are the tomatoes and peppers that were started indoors. I repotted them today and I'm hoping to transfer them to the glass barn now, before they get too leggy.

Next time, I'll post some pics from our last trip to Leitrim .. and soon, that will be our main focus again - thank goodness.

Winter slow down?

Well, we're heading into winter now. Those nights are getting really long and it's getting colder for sure. Some say winter is a time for slowing down. In some ways that rings true. We're still not able to work on the house, due to ongoing planning issues, so building work is still halted and will remain so until early next year if things drag on (and believe me they they are dragging).

Yet, there is always plenty to do.

Here's a picture of our late blooming butternut squashes. We got 5 squashes from 2 plants - but I was late germinating them, I think I started them off in April.

I've been experimenting with drying the seeds from our pumpkins and squashes. I never factored in the TIME that it takes to 'process' seeds for eating - guess I was too busy planting and tending things to even consider it.

Well, it does take time. Squash seeds are really slimy when first removed, so need washing and drying, but it is worth it, as they taste great and are full of goodness.

With time on my hands I also started shelling the sunflower seeds that I'd collected from my polytunnel giants. Some of the seedheads, even in the tunnel, had got a bit mouldy and some others still had a lot of immature seeds (without a proper seed inside the shell), but we had some really nice ones. I find it quite meditative shelling the seeds - but you really do need to find the time. Would be tricky if we had a tight schedule.

The linseeds were even trickier (no photo - sorry) to shell and a lot of time shelling provided slim results.

The quinoa (pictured below), just needed the seed coating rubbing off. There are a LOT of seeds though.

Now the frosts have come we've been digging up our oca tubers. We haven't tried any yet. I hear they are quite versatile to cook with. We'll let you know how we get on.

I've been trying to dry out of black cherokee trail of tears beans. They're part way dry. I'm not sure how to cook them that way - they're aren't quite fresh or quite dry.

Some of my garlic is emerging. I have them in pots overwinter, so they can get a spell of cold without being in really damp ground, then I'll plant them out in spring.

In the tunnel the salads are doing well. We have a few sneaky slugs and caterpillars but noting too drastic. We did have some pak choi that succumbed to vine weevil (don't know how that got in) but most are fine.

The brussel sprouts are absolutely gorgeous. Just hope we manage to save some for Christmas dinner!

I'm trying some cardboard collars round my brassicas. I have started some cauliflower and broccoli so we get an early crop in the tunnel next year.

It's time now to dig up the sweet potatoes (the leaves that look like ivy in the picture). We'll get a few - but we won't be quite self sufficient in them yet ... unless I get a few more polytunnels ;-)

Growing my own has been an eye opener in many ways. I don't mind that I get small yields (as I plant small amounts). In a way I appreciate things more when they are seasonal. Quality not quantity is ok. There is a buzz out of picking a few choice blueberries from the bush that outweighs buying an expensive punnet of them from the supermarket.

That where we're lucky to have the best of both worlds - growing our own as best we can and then supplementing it with veggies from elsewhere when we need to. It can be tricky though these days - do you prioritize local or organic? It can be quite a brain teaser that one, enough to tempt me to stick more closely to seasonal produce that can more easily be both. Yet, they say variety is the spice of life and to eat a varied diet. What do you think?

I must admit that I do hanker after being relatively self sufficient even though I know its a pipe dream (as somewhere along the line it could take too much work and time and thus become less fun) . I joke to Sam that I'll put an acre to goji berries and turn the really damp patch into a paddy field for rice. Thing is , I'm only half joking.

I guess it's good to have a dream, even a pipe dream. Whatever I end up doing in 'the field', I know I'll have fun trying. To me thats the key. Fingers crossed that we'll get to have fun building our house again soon (all positive thoughts, vibes and prayers for us being able to get our planning finally sorted and our build back on track are very greatly appreciated).

I'll sign off with a picture of our nasturtiums (interspersed with a few leeks) appreciating the shelter of the polytunnel.