Everything in the garden is rosy
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It’s lashing down outside after a month of wall to wall sunshine, practically unknown in Ireland, so instead of spending hours watering, watering everywhere, I’m sitting on my arse to write about it. Why don’t we have a watering system? Well, we did, but the dogs ate it. We got another one, and the dogs ate that too.
The life of a horticulturist can be hard!
The months of sunshine have been bliss though, and everything’s had a growing spurt. Above is my dome full of life and food.
My petite gris de rennes melon plant seems to be growing six inches a day. What do you reckon to my homemade trellis? Impressive, eh?
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And look at these onions, almost ready for storage. I have several hundred more planted outside to get us through the winter.
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I pulled some of the garlic too early, so it hasn’t formed cloves yet. Oh well, I live and learn.
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If you haven’t tasted purple gooseberries, you should make it your business to do so, immediately if not sooner. They’re like manna from heaven.
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We have kale and spinach that got us through the winter and is still going strong
The grapes have already appeared, and look at those cute little tomatoes.
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The strawberries (inside) are almost finished, but I already have kilos frozen for smoothies and the plants outside haven't even started producing yet.
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And guess what...blueberries! After four long years of flattering them, cajoling them and playing Beethoven and The Smiths for them, at last we have blueberries.
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Over in the greenhouse, the carrots, planted in February, are almost ready for harvest.
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These potatoes self-seeded. They’re in flower, so we’ll have tasty new potatoes soon with lashings of butter.
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I’ve planted about 15 more potato plants outside with the no-dig method. It sure saves an old woman a lot of digging.
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They're under the straw!
I have more onions drying here in the greenhouse. Once I get the onions into storage, I’ll use those beds for cucumbers and melons. We juice a lot, thus need large quantities of cucumber, melon, and carrot.
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And so to my peas, my poor, poor peas, devastated by a horde of marauding galliformes who killed at least ten and maimed countless others after breaching the garden’s defences.
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But being a former boy scout, I'm always prepared and had a second pea frame built entirely enclosed in net and impenetrable to chickens.
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The life of a horticulturist can be hard, but it's never dull.
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Amazing plants. Nice to see. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks. I guess I'm just an amazing type of gal!:)
Most welcome my friend ❤️🖤🤍
Looks awesome! Congrats on the blueberries.
Thanks. All I need now are the rabbits. We don't see any around these parts. Guess I'll have to scoff all the blueberries myself!:)
😄
Lol lame dogs
I envy for those berries, I love them!
Melons it's about time now yours are pretty behind it seems, while strawberries are entering the final rounds here
Behind? G'way with ya! We don't get melons here until August. It's Ireland I'm living in, not Costa del Italia.
😂 Do you have watermelons too?
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It's impresive, I used to have a patio back in my younger youth when lived in the countryside and many plants in it to feed us and to make our home look nicer from the path. I miss those times there, I'm an onion fan, now it's onion season here. Now up in a 3rd floor bulding no patio at all and no plants. Well , at least to feed us, a few pants we do have there.
I thought my dog was the only one to eat whatever comes in his way. Watering systems, that's s new though, maybe they are sending you some sings, they might have a better idea for the watering thing. Perhaps that's why they eat it, that or they are just watering system predators.
Of course it's impressive...like everything else about me🙃🙃
I lived in high-rise in the city for most of my life but I think I've found my calling growing food in the countryside.
As for the dogs, they're fascinated by water. You can't even run a tap or a hose without them trying to bite the water. Funny to watch, but a bloody nuisance. Off with their heads, I say!🙃
Yeah right?
I've just found out about Ireland, my wife loves Ireland, not that she has gone there, but she does have met people from there, singers and musicians above all. She can sing Gaelic Irish songs and she did years ago with some famous guys as she says.
Well, as I said, I miss countryside for many reasons. My dog needs a yard, that before I get the rope to hang him, up there he can be dogly intense, ye keeps asking me why the fuck do we live up there and if I'm by any chance am confuising him with a pigeon.
If you decide to remove their heads remember...put them away the watering system.
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It requires effort and time not to mention dedication and passion, but it really pays off, seeing the plants growing well is such a therapy. I have been gardening since I started my healing journey for postpartum anxiety and it reaaly helps me relax and recover. I'm kind of biophilic, I find solace and peace in connecting with nature, and gardening is one way to indulge myself in it.
Enjoy gardening @deirdyweirdy ! It's great to have a look on your homestead.
I was reading your blog earlier on. You have quite the place yourself. Cucumbers in 38 days, unimaginable here, where it takes 2 months at the very least. I too find it very therapeutic and believe me I need plenty of therapy.🙃🙃
Thanks for stopping by my corner, its good to know. Well, I guess it depends on the cucumber variety, we usually plant Lega C F1, the harvest is around 35 to 40 days. Or maybe because of the climate and other topographic factors.
Just take good care of your beautiful garden and you'll get the therapy you need right in your backyard.
Wow! Your greenhouse/hoophouse/polyhouse is incredible. Is that a geometric design - would love to see an outside photo of it? And I second the gooseberries - when in the UK, I always have gooseberry and apple pie, but they aren't as common here in Australia. Impressed by you, as always! @riverflows.
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It's a geodesic dome. We bought it flatpack and constructed it ourselves...with much weeping and gnashing of teeth. It's a fantastic yoke, traps the sun and holds the heat.
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One thing became clear to me, dogs don't like the irrigation system or see it as a delicious snack hahaha taking care of a garden is difficult and even more when the animals don't cooperate hahaha but what can you do, they are just naughty or hungry 😂❤️
I was thinking of strapping tiny watering cans to each chicken so they could water the garden as they roam. But then, I wondered would the dogs eat the chickens!:)
Managing a garden is not easy either. Everything has to be in its place and then everything looks beautiful.
Aesthetics don't concern me. I grow food. I don't care whether the garden is beautiful or not.
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Had to look that one up. I can see them marauding! I hope you weren't there to see it. It isn't pretty.
But woman do you ever make me want to get me a dome. It all looks so tidy (not a surprise) and productive. Kilos of strawberries and many more on the way? That would be a five year supply for me.
I'm sorry about your peas, backup crop notwithstanding, I know how much you love them. With butter I assume, lots of butter and good salt, freshly picked and shelled (those that don't get frozen) and dropped into water you started heating while you sat there and shelled. I'm so jealous.
Don't laugh, but I bought "green garlic", garlic that hasn't formed heads yet. I deep fried slices in lard and sprinkled it on or in everything I ate for a few days. Crunchy and very good. Makes me happy I planted my garlic too close together and need to thin them heavily.
You're not a Trekkie then! A line from Star Trek: Voyager goes 'There's nobody here but us galliformes"
I didn't see the incident but they're weapons of mass destruction and dug up three quarters of the plants. We were able to save some but a lot were done for. We couldn't see where they'd managed to get in so to find out, we had to put rings on the offenders and follow them.
These are the first chucks I've had that aren't from the sanctuary and their behaviour is so different. None of our other chucks in 5 years ever got into the garden.
I'm a big garlic fan myself, and put it into everything.
I would love to visit your dome - it seems as though you have heaven under there. I would love to taste those "manna from heaven" and would also like to plant my own melons. Pity about the peas and the galliformes - I hope they appease you with eggs.
You already have frozen strawberries - I am impressed. It was also lashing down here - I hope my terrace garden will survive. My strawberries - which are solely outdoors - are recently started to ripen. Maybe it is time to get serious - maybe it is time for a dome. 😀
Peas, appease...I see what you did there. Ingenious!:)
Lol I knew you would see it. Brilliant.
That is a beautiful self-sufficient garden! How did I miss this post? Ohh, and those grapes, I planted a few and just bearing flowers! 😊
If you've planted grapes outside, I admire your optimism:)