What does it mean when your vegetables are ‘bolting’?

September 29, 2012

Onion (Allium) Flower

When you’re involved in gardening it’s very easy to forget that simple terms we use on a day-to-day basis might as well be written or spoken in another language to non-gardeners. A question I’ve been asked a few times recently is “What’s a bolting vegetable?”, followed by “Why does it do that?” and “Can I stop it happening?”. As several of my plants are currently bolting, or in other terms ‘going to seed’, it seems like a good time to explain.

What is Bolting?

Visions of carrots uprooting, donning Lycra and sprinting across fields aside, the term bolting is used to describe plants that are starting to flower prematurely – or in other words before we’d like them to. Many plants can be affected – this year I’ve seen lettuce, spinach, cauliflower, kale, chard and onions produce flowers much earlier than we would have liked.

Parsley Flowers

What causes Bolting?

Vegetable plants will turn to seed automatically when their life cycle is coming to an end – it’s their natural state to want to reproduce and spread their seed before they die. However, if they become stressed they may produce flowers much earlier.

Another reason is that some plants (radish, lettuce and spinach for instance) are sensitive to the lengthening daylight hours and will take the opportunity to start producing flowers.

How do plants become ‘stressed’?

So what causes our onions to throw out long stems with pretty pompom flowers on top or our kale to develop delicate yellow flowers that the bees and hoverflies adore?

Unsettled weather conditions are a prime cause of stress that will cause bolting and 2012 gave us a good example.

Chive Flower

We experienced a mild winter which continued into early spring. This was followed by a couple of weeks of lovely warm weather at a time many of us were sowing our seeds – if memory serves me correctly the end of May was a bit of scorcher (by Irish standards) and under normal circumstances would have been the prime direct sowing time for many plants. However, by early June the warm days continued (albeit quite damp) but night-time temperatures plunged, almost to zero on a few occasions. These fluctuations in temperature would have been enough to stress developing seedlings.

Another stress factor might include dry soil – a result of warm days and erratic watering which can be avoided once you’re aware of it.

Kale Flowers

Can we stop bolting?

We can certainly delay it. As soon as you spot a thick stem starting to appear in the middle of your onion plant, snap it off – if you allow it to continue it will put all its energy into producing a flower and not into developing an onion bulb as can be seen in the example below. If you notice kale developing flowers rather than leaves, snap them off too.

An onion that has been allowed to flower ~ at the expense of a large bulb

You can buy bolt resistant seeds for vegetables that are prone to it – there’s a popular variety of beetroot for instance called ‘Boltardy’.

Starting seedlings off in modules and planting them out once temperatures have settled often helps (although this year may have proved the exception).

Ensure your soil is in good condition. If it is, your plants will be stronger, grow faster and you’ll be harvesting them earlier, often before they’ve had a chance to become weather stressed or succumbed to the lengthening days.

Is there anything else I can do?

It might be worth remembering that many vegetable flowers are not only beautiful but edible too. There’s a lovely article here in the State-by-State Gardening Newsletter that has images of some very pretty vegetable flower arrangements. Here’s an example of one I like that is totally edible containing flowers from kale, fennel, verbena, rocket, peas, onion, beet and chard:

Photo credit: Cindy Shapton, www.cindyshapton.com

Did you notice an increase in bolting this year or have you made flower arrangements from vegetable flowers? I’m heading out now to pick a few kitchen garden flowers for my table that I mightn’t have thought of before. If you can’t afford to buy cut flowers on a regular basis, perhaps you need look no further than your own garden or hedgerow…

Community Gardens

Community Gardening ~ Website goes live AND a model for us all

September 22, 2012

Ballybeg CDP

I’ve had this post floating around my mind for several days but have been struggling with how best to convey my enthusiasm for ~~two~~ three community gardening projects of differing kinds that have surrounded me this week… do I tell you about them one post at a time or all at once? They are interconnected so I’m going for the latter and hope you’ll stick with me!!

To start with I’d like to introduce you to a community garden project that we were taken to in Waterford at the Harvest Festival.

Ballybeg Community Development Project (CDP)

As we drove past the gardens in our little tour bus I initially thought we were driving past a nursery, until we parked up in front that is. Full of (enviably huge) polytunnels and people chatting together, working alone but generally looking busy these gardens were set up in 2008 to help and support the local community. Project managed by Liz Riches, with funding and help from local business, government agencies and the local council who donated the land in an area where unemployment runs at 50%, many FETAC accredited and hobby courses have taken place here. Apart from the courses, over 30 small community/allotment plots are available for local residents for just €2.00 a month too.

Ballybeg CDP liaise and provide courses for children’s groups and schools, traveller and ethnic groups, people on the autistic spectrum, as well as employed and unemployed men and women which gives the project a real sense of inclusion and offers individuals the opportunity to cross invisible boundaries that often keep them apart.

Is it possible to overuse the word inspired? Possibly but if anywhere deserves it, it’s Ballybeg. The courses have been going so well that in 2011 the team opened a not-for-profit garden and advice centre that also offers a landscaping and design service, with all the proceeds being ploughed back into the CDP. Paul Powers, one of our tour guides for the brief time we were there could barely hide his excitement that The Secret Millionnaire had paid a recent visit to the garden project – a highlight for all those who’ve worked so hard to ensure the gardens success, both in voluntary and paid capacities.

Aside from the training and social elements, the project also works with the local business community. The first polyunnel we were introduced to was full of salads earmarked (for amongst others) Bodega, a vibrant bistro in the centre of Waterford we were to eat at later that evening.

Which brings me neatly to the second project…

Kilkenny Leader Partnership (KLP) Rural Development Programme – Community Food Partnership

Several months ago I was invited to tender for a new initiative led by KLP, tutoring and advising community gardens in my area. Yesterday I was delighted to hear that funding has been approved and I will shortly be meeting and working with new Goresbridge and Callan gardeners. This project takes community gardening a step further in that apart from offering all the usual benefits (some of which I’ve outlined in previous posts) it specifically aims to help individuals recognise possible self-employment opportunities.

As the recession bites deeper and environmental concerns grow, these projects are exciting and important elements that show communities the potential and power that working together (as clearly demonstrated in the Ballybeg story above) can achieve. They are at the heart of developing strategies for creating more sustainable communities.

The Community Garden Network Group

At the 2011 GIY Gathering a workshop was held on community gardening where we explored the need for a network group and made an appeal for anyone interested to sign up. I volunteered to coordinate the group. Ten people signed up there and then and a couple of months later we held our first meeting in Dublin with over 40 attendees from across the island. We’ve had two further meetings which have resulted in a common goal of launching an online presence for community gardeners in Ireland and Northern Ireland – exactly a year after we made the initial plea.

A year might seem like a long time to launch a site but there were many elements and groups to consider and everyone involved has done so in a voluntary capacity with no outside funding. Importantly the CGNG is a member-led independent group that currently has five partner organisations in the form of Transition Ireland & NI, Dublin City Growers, Healthy Food for All, GIY Ireland and The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardener who are all keen to see this work.

This online presence gives anyone involved with community gardening something new. It gives us the opportunity from one central location to share, advise, and help others whether they are new to community gardening or old hands, on the periphery or fully involved.

How does all this tie in?

Without my harvest festival trip I wouldn’t have known about Ballybeg CDP. As a result of that trip I will be able to pass on that knowledge to the KLP project as well as liaise and pick up tips from the Ballybeg team. The work and knowledge they are prepared to share will be invaluable not only to me but to other similar projects setting up around the country (there’s one in Cork in its early development stage for instance).

Amongst other advantages, the new CGN ning site will give us the opportunity to quickly share and find out about these types of projects, give us contact points and enable us to create our own inner community supporting one another.

If you know of anyone who might benefit from knowing about the Community Garden Network and its online presence, please help us get the word out and point them in the direction of the new site here.

Maybe a sense of community is something you develop as you get older and perhaps it’s one of the reasons that social media is so important in many people’s lives in that somewhere along the line we’ve lost that sense.

Yes we come into this world alone and we’ll be leaving it alone, but life’s sure a lot easier when there are people around to support, befriend and care in the middle.

Leighlin Parish Community Gardeners – Sharing the Harvest

Green and Vibrant, Travel

Celebrating the harvest in Waterford

September 15, 2012

For centuries people around the world have been celebrating the annual harvest having spent months toiling the land growing their crops. Though the meaning of it has skewed slightly over recent years for many of us with the arrival of convenience foods, the festival itself is thankfully alive and well, and no more so than in Waterford city where they are celebrating FOOD!

Between the 10th to 16th September the Waterford Harvest Festival has been offering anyone with a love of food and drink the opportunity to sample local produce and I was very lucky this week to have been given the opportunity to spend a couple of days getting a taster of what they have to offer.

There’s so much in the packed programme I’ll be covering (a fraction of it) in a couple of blog posts as the organisers of this annual event have put together an impressive range of activities. From Viking banquets to exhibitions, delicious dinners and a bronze age Fulacht Fia, the week culminates in a food village on the Sunday that spans the length of the quay. Not forgetting either that the GIY Gathering is also taking place and I’ll be back there for the community garden network workshop and talk which I’ll fill you in on too. For now I’ll share a taster of what you might experience if you take a slow food tour. Each daily tour has been different and often combined with a food producing garden visit too.

First up, what’s a Slow Food Tour?

Throughout the week Dennis has been safely driving groups of 8 to 15 people around in a minibus to different food and drink producers and gardens around the city with the very knowledgeable Donal acting as guide. Over forty business were earmarked for these tours and many have now welcomed visitors into their premises for mini tours, demonstrations and tasters, with business owners sharing their stories and most importantly their passion for what they do.

The Coffee Warehouse

The only coffee roasting house in the South East, Mark Bergin’s family business imports only green beans and roasts them on site. I’m not a massive coffee drinker and have never thought about how the beans turn from a seed to an aromatic drink but Mark expertly explained this fascinating process. The Coffee Warehouse supplies many local hotels and restaurants and I was particularly impressed to learn that they are able to talk to buyers about mixing blends tailored to suit them. We arrived at the warehouse to aromas I wish I could bottle and left with a kilo bag that we’d seen roasted, cooled and packed! What a great start to the day.

Glorious Sushi

Here’s where I own up to never having eaten sushi – the thought of raw fish has always put me off. Until now that is. Tetyani welcomed us into her unit, explained how she started her business, how she learnt her trade, taught us how to cook the rice, prepare the fish and vegetables then roll and wrap the seaweed. The group then had a go… if anyone remembers Bruce Forsyth’s Generation Game back in the ’80s that was us! Afterwards we were able to taste the sushi we’d made, but more importantly the delicious offerings from Tetyani. If you’ve always been nervous about trying sushi, this is the way to try it. Seeing it prepared, listening to the traditions surrounding it certainly helps to dispel any fears. Oh and if you do eat it and pick up a hint of the very hot wasabi, bare in mind that 1kg of the hot green stuff costs a staggering €300!

The Metalman Brewery

I wont deny this was a tour we were all looking forward to and we weren’t disappointed. Grainne and Tim showed us around their small independent brewery, explained malts, tasted grains and talked about techniques. At present their ales can only be found in kegs at various festivals and pubs which was a big disappointment after we tasted the delicious Alternator (a golden wheat beer) and the stronger tasting Pale Ale! It’s early days for Metalman so first things first but they have plans to start bottling so keep an eye out!

Kite Design Studios

Not a food tour but included in our trips was a visit to The Kite Design Centre which houses several Waterford based artists from glass to silver to print and fashion. It’s open six days a week and you can watch the artists work, chat to them, order pieces or commission work from them. These guys have been fully supported by the council and Enterprise Board and it’s great to see that although they are seperate businesses in themselves, they also collaborate. The silversmith and printer produce pieces that compliment each other and are sold together – a necklace with a fish pendent would be accompanied with a handmade and framed print of a fish for instance. The price ranges start low and head upwards making the artists products available to all. This is a studio well worth popping in to.

M & D Bakery

Waterford is home of the famous Blaa and our tour of a bakery that specialises in this particular type of bap or bun began at M & D Bakery where we were able to see Blaas being mixed, rolled, flattened and baked. Unlike our group at 8.30 in the morning, Michael and Dermot were wide awake, welcoming, friendly and enthusiastic. Their day starts much earlier as deliveries to local shops have to be out of the door by 5am each morning. Here the guys explained the whole bread making process then fried up some bacon and buttered some blaas so we could enjoy the total experience. We went away with a pack of buns and bread and a recipe so that we can attempt to make the delicious blaas ourselves!

The Tours

Costing just €14 a head for a three hour tour I can’t recommend this experience enough though sadly they are only currently available during the festival week (which is now almost over) so you’ll have to wait until next year unless someone picks up the gauntlet and starts them up sooner! However, if you wish to take a tour of the invididual businesses you can contact them directly as they will gladly oblige.

If you’re interested in food tours in general Bia Sasta organise several that can be tailored to suite as do Fabulous Food Trails in Dublin.

Many of the small business springing up and operating in Waterford have been actively supported and encouraged by the local Enterprise Board and many other agencies and organisations who are working hard to encourage employment back into the city. In 2006 Waterford was listed as having a population of 49,000 people – just three years later 12,000 men and women were told they would no longer have jobs when the Waterford Crystal factory closed its doors. I can only begin to imagine the impact that news would have had on the families and communities surrounding it. This city needs all the help it can get not only from the agencies but also from those of us who visit it.

Many aspects of my stay in this historic city inspired me with the people we met being top of the list. They’re not giving up or giving in, they’re coming back fighting for their communities and are so very full of passion for what they do – be it hoteliers, artists, food producers, historians or council employees, they are giving it their all.

Where to stay & what to do…

If the snippets have tempted you to visit Waterford and sample some of the food and drink that’s produced locally, I’d highly recommend Dooleys Hotel located on the Quays as a place to stay. They offer large, clean, comfortable rooms with a hot, well cooked breakfast.

I’d encourage you to take one of the new “Telling Tales” tours of the museum, Reginald’s Tower and the Bishops Palace where real life characters bring history to life and would almost have you believe you’ve entered a time machine and landed in the early 1800s! The tours run hourly and cost €5.00 for adults (€4 concessions) with accompanied children U-14 free – money well spent. Advance booking is not required but take a look at the website for more details.

So would you be tempted by a food tour and can you see the benefit of them?

If more local people took them and not just the tourists I can’t help but think how much more proud they would be of the people they share their communities with and would perhaps be more likely to shop and buy locally and support them. They might also feel inspired to give a business idea that’s been nagging away at the back of their minds a go too…

Vegetable Garden

Pinterest & How it Can Help You Choose Seeds

September 12, 2012

“Why are you so into computers and social media Mum when you’re a gardener?” Good question from my daughter recently and one I answered without hesitation “because it helps me and my business”.

We were in a hurry so I couldn’t elaborate but after she’d left for school I sat pondering the question… how does modern technology help someone who enjoys the outdoors and getting mucky, surely the two shouldn’t go together? It’s not a combination you’d necessarily expect and indeed, many of the people I meet at community gardens have only recently started using email addresses.

Nevertheless, as I sipped my cup of tea I could think of several ways the internet and social media help me – whether it’s connecting with like-minded people, researching my subject, keeping up to date with new ideas, products and techniques, keeping in touch with customers or online shopping for seeds, there’s no doubt that the web has been a blessing.

It was therefore with delight a few hours later that I found I could justify (some of) the time I spend on my devices when I had one of those *ta daa* moments and found an enjoyable way of saving time and effort.

If you haven’t yet found Pinterest, take a look at their About page where they explain it much better than I can, though in short it’s a virtual scrapbooking site where people share images. Lorna from Write On Track has written several excellent articles on how businesses can benefit from using Pinterest here and indeed, since posting my own pictures I’ve seen an increase in visitors to my blog. Back to the point though… I was scrolling through Pinterest recently and into my head popped the idea a of building a Seeds I want to Sow board.

Every year I spend hours (pleasantly) searching through seed catalogues, writing lists of vegetables or flowers I’d like to sow and grow, then subsequently lose them and end up popping into a garden centre where none of the varieties I’ve chosen are sold.

As a result of my *ta daa* moment I’m now in the process of putting together two Pinterest boards – one for flowers I want to sow, the other for vegetables. The beauty of this is not only do I have all the images of the plants I plan to sow, but also links to the online sites that sell them. Because all of the images are on one page in front of me, it can helps me with my own garden design by creating a virtual mood board – I have a better picture of what works well together.

Autumn is a great time to start thinking about your seed choices for next year as you’ll still have in mind the ones you planted this year.

I wrote a post Choosing Vegetable Seeds back in 2010 which might help you to decide what vegetables seeds to buy. Once you’ve browsed the on-line shops and chosen the varieties you like, you can just pin a picture on your Pinterest board. It wont get lost, you can add and delete items from it, and best of all if you have a smartphone, view it from wherever you have internet access so if you find yourself in a garden centre trying to remember what seeds you liked the look of, you can view your board from the app.

The only disappointment to this exercise is that several businesses (including a couple of my favourites) don’t have suitable images (or any images in some cases) that can be pinned. Hopefully they’ll remedy this as they may lose out on the opportunity to gain sales and free marketing as Pinterest grows.

Have you found a way that the internet can help you in your garden?

Vegetable Garden

Growing vegetables ~ 8 tips to stop you giving up!

September 8, 2012

Growing food is more than just saving money, eating healthier or learning a new skill, it goes deeper. Sowing a seed, watching it burst through its shell, push its way through the compost, grow leaves, a stem, then flower and seed – you’re not only watching the cycle of life, but watching life that you’ve taken part in creating.

“I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation. It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green.” ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

However (there’s always one of those isn’t there), growing your own vegetables doesn’t come without its challenges. It can at times be time-consuming, physically difficult, disappointing and frustrating. But please don’t let that put you off – if we didn’t experience a bit of pain we wouldn’t appreciate the many pleasures! So what can you do to minimise the effort so that you too can enjoy this beguiling pastime that many of us are so passionate about?

1. Don’t take on too much

Really, this is THE NUMBER ONE RULE. If I’ve learnt anything at all it’s how stressful a large vegetable plot can be if you’re short of time. Due to Mr Gs work commitments I’ve pretty much had to tend to the garden entirely on my own this year. Looking after ten vegetable beds, three fruit beds and a polytunnel is no joke if you’re working and/or raising a family, and then you have to harvest, wash, prepare and cook or freeze all the produce! So start small and see how you get on.

2. Install raised beds

This is slightly contentious as it’s not the cheapest way of starting out and why bother if you have good soil, but…. raised beds are low maintenance and much easier to manage. No grassy weeds finding their way into your beds.

3. Install high raised beds

If you suffer with any sort of mobility problems – back, shoulders, knees – consider installing or building waist-high raised beds. I’ve just harvested a bed of (forgotten) potatoes and even with the help from smallies picking the spuds out of the soil, my back is screaming at me, so much so I’m seriously contemplating not planting them next year. High raised beds are a pleasure to work at – you wouldn’t even know you’ve been gardening!

4. Choose ‘easy’ vegetables

Onions, garlic or shallots, peas or beans, Swiss chard, kale, courgettes, herbs and strawberries are great for starters. Once you’ve got the hang of those, experiment with different varieties.

5. Books

Buy a couple of really good gardening books that will help answer questions or identify pests and diseases as soon as you spy them. Here’s some of my favourites.

6. Tidy Up

Green Manure ~ Rye

When you’ve harvested your veg, clear away and compost any debris and either plant a green manure or cover with organic matter and some cardboard or weed membrane. This will feed the soil and prevent weeds, saving you time and effort in the springtime. If you haven’t already done so, read Charles Dowding‘s book on No Dig gardening, this is a method I’m working towards achieving in my own patch.

7. Learn about your subject

Take a gardening course (we tailor ours to suit) join a gardening club or a community garden! There’s nothing like hands on practical advice, seed swapping or even a bit of help, camaraderie and laughter to make the disappointment of a failed crop disappear.

8. Grow flowers too

Flowers are not only beneficial in vegetables gardens in that they encourage pollinating insects, they’re pretty to look at too. On a dull, dreary day when you know you have to do some work in your vegetable garden whether you feel like it or not, it might just be the sight and smell of the flowers that draw you in there (works for me).

Have you any tips that make life easier in your veg garden? I’d love to hear them so that I can pass them on.

P.S. Have just thought of a very important No. 9 that I’m currently faced with and hope it helps you if you’re in a similar position… if you do feel a tad overwhelmed by the amount of work you need to do to get your garden back into shape, don’t look at it as a whole, but aim to tackle small areas at a time. You’ll have it straight in no time – it’s often the thinking about the doing that is worse than the actual doing! Best of luck 🙂

Food & Drink

Courgette (Zucchini) Soup with Brie Recipe

September 5, 2012

Zucchini (Courgette) Soup

This is a revamped blog post from a couple of years ago that is a favourite recipe in our house and a great way of using up lots of courgettes or zucchini as they’re known in most other parts of the world. It originated from The New Covent Garden Food Co Book of Soups.

Without the added Brie the soup is tasty (though on the thin side) and makes a quick lunch which my children often ask for when they spot a courgette laying on the counter top. We often leave out the cheese as it’s not an ingredient that’s generally in our fridge unless it’s been written down on the shopping list. However, if you’re looking for a thicker soup with that *something* extra to share with friends, do add it as it makes all the difference.

In the photo above the Brie was omitted and Parmigiano cheese added to the soup after it had been blended, along with a shot of cream (which for the life of me I can never get into that pretty swirl that chefs seem to manage! Mine resembles a distorted map of America!)

Recipe Serves 6

450g (1lb) sliced courgettes
1 onion, peeled and sliced
knob of butter
350g potatoes (about 2 medium)
1.2 ltrs vegetable stock
freshly grated salt and pepper
*optional 225g Brie, peeled and rind removed, or grated Parmigiano

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the chopped onion, cooking until it’s soft and slightly caramelised. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to the boil and simmer gently for around 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. If using the Brie, stir in now and cook until it’s melted. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Puree in a liquidiser if you have one. Remember not to put the cap over the lid if blending hot liquids as it’s like to explode! Instead fold a cloth and cover the top.

Serve up the soup with lots of bread and grated cheese of any description if you’re not using the Brie.

What’s your favourite home-made soup?

Lifestyle

Celebrating the Ordinary ~ Supermarkets!

September 1, 2012

Yes, you read that correctly, today I’m celebrating supermarkets. How much more ordinary can you get than going to a supermarket? Why on earth would I come out with a statement like that when I usually write about growing food, shopping locally, supporting small businesses and avoiding chain stores?

For two reasons. Firstly Marie over at Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer set a challenge asking people to post a picture or write a blog post on just that subject – Celebrating the Ordinary – more details can be found here including some beautifully written posts celebrating a myriad of subjects so do take a look if you like a good read.

A lonesome rainbow chard amongst a bed of nasturtiums

Secondly, if it weren’t for supermarkets we’d be bloomin hungry in this household! This year has been the worst in the vegetable garden since I first sowed a seed. A combination of the atrocious weather, working all hours during the main sowing season (April to June) as well as trying to raise a family and take an extended break away for most of the summer has left my garden overgrown, unkempt and struggling to produce the goods.

If we had to feed the family on the produce grown here alone this year we wouldn’t last more than a couple of weeks. Right now I’m struggling with a mixture of disappointment and despair when I wander around my veg patch, but I haven’t given up hope.

Our entire potato harvest

I sowed two beds of early potatoes this year – Red Duke of Yorks – and two days before we flew to the U.S. I spotted the first signs of blight. There was nothing else for it but to chop the haulms (stems) to soil level, leave the tubers in the ground and hope they survived. Five weeks later I dug the fork into the soil to see how they were looking, only to be greeted with mush. On the positive side my soil is now oozing with worms. The worms have gorged on their potato based menu for the past few weeks and the soil will no doubt benefit massively from the unintended organic matter that has been added to it. Unfortunately the slithery invertebrate didn’t leave much for us!

There be red onions in there

The onion beds have been a mixed success. We’ve managed to avoid onion rot which was a bit of a worry given the dampness but several bulbs have gone to seed and the garlic is tiny though still edible.

Because we were away we missed the ENTIRE fruit harvest bar a few strawberries that were thankfully grown in the polytunnel so harvested back in June. This is the outside strawberry bed as of today…

I’d like to be able to tell you that the brassica beds have faired much better, but they haven’t. All of the green curly kale has gone to seed, along with the cauliflower, and the scarlet kale is trying its darned best to. Thank goodness I grew some Tuscany kale which is managing to hold its own! I’m hopeful for the celeriac too so fingers crossed.

Inside the polytunnel its a mixed bag of goodies. The chilli peppers that I sowed in February still haven’t reached 6″ tall but the cucumber plants are producing and tomato trusses are full though still green. The sweetcorn too should make it to maturity if cold nights don’t set in too soon.

If anyone asks me whether a polytunnel is necessary in Ireland I would say without hesitation, a resounding YES! Just take a look at the difference between a Crown Prince squash grown outside and one inside…

Crown Prince grown outside (left) and inside (right)

Thankfully the autumn fruiting raspberries are starting to form their fruit so fingers crossed we may eat some berries soon with our ice cream.

I’d like nothing more than to be able to tell you that I visit the local farmers market every week to supplement my vegetable garden, but I don’t. I work on Thursday mornings when the Kilkenny market sets up and on Saturday mornings when the Carlow market is buzzing with activity at the Potato Mart, I’m usually driving around as a mum taxi service.

Zucchini

So back to my original headline about celebrating supermarkets, today I unashamedly am. My local SuperValu and Aldi stock Irish produce, employ local staff and are open at a time that suits. I’m delighted that I can pop into a supermarket that’s open till late and pick up all my weekly shopping in one place. As a working mum I quite frankly don’t have the time to visit the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker every week as my dream self is want to do, swinging her hand crafted wicker basket as she trips around from shop to shop. This working mum who’s doing her best to ensure her children eat a healthy, balanced diet barely has time to brush her hair on a daily basis.

Yes, I’m disappointed with my harvest this year but know I’m not alone as many gardeners have struggled with the weather conditions that have landed on us.

Now the children are back at school as well as giving my weekly classes, and ticking off the daily jobs from my seemingly never ending list, you’ll find me out in my patch, pulling the weeds and getting the beds ready for the winter months. In the coming week I hope to plant some potatoes, sow some oriental salads and maybe a few ornamental flowers too. More importantly I wont be giving in. Next year is another year with different circumstances and conditions and yet more ups and downs to look forward to. My garden isn’t perfect but it’s still producing something.

Thank goodness for supermarkets!!

September 2012