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.

Seeds - sprouting to eat and testing viability

I love seeds - little packets of potential, each and every one.

In fact I'm sure that my excitement at seeing growth burst forth those seeds is part of my enticement to sprout seeds to eat, like these green lentils, that are just starting to put out their first shoots (or is it roots?).

Anyway, it genuinely does excite me every time I see my seeds come alive.

At this time of year I have to resort to putting them into the airing cupboard at night to encourage them.

I always have something in my seed sprouter. As well as green lentils (which taste mildy spicy) I like a steady supply of alfalfa -

Here it is ready for consumption (usually in salads or smoothies)

I also liked sprouted beans, these are some adzuki beans I'm sprouting in an old cotton tea sock.

Mung beans are also a favourite. There is something very fresh and alive about eating these tender wee shoots. They are also very nutritious.

Luckily, the time has come when I can do more than sprout my alfalfa. I have a plethora of seeds thats I've collected and part used over the past few years. I'm not sure which are still viable, so I test them by sprouting them.

I soak them in water for 6 - 12 hours and then pout them in a container on some damp kitchen roll and put them in the airing cupboard for warmth.

I can already happily note that my pea bijou and cherokee trail of tears beans from 2009 are still viable. I'd nearly given up on my Jacob's cattle bean (below) but even they are making a belated .. and slightly begrudging attempt to come to life.

I have many more to try and I think its better to do it now, than try to sow them in the spring, find out what isn't viable, order more and wait for delivery. This way, I'm pretty sure of what will grow and what won't. It also keeps me busy in these 'lean' sowing times, before things really get busy in March.

Of course, I couldn't resist starting some onions from seed today. I've decided to pre soak them overnight although I don't know if they need it, but there's no harm in it.

In the clear glass we have onion batalan and in the pink glass we have long red florence.

Last week I started some broad beans (Super Aquadulce) - which I'm sure do benefit from pre soaking, as it really helps them swell and take up water. I'm sure it gives them a head start.

I had to start them off in the house, in an unheated propagator. I tried starting them last year in the glass barn, but my first sowing was eaten by mice.

This time, I'll wait until the shoots appear before putting them out or in the barn.

In the picture below, if you look VERY carefully, you can see the very first signs of shoots coming up. I'm starting to salivate at the thought of them already - silly me.

I'll do some successional sowing of my broad beans this year, as they were very popular last year and I'd love to extend the season. I'll start them off in modules and probably plant the first batch in containers (they did well in containers last year) and, fingers crossed, I might be able to transplant the second batch to the Leitrim garden .. or put them in containers that we could bring down to Leitrim, if we get to start building again.

The date for the planning decision is set for the end of January. I've asked the engineer and councillor to talk to the planners now, so if they have any issues with the new reports we can sort it now. Otherwise, their favourite game is to wait and send a letter asking for further information on the decision due date, thus postponing the decision (they must have done this twice already).

So, fingers and toes are crossed that we get it sorted this time. The environmental impact report is glowingly good, we've made more changes to the reedbed spec, including better drainage around the bed, and added a willow bed to the sewerage system to comply with their new regulations (that came in after we'd built the reed bed and had the plans for it approved) .. and we've been waiting since the end of September 2009 to get this sorted. (At the time they said it would take 6 - 8 weeks. Things really do move at their own pace in Ireland).

It really would - will ? - be lovely to tell you all that the 'adventure' is resumed and that we'll get down to resume the build and the gardening in Leitrim this Spring.

Until then, I can keep planning the details .. and dreaming of having our own home and garden again.

Container gardening

We have blue skies again here in Co. Down, after a couple of days of rain, which was very good for the plants.

Anyway, I thought it was time that I shared my cobbled together attempt at container gardening this summer.

It was a bit of a mish mash, as I'd planned to garden on site in Leitrim, but, that wasn't to be, so luckily, I put together a few containers so that I wouldn't miss my gardening and home grown veg fix - whatever the circumstances!

My aunt's fantastic barn with the glass roof (see above picture) has become home to lots of crops this summer and works great as a greenhouse .. but I'm trying not to take it over too much.

The picture below shows the half of the barn that I've been using. In the foreground are peppers - sweet and chilli, behind that is the sweetcorn, to the sides are tomatoes and right at the back are some cucumberesque vines, a cucumber and a late bloomer of a melon .. and some peanuts.

Here to the side are some squashes (do I ever learn??) - both are courgettes in this picture (do courgettes officiallly count as squashes? .. they do to me) and another tomato.

One of the courgettes has good flowers and already a growing fruit (you can see it in the middle of the picture if you look carefully).

I tried cucumber, in too small a pot really, and was pleasantly surprised that I already have a lovely fruit forming and couple more looking promising.

Here are the sweetcorn. They are the riskiest of all. I'm not sure if they are meant to do well in pots, but as I had seed ready I thought I'd try. I half thought of trying them outside, but it gets windy up here and I thought they would be stressed. Anyway, the barn is warmer.

They are very close together, so it will be interesting to see if they do ok.

You can already see the stalks forming that will have the tassels and cobs, so I might be in with a chance - as long as I keep them well watered etc. I just can't pass up the chance of super fresh sweetcorn, there's nothing quite like it.

I have a few different tomatoes. This one is a purple ukrainan plum variety, you can see it starting to elongate already.

My other type are cherry tomatoes I think. The seeds are from plants that I grew in this barn in 2008, so I'm hoping they will do well. They already have good fruits forming.

I also tried some peppers this year and they are flowering also. I think this one is 'Nigel's Outdoor Pepper' from Real Seeds. I didn't risk him outdoors!

This is Sweet Chocolate Sweet Bell Pepper, as from Real Seeds. I get lots of my seeds from them.

Here we have hot purple pepper, the foliage is quite dark on the plants and the flowers have a lovely purple hue.

I also started a couple of peanuts - in big pots this time - to see what happens.

Well, that all that's in the barn. Of course, I did do a few things outside as well.

We have some carrots (that I forgot to photograph) and some celery that is nearly ready.

I put a few flowers in containers to brighten the place up. They got a bit slugged, but there are some survivors. I think this is a scabious - from a mixed annual packet.

I'm very excited about the broad beans. The pods must be nearly full size by now. (I can be caught hovering nearby with a pan of boiling water, desperate to get shelling and eating them)

The ducks are enjoying their pond lots - here they are 'poolside'. As for the chickens, Bennie is doing well but unfortunately Madeline passed away, soon after my last post. So, Bennie is our only chicken right now. The ducks keep her company so she's not too lonely, I hope. We'll figure out what to do soon enough. I don't really want to get any more hens until we are back down in Leitrim. We shall see.

I love this kale, with it's pink stems and veins. It's really tasty too.

Further into the garden - Elvie suns himself near the teepee (his favourite spot when he's not on my knee).

I took the risk of putting a couple of squashes at the base of the teepee, to see if they would grow up well through it. (It also means they aren't hogging valuable barn space and it's ok if they get thuggush - as squashes ofthen do).

On the right is a blue banana squash (the trick with them is to cook them whole, as the skin is hard to cut into) and on the left we have a summer yellow patty pan squash.

Here's a close up of a dianthis (carnation) - aren't flowers amazing natural works of art?

We also have some fruit in the garden - not in pots. Here are some of the raspberries we brough over in 2007.

Here are some of our lovely apples, also brought over in 2007. Can't quite remember wnat variety they are .. some sort of Russett maybe .. but I do remember that thy're very tasty.

Here are some of my aunt's currants - black and white. They've been here for years, never fertilized or tended to and yet they come back strongly year after year.

I couldn't have a summer without a calendula somewhere (in a pot this year). I never have the heart to eat them, they're just too pretty.

I have no such hesitation with the parsley though. This is a french curly parsley ..

and this one is an italian giant flat leaved variety.

Well, thats about it for now.

I may not have a polytunnel, or a dedicated garden this year, but it doesn't matter. There is always room for a pot or two!

I also have some salad leaves and new potatoes .. and peas .. and beans .. that I forgot to photograph.

I'll let you know how well everything crops.

X Ferris

Mice, slugs and Spring blooms

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week I had a mammoth seed sowing fest - and have these shelves up now in the barn to accommodate all those new seed trays. I had the seed and even if i don't know where I'll put all the plants I couldn't face not growing them this year.

The weather has been quite warm during the days for a while, so I've also been hardening some seedlings off outside.

I thought, with the weather warming, that I wouldn't have a problem with mice anymore. If you remember, they ate some broad bean seeds - from the pots - back in February.

Alas, I underestimated the dedication of mice to finding a good snack. Stupidly, I'd put some seeds on the bottom level of the shelves and that proved too much of a temptation to Mr / Mrs / Miss Mouse.

I noticed on Thursday that I'd lost some cauliflower, calendula, sweet peas, sunflowers and nasturtiums. I've had to re-buy the nasturtiums and sweet peas. I have reserves of the rest.

If you look closely at this pic you can see that Mr Mouse likes a nibble of nasturtiums, but won't finish the lot!

On Thursday I also noticed that the broad beans I'd put out this week have started to get slug damage.

You can see it here on these leaves. I did a night time patrol yesterday and caught three big slugs!

Yesterday, Frenchie the chicken had a relapse (she was a bit poorly over Easter - but improved again). The vet thinks it's a gut infection. So, we've had to separate her, so we can give her medicine in her water. She isn't impressed. We put Madelene(the friendliest and daftest chicken) in with her at night to keep her warm and cosy.

Here's Frenchie this morning in her makeshift little pen.

Hopefully, thats all our 'bad luck' for now (I'm trying to not even think of the ongoing planning hold ups - we're now waiting on the reedbed report, which we need before we can make our next submission. We were meant to get it three weeks ago - but it's hard to hurry anything up in Leitrim - even if it drives you daft waiting!)

Anyway, it's a new day today and I have some replacement seeds ready to sow.

Our potatoes are starting to make an appearance now in the bags.

My red lettuce if finally turning red (after being green with nasty dark blotches).

Outside, work goes on clearing the drive at my aunts.

I even got her a couple of herbs for the sunny south facing bed, which should be done soon.

For myself, I couldn't resist a wee anemone that will probably come to Leitrim with us. It's always out so early in the year, I find it really cheery.

Outside we have some willow cuttings that I'll try to plant up.

They are this years prunings from the teepee we made a few years back.

Out in the lane, the spring flowers are well underway. Here's the aconite (?).

and here's some wood anenome.

I'm not sure what this is, but it's growing up the wall of my aunts house. Small, but beautifully formed.

Here's her Camellias, just coming into flower now.

Even her redcurrants and showing signs of life.

I've even taking some cutting some rose prunings. It's a big, old fashioned, shrub rose. I'll pot it up soon and see if it 'takes'.