RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES

(Click on the title for a link to the Future of Food website)

Photo: Some houses are better insulated than others.

If you get chance, try to see the film ‘The Future of Food’ by Deborah Koons Garcia that is doing the rounds at the moment. It gives a frank and in depth look into the worldwide use of genetically modified (gm) crops that end up in the food chain. Watching the film made me more determined to read the labels on shop bought products and to expand my veggie patch so I can grow more home grown food.

At the conference at the Letterkenny Institute of Technology , it was felt that farmers around Donegal will not have to bother about a GM invasion, as they will all be moving towards growing bio-fuel crops. The conference was looking at renewable energy resources and had a packed audience of at least 125 people. Bio crops such as willow and hemp were high on the agenda and with the introduction of grants being made available in the spring of 2007 for growing elephant grass (Miscanthus) and willow, the incentives look very promising. The grants will only be available for large-scale farming but it’s a step in the right direction.

The day was very positive and it is generally thought that the North West of Ireland could be a major exporter of wind-generated energy to Europe within the next twenty years as we are in the windiest place in the country. The greener homes scheme that has been introduced is proving to be very popular. This initiative gives grants to those of us that would like to include solar panels, wood chip boilers and the like to our houses. Up to yet 1600 applications have been sent in and 1100 have been approved. This, it is hoped will help to focus on the need for houses to become more energy efficient and less reliant on fossil fuels for heating.

Hemp housing was mentioned a few times, especially by Tom Wooley, Professor of Architecture at Queens University. He concentrated on energy efficient housing and hemp seemed to be the answer to the eco-house builders dream. Hemp can be ground down and mixed with lime to produce a concrete like material that is not only strong and durable but manages to lock carbon into the structure of the house, which makes it one better then being carbon neutral, reducing the environmental impact compared to traditional built houses. The insulation properties are phenomenal too. Hemp can also be pulped up and used as a moulded wood substitute that can be injection moulded like MDF to form banisters and skirting boards. It doesn’t end there either as it makes a fluffy insulation that can line the loft space.

Hemp could be grown easily in Inishowen and hopefully it won’t be long before the eight foot plants are part of the landscape. These techniques are going some way to build what is known as ‘passive houses’. These are properties that are so well insulated, ventilated, sealed and designed that they need little or no heating whatsoever. The energy that is used comes from solar panels and wind turbines. They also are designed so they do not get overheated in the summer, which could be a big saving on air conditioning in offices where the idea could also be used.

Environmental

HEAD LICE

Ian:

Head lice are going around at my child's school. Is it true that the old remedy of using dog shampoo will get rid of the head lice? I don't know for sure if it is head lice though. I haven't seen any insects, just white stuff that looks like dried scalp or dandruff. Please help me with any home remedies that you may have. M.C. by e-mail

A. You should first make sure that your child actually has head lice before doing anything else. Head lice infestations are often over diagnosed, both by parents and health professionals. The white dandruff stuff you see might just be that. If you do see red bumps on the scalp and neck, lice moving around or nits (lice eggs) attached to the side of the hairs than treatment will be necessary.
If you are just seeing nits, but no live lice, then you may be able to simply wash the hair with a regular shampoo and then try to remove the nits using a nit comb (using conditioner can make the hair easier to comb and the lice find it harder to cling). Keep in mind that live lice can sometimes be hard to find, so if you continue to find new nits, then your child is likely have an active lice infestation and does need further treatment.

HOME REMEDIES

If you don't want to use a chemical on your child's head, the most effective treatment that doesn't involve using any products at all simply involves removing the nits and live lice with a lice comb and/or tweezers. It can be time consuming to do this and you may have to repeat the procedure for several days to make sure you get them all, but this is likely the best thing to do. You still have to take the time to comb out all of the nits anyway even if you use an anti-lice shampoo, as these shampoos don't kill the eggs. If you don't, they will just hatch and you will have live lice again.
Most other natural home remedies involve putting something on your child's scalp and hair to 'smother' the head lice. Popular choices include real mayonnaise, olive oil, and vaseline. These are usually left on overnight, often under a shower cap, and then washed out the next day. They can be very messy though and have not really been proven to work. Some experts believe that this method 'works' because you actually remove the nits and lice as you try to get this stuff out of the child's hair.

Essential oils are very good for getting rid of lice. Use a blend of peppermint, geranium, bergamot and eucalyptus in a base oil such as almond. Garlic and vinegar are said to be effective. There is also a badge device that you can get mail order from headlicecontrol.co.uk. They are very secretive about how the badge works but as they make mention of NASA, it’s probably some form of magnet.

DOG SHAMPOO

You shouldn't use dog shampoo on your child - although they are more or less the same product. The active ingredients in dog shampoo, (pyrethrins and permethrin) are present in the stuff you would buy for your children’s hair. I suppose the reasons for not using the dog shampoo would be that you would have no comebacks from the manufacturer if something went wrong. That and the fact that your child might insist that you take them for a walk in the park twice a day and develop an uncanny knack of catching Frisbees in their mouths!

Household-Environmental

A STROLL IN THE GARDEN-GEORGE BUCHANAN

The format for this article appears in the Inish Times on a weekly basis. (click on title for link)

I can't think of a better way to spend the day than talking to people about their gardens.

This week we are taking a look at the garden of George Buchanan on the outskirts of Buncrana. For years George has been donating the daffodils from his garden to the Irish Cancer Society, who sell them around the peninsula. The Society is celebrating it’s twentieth year on Friday 23rd of March 2007 which is all the more reason to dig deep into those pockets and buy an extra bunch!



How long have you been working on the garden?

From the beginning, over twenty years.



What is your favourite plant or flower?

It has to be the daffodil.



What is your favourite feature in the garden?

Again, it has to be the swaths of daffodils at this time of year.



What is your favourite season and why?

Spring and I think you can guess why. Yes it’s because of the daffodils!



What work gives you the most pleasure in the garden?

I enjoy making the garden as low maintenance as possible. I am a busy person and weeding could take up too much time. I have been putting down Weed Block webbing and gravel on the beds to cut down the maintenance.



Any irritations in the garden. How do you cope?

I do have a few slugs in the garden, but they don’t seem to do too much damage to the plants.



What is your best gardening tool?

My JCB!



Top gardening tip?

Don’t cut off the leaves of the daffodils in your garden after the flowers have gone. Leave them until they go yellow to get the nutrients back into the bulbs. The bulbs will reward you next year. When you buy the cut flowers on Friday, put them straight into water after cutting off an inch of the stems. A pinch of sugar in the water will keep them looking fresh for longer.



Any plans for the future?

I would like to make more of the garden low maintenance, and of course plant more daffs!

Horticultural

ME AND MY MOTOR- SHAUN MCGONIGLE

Part of my week is spent going out and about in the peninsula finding people with cars that they love. The questionnaire and pictures are then printed in the Inish Times. Here is an example from Shaun McGonigle.

Click on the title to get a full report of the Port 'N' Polish review.

Shaun McGonagle from Greencastle is in the motoring spotlight this week. Shaun is a well know figure in the world of modified cars and as well as working in the modified car business he organised the extremely successful Port ‘N’ Polish venue last year, which was Inishowens first modified car event. Shaun’s Mitsubishi is also a celebrity, having appeared in Modified Motor magazines and winning first prize at the Modified Motor show a few months ago.

Name : Shaun McGonagle.

Address: Greencastle

Car: Mitsubishi Eclipse

How long have you had the car?

Two years and in that time I have gradually modified the car sourcing body parts from as far away as Australia

Any plans to change?

Yes. It’s time to start a new project so I have it up for sale. I spent over €22,000 on the car to get it to the standard it is now. I will sell it for €13,750 (Anyone interested can contact Shaun on 086 100 1781)

Is it reliable?

Very.

Best thing about the car?

The 1800 amp sound system comes close but I would have to say the flush bodywork. If you notice there are no doorhandles. It is accessed remotely.

How often do you wash it?

It never gets dirty!!

If you were the minister for finance what would you do to help motorists?

A custom built track where cars can be pushed to their limit in safety.

Any modifications to the car?

Everything! The only part of the car that hasn’t been modified in some way is the glass. There are too many to list here but if anyone is interested I have a full written report.
What would you really like to be driving around in?A Nissan Skyline GTR. I think they are one of the best engineered cars on the road.

Motoring.

ALLOTMENTS

Photo's: Our shed in the veggie garden and allotments in Bottesford England.



I really like the idea of community allotments.




The idea isn’t new to Inishowen- a couple of years ago there were some meetings about setting some up in Loreto House at Linsfort. The idea seems to have been shelved but in my eternal optimism, I would like to think the idea could work. Of course the deciding factors would be public interest and land being made available for the long-term benefit of the local community.





The origins of allotments go back over 200 hundred years - they derive from the enclosure legislation of the 18th and 19th centuries in England - and the word 'allotment' originates from land being allotted to an individual under an enclosure award (Enclosures were used by richer land-owners to stop the poor grazing their animals on common land). Walled garden were also built to keep the poor out of the vegetable patches of the rich. The modern notion of an allotment came into being during the nineteenth century. A lot of people from the country went to work and live in towns. There was a lot of poverty, and what the Victorians called "degeneracy" amongst the working classes. In the Victorian scheme of things, allotments provided an alternative to drink and other unworthy pursuits for the poor! The spread of urban allotments was intensified by the growth of high-density housing.

Two world wars increased the uses of allotments and the influence was felt here in the Republic. In 1916 because of unrest at home and abroad there came about the City Allotment Scheme. These were set up in Belfast and Dublin. Dublin allocated eighty plots for the city, which wasn’t a lot, whilst Belfast allocated 1,200. This was, historians say, because of the social background of the people who rented the plots. In Belfast, people came from a wide range of occupations, which scaled the social ladder. In Dublin, those who took up the call to use allotments were the working classes who lived in such cramped conditions that they didn’t have gardens. Dublin, I suspect had far more properties with gardens, which is probably why the numbers taking up the allotments was low. Other differences existed though. The growth of flowers over vegetables and fruit was viewed as worth continuing, not considering the constant scarcity of foodstuffs. The need for flowers was considered as just as important as they could be used in hospitals where wounded soldiers were, creating an aesthetic ambience, thus making recuperation easier for those who were sick or wounded. However, not all allotments were in Dublin and Belfast. The Society of St Vincent de Paul had established another scheme as early as 1913 in Clonmel. The allotments, which were divided into twenty plots, also consisted of a cottage, housing two people, which kept the scheme going.

Our need for allotments is different from those of our ancestors. We can get access to produce in the shops but more and more of us are becoming aware of the fact that we need to grow locally. We need to know that the food on our plates is full of goodness. We are also becoming more aware of the amount of energy it takes to transport produce half way across the world to get to our dinner plates. When we grow the vegetables ourselves we can choose the ones that we like the best, (for me at the moment that would be runner beans) or the ones that are the most expensive in the shops such as blueberries. That aside, community gardens or allotments are places to relax, get valuable exercise, have social contact and nosey at one another’s produce and growing techniques.

Horticultural

SPRING FLOWERS

Pic 1: Witch hazel Pic 2: Snowdrops

PLANT OF THE WEEK
The Witch Hazel shrub (Hamamelis mollis) is putting on a fabulous display. The showy flowers are attractive and give off a sweet smell until late this month. Cut a few branches for a table decoration. Witch Hazel is an undemanding plant but it can reach 10 feet or more. Choose sunny or slightly shaded site and make sure the drainage is good. Remove damaged branches after flowering and the shrub will reward you year after year with colour. The leaves look great in autumn too!

Horticultural.

ALL YEAR INTEREST IN THE GARDEN

Photo: Pieris japonica 'sundance'

You will not go far wrong for colour in the garden if you visit the growers and garden centres at regular intervals throughout the year and buy what looks good. There are some lovely specimens around at the moment. Here are just a few of the plants on offer.

'Pieris japonica 'sundance'.

When the flowers have gone we are left with rich foliage to last through the year.

Pernettya mucronata

These are loaded with berries at the moment. The plants also have a delicate spring flower and a fine leaf texture. These all combine to make the pernettya a nice plant to use in the garden. These versatile, low-growing plants work well in containers, rockeries, or in landscape borders. Plant them in-groups of three or more for best effect.

Gauletheria macradonta

These plants are loaded with berries. A small forest plant with glossy evergreen leaves. Fruit is a bright red berry, which persists on the plant all winter. Some people have been known to eat the leaves and berries but I would be a bit wary. The mature leaves can apparently be used to make tea as well. The plant spreads slowly by rhizomes to form a colony. Requires a well-drained, acidic soil. May prefer a bit of shade, but does well in full sun if the soil is not too dry. Tolerates heavy shade, but will grow and fruit best with plenty of light.

Erica carnea and darlyensis heathers.

These plants make a great swath of colourful ground cover in the garden all winter and spring. They are particularly effective when planted en mass into weed retaining material and covered with mulch.

Other winter flowering shrubs that are very hardy for Inishowen are viburnum and skimmia.

Skimmia

There are numerous lovely skimmias, generally from the Himalayas and the Far East, and these form evergreen shrubs of varying heights. Most are dioecious, meaning they have male and female flowers on different plants, and both sexes must be planted to ensure a crop of fruits. 'Rubella' is a compact male variety with attractive red-margined, dark green leaves. The flower buds, which appear in autumn and winter, are a prominent feature of the plant, as are the scented flowers, which open in spring. It is perfect for growing in containers and provides good all year round colour. 'Rubella' has been given an Award of Garden Merit (AGM), which is for plants of outstanding excellence and the Reeves variety is self-pollinating so you don’t have to get a male and female plant to get berries.

Viburnum tinus

This is a useful evergreen shrub for winter interest in the open garden or containers. It's very compact, and has dense dark green foliage. 'Eve Price' flowers over a long period from late winter to spring. The pink flower buds open to tiny, star-shaped white flowers, carried in flattened heads and these are followed by small dark blue-black fruits. It can also be grown as an informal hedge and is tolerant of a fair amount of shade. To propagate, take cuttings in summer.

Horticultural

SPRING INTO THE GARDEN

Click on title for link to Courtyard garden centre.

Photo left: Aucuba Japonica 'Rozanne'

Photo right: Berberis 'Orange King'

Centre: Clematis armandii 'apple blossom'

SPRING SHRUBS

If you read most of the Donegal newspapers you will be aware of the Courtyard Lifestyle Centre that recently open on the Letterkenny road in Newtowncunningham. I was down there on the open day amongst other things, to see what plants were on offer. Most of the display was of very hardy varieties and although the names are familiar around Inishowen, some of the specimens are somewhat new and different. Most of the plants on sale are “of the season” so you can see them in flower or bud, which really helps to make a choice.

Lets have a look at some of the varieties on offer that are in their full springtime glory.

Rhododendron “Christmas cheer” This is an early flowering variety with pink to white flowers. It only grows about three feet in ten years so it won’t take over the garden.

Kerria Japonica “pleniflora” This upright shrub will grow practically anywhere. It has bright yellow flowers and reaches a height of around three to six feet tall.

Leptospermum “martinii” This is a very versatile plant. It can grow up to six feet tall (2m) and can be used as a specimen shrub or as an informal hedge. It has pink with a touch of white flowers in autiumn to spring. It has a neat habit and like well-drained soil.

Aucuba Japonica “Rozannie” (Japanese laurel) You might be more familiar with the variegated laurel. This variety is definitely worth a space in the garden though. It has dark green leaves with small clusters of red berries from April too May. It is a compact bush, which makes it ideal for a small shady spot. It will eventually grow to about three feet (1m)

Clematis armandii “apple blossom” This was probably my favourite climber of the visit. The plant is vigorous and will grow up to 20 feet (7m) it likes full sun and will produce lovely pink blushed blooms from March to May. The plant is evergreen with shiny green , slightly bronze foliage, which makes it an ideal plant to cover a wall or small building. You get the added benefit of the fragrance as well, its vanilla.. yum!

PRUNING SHRUBS

Many spring-flowering shrubs can be pruned as soon as their flowers have started to fade. Any shoots that have carried flowers can be cut back, shortening them to shape the shrub and control its size and vigour. Forsythia can grow large and ungainly if left to its own devices, so prune to give the shrub a definite shape and form. This and other shrubs, such as Berberis darwinii, are sometimes grown as hedges, so can be pruned to give a more formal structure. All the flowering stems of Prunus triloba can be pruned to their woody base, while selective pruning on philadelphus and weigela stops them getting large and woody. Make sure that there are no signs of birds nesting if the shrubs are large. If the signs are there then leave pruning until the birds have flown.

Horticultural