A STROLL IN THE GARDEN- PADDY MCCARTNEY

This week (and next!) we are in Paddy McCartney’s fabulous organic garden in Greencastle. Paddy is a very well known entertainer around the peninsula (and beyond) with his unique blend of singing and storytelling. Paddy is also very passionate about his garden and has just finished running a course linked to the Western Organic Network on growing organically. He ran the practical course in his own garden and hopes it will be an annual event.

How long have you been working on the garden?
About twenty years. The garden was initially just at the front of the cottage but I have slowly been working my way down the fields.

What is your favourite plant?
I have lots of them depending on the time of year. The Pieris Forestii holds lovely memories of my friend Albert, who has sadly passed away, as we got the plants together. Verbenas are looking good at the moment, especially the Bonariensis. They do not need staking and are in flower for five months of the year. Butterflies love them and they are easily propagated.

What is your favourite feature in the garden?
Although it isn’t a garden feature as such, I do get a lot of pleasure looking out of the living room window at the garden. From there I can see the rockery and the pond with the birds splashing around in the water.

What is your favourite season and why?
I love the spring as it is the time of new growth and looking forward to the growing year ahead.

What work gives you the most pleasure in the garden?
Planting seeds of the flowers and vegetables. Even after all the years of planting it still amazes me that seeds so small can eventually grow into giant plants, trees and shrubs. I enjoy getting an early start to the year in the glasshouse. A glasshouse can extend the season too. I am growing late sweet peas, dahlias, chrysanths and cosmos under cover for a forthcoming wedding in a few weeks.

Top Gardening tips?
People ask me when is the best time to plant things. My answer to this is whenever you have the time, take the notion or have a spade handy!

Mulch the garden. Put in plenty of organic matter. If you have newspapers you can recycle those into the compost bins or beds and borders to save you the bother of taking them to the recycling centres.

Avoid the glut of home grown vegetables in summer. Don’t grow too much of one type.

More from Paddy next week….

Horticultural.

ORGANIC CENTRE ROSSINVER

(Click on the title for a link to The Organic Centre in Rossinver)

A few days ago the Inishowen Partnership Job Initiative put on a bus trip to an organic farm - the Organic Centre at Rossinver, Co Leitrim. As I haven’t been getting out much this summer, I jumped at the chance to squeeze into the sixteen-seater mini bus. The company was a lively group of people who are working around the peninsula on various community project, all of us sharing a keen interest in gardening and environmental issues.

The Organic Centre was set up in 1995 as a non-profit making company. The aim of the centre is to provide training, information and demonstrations of organic gardening, growing and farming. The centre is on a 19 acre site and provides:

· Demonstration gardens and growing tunnels showing organic methods of food production
· A wide range of training courses geared at all levels from the interested amateur gardener to a professional grower
· Information and advice for commercial growers and farmers
· A wetland sewage disposal system
· Display gardens open to visitors-including a children’s garden, a taste garden, a heritage garden, an unusual vegetable and salad garden, and an edible flower garden
· A willow sculpture area.
· Display of composting techniques
· An orchard and soft fruit area
· A shop and café (to be opened shortly)

The centre employs eight staff and has an award winning FAS training scheme aimed at people interested in a career in organic horticulture. At the core of all the activities in the centre is an educational and information focus. This means that whilst the gardens are attractive and interesting to the public it also aims to deliver a message about sustainability and good environmental practices to visitors.

The administrator at the centre took us around the new wooden building that will soon be the information centre, shop and café. The modern training rooms are already being used for courses including, basket making, building houses out of alternative materials to concrete (such as straw bales and wood), herbal first aid kits and cooking with wholefood. The building itself has an interesting grass roof that blends in well with the countryside; they only have to throw a goat up their once a year to keep it in shape! The building is also connected to the wetland sewage system that handles all the wastewater; this slowly seeps through the land, cleaning the water as it goes along. By the time the water has reached the pond a few hundred metres away it has been totally cleaned. The pond is teeming with wildlife! The system can cope with 200 visitors a day, so it’s very efficient. Next we were shown around the herb gardens, flower borders and vegetable areas. The healthy looking vegetable are sold from the centre as well as supplying an organic box delivery service around the local area. After a break for lunch (just over the border at the Lough Melvin holiday centre in Garrison, Co Fermanagh), we had a tour of the five polytunnels (whuch was just as well as the heavens opened with heavy rain showers).

When we got back to the centre we weren’t put off by the heavy rain showers as the next part of the tour was around the five polythene tunnels. At the doors were Calendulas (marigolds) in flower to attract greenfly predators and small ponds are placed in the corner of each tunnel to keep the slug hunting frogs happy. The organic tomatoes, beans, sweet corn and cucumbers were pest and disease free, as were the herbs used for cutting. We finished the tour by being shown around the fruit areas. Raspberries, gooseberries and currants were all planted in rows into grass areas then mulched with a thick layer of straw to keep the weeds down. The grass path makes picking the fruit easy and clean. No muddy boots here. The apple and pear trees were done in the same way. The centre is concentrating on re-introducing old varieties of apple trees that are in danger of disappearing. Most of these apples are very resistant to disease and have more flavour than a lot of the commercial strains. Before we knew it we had gone an hour over our scheduled guided tour. It’s surprising where the time goes when you’re having fun! The drive back takes between 2 to 3 hours. This soon passes when you’re in good company.

For further information contact The Organic Centre at: www.theorganiccentre.ie tel. 07254338

Horticultural,environmental.

WHAT IS ORGANIC?

Photo: Organic macademia nut farm.

Last week my family and I went to the open day of the garden at Scoil Iosagain in Buncrana. We unfortunately missed the ceremonial cutting of the tape, as my eldest lad was at Tullyarvan mill, performing a musical story with all the other children that have attended the recent music class. (There’s another class in the summer holidays if you missed it this time) It’s typical that we haven’t been invited anywhere this summer, then two functions fall on the same evening. When we arrived at the school I headed straight for the tea and sandwiches. It had been hot in Tullyarvan mill and I hadn’t had any food for well over half an hour so I thought I’d tuck in while the going was good. (I regretted this a bit when we went for a few rides on the fair afterwards) Anyway, with cup and plate in hand I headed for the garden. The garden is well protected from the elements by an eight-foot high wall and a lot of voluntary work has gone into both the hard landscaping and planting. Scattered around the garden are interesting clay statues made by classes at Tullyarven mill. The garden is also dotted with bright and cheerful clay tiles and ladybirds made by children at the school. There is a good-sized rockery that is well planted, with a small stream running down the middle. The water runs into a pebble filled pond, so it is safe for the children. Dinny McLaughlin and his friends were playing traditional music on the patio and occasionally a group of girls would get up and have a dance. These unfortunately were only a temporary feature, but I think I’ll include them in the next garden I design! I was pleased to see an area set aside for organically grown vegetables, the onions and spuds are all coming on well but the ground is a bit hard for the carrot crop just yet so they’ll probably try growing these in deep containers for a while.

What is Organic?

The organic approach to gardening and farming recognises that the whole environment in which plants grow is much more than the sum of it’s individual parts, and that all living things are inter-related and inter- dependent.

Organic growing involves
Treating the soil and growing environment as a resource to be cared for for future generations, rather than for short term gain.

Providing plants with a balanced food supply by feeding the many creatures that live in soil, manure and other organic material.

Choosing renewable resources, thereby creating a sustainable future.

Reducing pollution of the environment, by recycling garden, household and other waste, rather than dumping or burning them.

Combating pests and diseases without using pesticides that may prove harmful to human health and that of domestic and wild animals.

Encouraging and protecting wildlife, by creating suitable habitats and by minimizing use of harmful pesticides.

Creating a safe and pleasant environment in which to work and play.

Moving with the times – taking new scientific discoveries into account, as well as the best traditional knowledge.

Using good horticultural practices.

Recognising the importance for the preservation of threatened plant varieties.

The whole garden – flowers, trees, shrubs and lawns, as well as vegetables, fruit and herbs.

(from the Henry Doubleday Foundation).


Great reasons to grow your own organic fruit and vegetables

You can grow things without pesticides.
It means your food is free of any genetic modifications (G.M. free)
Homegrown food is cheap and nutritious.
You can decide what the family eats.
Your food will be truly local.
You can grow things that you can’t buy in the shops.
You can grow for flavour; commercial growers tend to grow for a long shelf life in the shops.
Children learn where food really comes from.
You’ll get plenty of fresh air and exercise.


TIP
If you haven't grown any vegetables before, start with a few seeds of salad plants such as lettuce. They will grow happily in a pot and you can pick the fresh leaves, as you need them, leaving the plant to grow on. Keep them well watered. If you want to involve children, mustard and cress seeds can be sprinkled onto tissue or cotton wool placed in a saucer, watered and left on the windowsill. Don’t throw the shells away after you have had a boiled egg, fill them up with soil and sow the mustard and cress seeds into them, paint a face on the egg and within a few days you will see the hair begin to grow!

Horticultural.

Gardening Courses at Milkwood Farm, Co. Leitrim

Gardening Courses at Milkwood Farm,

Co. Leitrim

2011

Milkwood Farm is the home and garden of Klaus, Joanna and their four children with Benwiskin on one side and acres of wild bogland all around. With draining the land and composting the soil a garden can be given birth.


Details



Saturday 19th March: Beginner’s hands-on Gardening Course
A practical workshop on how to start your vegetable garden. This workshop will involve digging, sowing, planting, making beds, composting. It is aimed at the complete novices to vegetable gardening.


Saturday 30th April: Your Self-Sufficient Garden
Learn how to grow nearly all the food your family eats. Learn how to set up, prepare and plant your own organic vegetable garden. Practical demonstrations will be carried out so all participants get hands on ideas for their own gardens.

Saturday 14th May: Growing in Polytunnels/Greenhouses
A polytunnel or glasshouse extends the season for many crops, providing something to harvest all year round. It can also be used for tender vegetable crops, cut herbs and unusual tropical plants. This course will cover ground preparation, crop rotation, propagation, soil fertility management, pest and disease prevention and control.


Saturday 18th June: Grow Your Own Vegetables and Fruit
This course will take you through the season from garden to larder. Learn of the wide variety which you can grow on your doorstep. This will cover crop rotations, sowing plans and learn how it is possible to grow any vegetable and fruit that takes your fancy.

Saturday 17th September: Growing in Polytunnels/Greenhouses
Course details see Saturday 14th May.


All courses will be held at Milkwood Farm, Tawley, Co. Leitrim by Klaus Laitenberger former Head Gardener at the Organic Centre and Lissadell House.

All courses run from 10.30am – 4.00pm

Price €80 which includes coffee and scones on arrival and a home cooked organic lunch washed down with a glass of wine.

For more information and booking phone Joanna or Klaus at 071-9131855 or 087 7612251

SEE THE WEBSITE or e-mail us on: milkwood.farm@hotmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it



Complete Vegetable Gardening Course
8 full days - €600

This course is aimed at anybody who wants to learn how to grow healthy organic vegetables, salads, herbs and fruit for the home garden. It is suitable for the complete beginner as well as for the more advanced gardeners. During each day there will be a practical element where participants will learn what to do in their garden each month. There will also be theoretical and practical sessions on topics such as planning, rotation, soil fertility, composting, green manuring, organic pest, disease and weed control, growing in tunnels and greenhouses, fruit and herb growing

Day 1: 12th March

Day 2: 2nd April

Day 3: 7th May

Day 4: 11th June

Day 5: 2nd July

Day 6: 6th August

Day 7: 3rd September

Day 8: 1st October

Courses at other locations for gardening groups can also be organised. Please CONTACT US for more details.  See the WEBSITE

STERILIZING SOIL

Photo: Peat free gardening.

I was very interested to read the article about peat in last weeks Inish Times. Having seen the destruction in the Midlands at first hand I can appreciate the problems inherent with using peat. Flat plains of lifeless desert, not like the bogs up here which are teaming with insects, frogs, and bird life as well as different varieties of plants and flowers. Up here in Donegal, peat is cut by families for their winter fuel and the bogs are sustained. In the Midlands, the peat companies strip the land of its natural resources with heavy machinery for commercial use. Not that I can talk, after all, I buy briquettes for my fire and peat moss for my plants. This does not mean I think what they are doing is right, quite the contrary. Get me on my soapbox and I can rant for hours about the devastating effects of afforestation, acid rain, short term profit over long term loss etc etc.

ALTERNATIVES TO USING PEAT
The article last week mentioned alternatives to peat such as coir compost (these are the shells left over from the cocoa bean). Mind you these aren’t exactly a local product. They practically have to travel around the world to get to us. This of course takes up fossil fuels to power the ships, causing strip mining or pollution elsewhere and invariably making the product more expensive to buy in the shops. Mushroom compost and composted bark are very effective for mulching and established plants, and easy enough to get hold of locally, but they aren’t that suited to growing seedlings. Even some organic alternatives such as compost made from cattle dung and seaweed still has a percentage of peat in its list of ingredients. I think one of the best alternatives when buying these sorts of products must be the worm casts and vermiculite. After saying that vermiculite is a natural resource that has to be imported… and the debate goes on.

COUNCIL FACILITIES
The system that is in operation for recycling garden waste in Nottingham takes in 70 tonnes of organic garden waste a day and shreds it into fine pieces. This is then piled high until it has rotted down into fine compost and given away free. There would be drawbacks to this scheme for us. Living in a rural area we haven’t the population of Nottingham to produce this amount of material (never mind the income from rates to spend on such schemes. We would also have further to travel to a recycling centre, therefore burning more fossil fuels which causes more environmental problems and so on.

Well, there you have it, the only real solution is staring me in the face. It’s time for us as a community to get to work building up our compost bins and sterilizing our soil. I was in the library this week in Buncrana and there is a leaflet called “Composting Made Easy – A Simple Guide” which you can pick up for free. It’s also great to see local schools getting involved in composting. Composting your organic waste is not a quick way to get the compost you need for your plants. Even though the leaflets say you can make compost in twelve weeks, it usually takes my compost heap a lot longer (up to a year) as I just bung on my kitchen and garden waste and don’t worry too much about temperature, air, layering and all the technical stuff.

STERILIZING SOIL

There is still the problem of what I use for my seedlings. One solution is to sterilize your own garden soil. There are products on the market that will heat the soil until all the bacteria is destroyed. The prices start at about 70 euros and will do a couple of shovels full at a time. I recall one year I decided to sterilize some soil in the kitchen by using steam. I used a saucepan with boiling water in it and put a metal sieve over the top with about a cupful of garden soil in it at a time and let the steam get to work for half an hour. This method took a full day until I had enough soil to fill a few seed trays. And another day to get the mud off the worktops! I did try just pouring boiling water over the soil, but this proved to be ineffective, as it didn’t kill all the weed seeds. I suppose there’s always the garden flame throwers, but maybe that might be a bit too dramatic…All these methods again use some form of fuel energy to make them work, so maybe the ideal solution is to use the compost from the middle of your well rotted compost bin. (The only energy used here would be walking to your compost bin!) There is a better chance of this being sterile as the center of the heap will get to the highest temperatures, killing all the nasty things that your seedlings won’t like. Mind you there’s not much chance of those temperatures in the centre of my compost heap, so for now I’m off to the Co-op, in my petrol guzzling car, to buy yet another bag of peat based compost to put into my plastic plant pots. How do I sleep at nights?

Environmental,horticultural.

HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE GARDEN

This article was written a while ago when it wasn't frowned upon to have a small fire in the back garden to burn old garden waste!

A couple of weeks ago I was having great fun building a fire in the back garden. I was so engrossed in the complexities of building the ultimate inferno that I failed to look where I was going. In just a one second lack of concentration my foot went into a hole, which was no more than a couple of inches deep. The sensation was the same as walking down the street and failing to see the curb until you’ve stepped off it. Needless to say it was enough of a jolt to put my back out for a week and a half. I nearly managed to spin it out for two weeks but the sympathy from the family was wearing out fast so it was back to getting the coal in, painting the kitchen and stacking mushroom compost bags in the back garden.

Accidents such as this are all too commonplace. The garden can be a place where hidden dangers can lurk. I don’t want to put anyone off gardening, but it is always a good idea to follow a few health and safety rules.

Before you start in the garden it might be worth considering having a tetanus jab, or having a booster if one is due. Even the smallest cut can get infected. The one’s to be most wary of are the deep cuts that don’t bleed, as apparently the germs stay in the cut and aren’t washed out by the blood. It’s good practice to always wash your hands when you come in from the garden and if you have any cuts treat them with disinfectant (we use diluted tea tree oil).

Now that I am on the subject of health and safety, here are a few more suggestion for garden safety. (I’m making the list up as I go along so if I miss anything I apologise in advance)


HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE GARDEN

When using weed killers and chemicals always follow the manufacturers instructions and wear safety clothes no matter how daft you look.

Keep all chemicals, even organic ones like nettle juice out of the reach of children.

Even if you are totally organic with your chemicals there are still dangers. If you are using fresh manures such as hay or straw wear a facemask if there is a lot of dust. If the bales are warm then there will be mould spores which wont do your lungs any good at all either.

Take care using machinery. Wear steel toecap boots and long trousers when using mowers and strimmers. Walk around the area to be cut and remove all objects like stones and children’s toys (dog poo is best removed as well before the strimmer hits it!)When using any tool, especially
power tools- be sure you understand how they work.

Make sure all tools are in good condition and cutting blades are sharp. Blunt tools can be dangerous.

Do some light duties first, or better still some limbering up exercises to avoid pulling any muscles later.

When a garden activity causes you pain. STOP. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if the job is too heavy.

Avoid staying in one position too long. Switch tasks often. I tend to have a few minutes potting plants a few minutes bending such as tending to some plants, then a few minutes stretching, picking beans etc. Then half an hours rest in a sunny spot.

Use the strongest muscles for the job. Use your legs, not your back, when using a spade or lifting things. Use the forearm and elbow, not the wrist or fingers, when using a trowel. Use the palm of your hand to push levers and tools, not your fingers. And use your strongest arm to pick up your mug of tea.

If you are working on your own in an isolated area such as woodland, let people know where you are or carry a mobile phone in case of an accident.

Here’s one that is very relevant to me. Only use a tool for what it was designed for. I have lost count of the amount of spade handles I have broken trying to get large stones out of the ground.

Don’t be an accident waiting to happen when carrying things. Carry less and make a few more trips.

This is probably for earlier on in the year when the sun is hotter, if you have sensitive skin then some protection is needed in the form of sun cream or in my case a hat to stop my bald patch getting sunburn.

Check around the garden regularly for potential hazards. Bamboo canes can be very dangerous for the eyes when they are stuck into the ground, put plant pots on top of them so you don’t catch yourself when you bend over. Never leave tools lying around, put them away in a safe place. Never leave a rake on the ground with the spikes sticking up; if you tread on them and the handle fly’s up, you’ll see stars for a week.

If you use a ride on mower go up and down the slopes rather than across them. The push mowers are usually safer if they go across the slope instead of up and down to avoid slipping. I have heard some harrowing tales of people using hover mowers on steep banks and slipping, resulting in serious injuries.

If you are considering any excavation work in the garden check for underground pipes and cables before any work is started.

Keep your body fluids up when doing any work in the garden, preferably water, to avoid dehydration. And stop regularly to admire your handy work.

Horticultural.

COTTAGE GARDENS

There has been a big revival in the cottage garden over the last few years. This is due to the increased interest in organic, self-sustainable gardens. The cottage garden is traditionally a small, densely planted plot where every inch of space is used. The original cottage gardens were mainly devoted to food production and flowers appeared randomly by self set seeds being brought into the garden on boots, by birds or on the wind. The original gardens mostly consisted of paths, borders and small patches of grass near the house or under small trees. In the days before landfill and septic tanks ALL of the household waste was put into the garden, this kept the fertility high. The gardens faded in popularity at the beginning of the century because of shorter tenancies of the cottages and the spread of the urban population. Now that a majority of houses being built in the towns only have small gardens, there is a perfect opportunity to have your own nature reserve on your doorstep.

DESIGNING A COTTAGE GARDEN
To create an effective cottage garden it is a good idea to keep things simple and very practical. Put in uncomplicated paths and don’t bother with anything fiddly like rockeries. The garden can be divided into small rooms using trellis or wattle fencing to add to the interest if needs be. You might like to consider an arch or some other feature that a climber could make good use of. If you have any trees in the garden you can work around these unless of course they are putting the whole garden in shade. Keep the borders simple with common plants that will re-seed and choose attractive vegetables that can be planted in rows or interspersed with the perennial plants. Scatter annual flower seeds in between the plants to cover the ground; this will help keep away unwanted weeds. In winter a layer of mulch would also help to keep the weeds down. The great thing about a cottage garden is that you always expect something to be in the wrong place. These plants can be dug up and moved to a more suitable place. The benefit of cramming the plants into the beds and borders is that they will support themselves without the need for staking. The dead foliage will stand up to the seasonal weather as well and provide a stunning backdrop in winter and be a sheltered haven for hibernating wildlife.

WILDLIFE IN THE GARDEN
Cottage gardens are a haven for wildlife. Put up a couple of bird boxes on the trees and try to vary the plants to attract different types of insects. Many insect pests you see in the garden have natural insect predators and a wide range of plants, including wild flowers, will help provide nectar and pollen needed at various stages of the predatory insects life. A small pond, or even a water filled bucket dug into the ground like ours, will soon be buzzing with aquatic life. If there is an area that is in shade, then so much the better as the choice of plants to put into the garden will increase. Don’t be too worried if you are one of those people that are obsessively tidy when it comes to the garden. With trial and error your cottage garden will embrace so much colour, scent, texture, serenity, birdsong and beauty that you won’t even notice if it looks a mess! Nature is often beautiful but never tidy!

FERTILISERS

Photo: Senettia respond well to organic feeding.

The world of fertilisers can be a bit of a daunting one as there are so many different types to choose from, both natural and chemical. Like a lot of work in the garden, a bit of trial and error will be needed until the balance is right.

NOT TOO MUCH
Many gardeners apply fertiliser routinely rather than when the plants in their garden actually need it. This leads to a build-up of excess nutrients in the soil that are eventually washed out by the winter rains, causing pollution to groundwater and rivers. This is especially the case with inorganic or 'chemical' fertilisers, which is why it can be better to use organic feeds such as comfrey juice or well-rotted manure, where the risk to the environment is very much reduced. If you do apply chemical fertiliser routinely, do so only to those areas of the garden where demand for nutrients is high, such as the heavily cropped fruit and vegetable areas, flower beds and borders and plants that are cut back a lot, such as the lawn, rose beds or alongside a trimmed hedge. The amount you apply should also depend on the fertility of your soil. Sometimes isolated plants or whole areas of the garden can show symptoms of deficiency, especially on light sandy soils, and these need to be treated on a case-by-case basis.

A NEED TO FEED
Plants need a balanced diet of essential nutrients to grow well. There are three main plant nutrients - nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Alan Titchmarsh used a simple method to remember what N P and K is used for. He thinks of these as a three-course meal: phosphorus is the starter, promoting root growth and general health; nitrogen, the main course, that's mainly needed for leafy growth; and potassium, the pudding, encouraging fruit and flower production. As a side dish, plants also need calcium, magnesium, and sulphur in smaller amounts as well a range other nutrients. The other nutrients Alan looks to as the vitamins, which the plants need in tiny quantities. These include iron, copper and manganese. Nutrients such as these are known as trace elements. Most soils contain all these essential nutrients.

IDENTYFYING NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES
If a plant suffers from a shortage of just one nutrient this often can be identified by the unusual type of growth it produces. This can be tricky to diagnose in practice because symptoms vary with the severity of the deficiency and from plant to plant, but use the following as a guide:

Distorted leaves
Slightly distorted leaves, elongated in shape, reduced vigour…molybdenum (Mo) deficiency.
Shrivelled leaves, turning brown, fall prematurely…drought
Very distorted growth, pale white or yellow streaks…weed killer damage
Flattened and distorted growth on or near the growing tip…fasciation (leaning) disorder

Small leaves
Unusually small leaves, older leaves turn purplish colour…phosphorus (P) deficiency

Stunted growth
Stunted growth, yellowing leaves, older leaves die and fall…nitrogen (N) deficiency
Stunted growth, bluish-green leaves, older leaves have scorched edges…potassium (K) deficiency.
Stunted growth, pale green between veins, reddening with age…manganese (Mn) deficiency

Yellow leaves
Yellowing leaves, stunted growth, older leaves die and fall…nitrogen (N) deficiency
Young leaves yellow, paler at the margins…. calcium (C) deficiency
Young leaves yellow, bright green veins…iron (Fe) deficiency
Yellowish margin to older leaves, pale green between veins…magnesium (Mg) deficiency


How to treat nutrient deficiencies
Before you apply additional fertiliser, it is important to check that other factors are not the cause of your plant's distress. For example, iron (Fe) and manganese (Mg) can become chemically 'locked up' and unavailable to plants if the pH is too alkaline (eg on chalky soils) and applying more fertiliser will not help. Drought can also result in a temporary shortage of available nutrients.

Nitrogen (N) Apply a high-nitrogen fertiliser such as dried blood (organic), sulphate of ammonia (inorganic).
Phosphate (P) Apply a high-phosphate fertiliser such as bonemeal (organic), superphosphate (inorganic).
Potassium (K) Apply a high potassium fertiliser such as rock potash (organic) sulphate of potash (inorganic).
Magnesium (Mg) Apply Epsom salts to the soil or as a foliar feed.
Calcium (C) Apply garden lime such as ground chalk or calcium carbonate.
Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn) or Molybdenum (Mo) Apply a fertiliser containing these trace elements or add seaweed to the soil or as a foliar feed.

Horticultural,environmental.

FERTILISING FRUIT TREES AND BUSHES

Ian
I have some fruit trees and bushes in my garden, is now a good time to feed them? What could I use as mulch around them as well. Thanks F.N. by e-mail

FERTLISING FRUIT TREES AND BUSHES
If you look in the gardening books it seems that you are a bit late for feeding fruit trees. Most of them state that it should be done in late February. We won’t take any notice of them though and I would say that feeding them now- even if it is a bit late is better than no feed at all as fruit trees and shrubs need feeding to crop well.

Nitrogen promotes foliage and vigorous growth; dessert apples need less than cooking apples and pears, while plums and cherries appreciate more. Phosphorus promotes healthy growth and fruit. Potassium is necessary for good fruit colour, flavour, hardiness and fruit bud development.

How much feeding fruit trees need depends on the soil and can be adjusted depending on growth, cropping and soil analysis.

As a rule-of-thumb, feed apples and pears lightly, using 100g/sq m (3oz/sq yd) of general purpose fertiliser or, for organic gardeners, fish, blood and bone. Whichever one is used apply added potassium-rich fertiliser, sulphate of potash or an organic potassium material at 15g/sq m (0.5oz/sq yd). If cooking apples and pears have had pale foliage in the past, increase the general-purpose fertiliser by half. Double the general-purpose fertiliser for cherries and plums, and increase the potassium-rich fertiliser to 20g/sq m (0.75oz/sq yd).

If using straight fertilisers apply at the following rates:

Nitrogen: Apply 35g per sq m (1oz per sq yd) of ammonium sulphate in spring each year. Dried poultry pellets are an organic alternative.

Phosphorus: Apply 35g per sq m (1oz per sq yd) of superphosphate in winter every three to four years where required. Bonemeal is an organic alternative.

Potassium: Apply 15g per sq m (0.5oz per sq yd) of sulphate of potash every year. Too much potash may lead to magnesium deficiency and increase the risk of bitter pit in apples.

MULCHES
Mulching on the other hand can be done anytime. An annual mulch of bulky organic matter after applying the fertiliser will benefit trees by reducing water loss and suppressing weeds, as well as providing some nutrients. Mulching can halve fertiliser needs and is ideal for organic growers.
Bulky organic materials include stable or farmyard manure, mushroom compost, spent hops, leafmould and garden compost.

Mushroom compost often contains chalk and as most fruit prefers acid conditions, it should not be used too frequently except on very acid soils. Do not apply to raspberries. Straw can be used as a surface mulch to conserve moisture, but if it is incorporated into the soil it must be well rotted or, alternatively, extra nitrogen must be applied. Pears, plums, and damson trees especially need additional water in the summer and will benefit from mulching. Newly planted fruit trees and cane fruits need regular watering and should be mulched to conserve moisture and promote strong growth. Red currants, white currants, gooseberries and raspberries are difficult to grow on light soils but benefit from mulching. Even with mulches you may need to water in dry spells. Ideally, keep a grass-free zone, at least 1m (1yd) wide, around trees to reduce competition and allow mulching. Apples and pears appreciate a low-nutrient mulch - such as garden compost, while plums and cherries respond to richer rotted manure.

Horticulture.

COMPOSTING DO'S AND DON'TS

After reading the lead story in a recent edition of my favourite newspaper (no, not the Derry Journal), I got a bee in my bonnet about how we, as a society, deal with our waste. As I’m sure you are aware, most landfill sites are now filling up and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find new, suitable sites. Up to 30% of our domestic rubbish is organic kitchen and garden waste, which could be composted. When our old potato peelings and grass clippings are dumped in landfill sites they rot down and create vast amounts of methane gas, which causes long-term environmental problems. So I thought I would like to do my bit for the community and perhaps set up a scheme where I could supply and demonstrate the use of compost bins. There is nothing like compost for healthy gardens and plants! However, Donegal County Council is one step ahead of me. It already provides good quality bins at a heavily subsidised price of around ten pounds, although at the moment you have to travel to Lifford to get one. They are organising local “sale days which will include demonstrations on how to compost waste from both the kitchen and garden. Compost bins will be on sale as well as worm bins (including worms) and soil activators! The Council sale days will be advertised in all the local papers. The first one is in Stranorlar on Thursday 26th of July at 4 pm, then Letterkenny on the 27th at 4pm. The sale will be hitting Inishowen when they come to the community school in Carndonagh on the 28th July at 1pm.

Most kitchen or garden waste will rot down eventually, even if it just put in a pile at the bottom of the garden. The art of good composting is to speed up the process, this is where the containers come in, with the use of an activator to heat the compost, you can have a soil like compost ready for the garden in as little as six weeks in summer!

What to compost
It is possible to compost most organic matter, but in practice you may need to be more selective, as our weather isn’t always favourable for getting hot compost bins.

Do compost
Kitchen waste, such as vegetable peelings, eggshells and tea leaves.
Twiggy prunings but chop or shred them first.
Grass clippings (not too many at any one time)
Dead and discarded plants.
Most weeds.except for perennials such as docks.
Straw.
Small quantities of shredded newspaper.
Wood ash.

Don’t compost
Inorganic material, such as plastic, glass or metal.
Diseased plant material.
Cooked meat or fish, which can attract vermin.
Thorny prunings, which are unpleasant to handle.
Woody and evergreen prunings, unless shredded first, as they rot slowly.
Roots of perennial weeds, which can survive.
Vacuum cleaner dust; it can contain harmful chemicals.
Glossy and coloured paper, which may contain chemicals.


Common problems
Weeds appear after applying compost A heap needs to reach at least 55o C (131oF) to kill off any seeds within it. Only the largest and best managed are ever likely to reach this temperature, so it is probably wiser to leave out weeds that have set seed.

There are large quantities of unrotted matter The most likely reason is that you haven’t included enough sappy material. If you need more, try a greengrocer for vegetable waste, or use a nitrogen- rich activator such as dried blood. Turning the heap should help.

The heap becomes smelly and offensive This is probably because it is too wet or too much soft waste has been added without mixing it up with fibrous material. Keep the bin covered. Adding cooked food can also cause nasty smells.

Wormeries and leaf bins
Even if you have no garden, you can still compost kitchen refuse using a wormery. This relies on brandling worms to digest the waste. The bin can be kept inside or on a patio and organic debris added in small quantities as it arises. A rich liquid is drawn off which makes an excellent houseplant feed, leaving a small amount of fine compost. If you have a lot of trees in your garden and collect a large amount of dead leaves in autumn, then it is best to compost these separately as they rot down more slowly. Round them up in a wire mesh cage, chicken wire is ideal, water in dry weather and two years later you will have leaf mould, suitable for conditioning soil and for enriching potting composts.

Horticultural.

WHAT IS SOIL?

Photo: Companion planting saves on the use of chemicals in the garden.

(Click on the title for a link to the Organic Centre in Rossinver.)

I carpeted my new shed this week, much to amusement of the family. I think the bright purple colour really brightens up the floor. I was going to put down lino but I felt that the wood underneath wouldn’t be able to breath and would go rotten. Now though the carpet is probably going to get wet and rot both the carpet and the wooden floor. Maybe I should have just left it bare……. Anyway if anyone comes to visit my new workspace they have to wipe their feet before they can come in. If only the roof was higher I could put in a nice chandelier…

SOIL

I was having one of those philosophical conversations with a child about gardening recently. I was asked a question that was so basic but stopped me in my tracks. I was asked what soil was. It made me realise just how complicated an answer could be to such a simple question. I did my best, so if any young member of your family asks the question, here is what I believe soil is. It might give them something to think about for a while!


What is soil?

Soil holds plants in place. It holds nutrition to feed the plant roots. In turn the plants also hold the soil in place, making a happy balance. Soil consists of a mixture of ingredients, which include: sand, silt, grit and bulky materials made up of rotted leaves, plants and animals. Good soil is a living balanced mixture of all of these ingredients. Look out for worms in the soil; this will indicate that the soil is healthy.


Good soil is all important in a garden, especially if you want to grow healthy plants and vegetables. When you look at an established border, all you see is topsoil. Topsoil is the part of the ground that holds the most nutrition for the plants. Dig down 30cm to 60cm (1ft to 2ft) in an established garden and things change. You’ll see a clear boundary between the topsoil and subsoil. Subsoil is denser, clay like substance that plants won’t grow in. In some new gardens, especially on estates built on heavy soils, that clay subsoil (from foundations) etc, has been spread over the natural topsoil and then covered with a few inches of indifferent topsoil. This can cause the soil to be too wet and lacking nutrition for the plants and grass. Whether the soil in your garden is new or old it will benefit from the addition of compost, both for food for the plants and to help drain water. Bulky organic matter from the compost bin could be dug or worked lightly into the soil. You could also get well-rotted manure from the horse stables or mushroom farm. Some traditional gardeners like to dig the compost well into the ground with something called the double digging method. This requires a big fork and a lot of backbreaking work. I like to take the more relaxed method of putting the material onto the surface of the soil, forking in lightly and letting the worms do the hard work of pulling the goodness into the ground. This is what is called mulching. You decide which seems the best for yourself. All of these materials will help loosen the soil to make planting easier.

NETTLES

Nettles are a very good indicator of healthy soil. The plant makes a very nutritious plant food and is full of vitamins. The plant can be a real pest in a formal garden, as it knows no boundaries. Not everyone thinks that the plant is a nuisance though. Blythe Valley UK residents who are members of the Cone group which work in harmony with wildlife are holding their seventh National Be Nice to Nettles Week this year. This hardy bunch of horticulturalists is inviting everyone to have a patch of nettles in their garden to attract wildlife. You might not agree with their ideas too much but in honour of such a hardy band of diehards. The plant has loads of positive factors though. It attracts loads of insects and makes a wonderful spring soup.

SEED CATALOGUE

The Organic Centre in Rossinver has released their new seed catalogue. You can pick up a free copy in the libraries. Failing that phone 071 9854338 or e-mail organiccentre@eircom.net for a copy. This edition is mainly vegetables but it does have a page on flowers that would be good for companion planting.



Horticultural.

PEAT ALTERNATIVES

I was very interested to read the article about peat in last weeks Inish Times. Having seen the destruction in the Midlands at first hand I can appreciate the problems inherent with using peat. Flat plains of lifeless desert, not like the bogs up here which are teaming with insects, frogs, and bird life as well as different varieties of plants and flowers. Up here in Donegal, peat is cut by families for their winter fuel and the bogs are sustained. In the Midlands, the peat companies strip the land of its natural resources with heavy machinery for commercial use. Not that I can talk, after all, I buy briquettes for my fire and peat moss for my plants. This does not mean I think what they are doing is right, quite the contrary.

ALTERNATIVES TO USING PEAT
The article last week mentioned alternatives to peat such as coir compost (these are the shells left over from the cocoa bean). Mind you these aren’t exactly a local product. They practically have to travel around the world to get to us. This of course takes up fossil fuels to power the ships, causing strip mining or pollution elsewhere and invariably making the product more expensive to buy in the shops. Mushroom compost and composted bark are very effective for mulching and established plants, and easy enough to get hold of locally, but they aren’t that suited to growing seedlings. Even some organic alternatives such as compost made from cattle dung and seaweed still has a percentage of peat in its list of ingredients. I think one of the best alternatives when buying these sorts of products must be the worm casts and vermiculite. After saying that vermiculite is a natural resource that has to be imported… and the debate goes on.

COUNCIL FACILITIES
The system that is in operation for recycling garden waste in Nottingham takes in 70 tonnes of organic garden waste a day and shreds it into fine pieces. This is then piled high until it has rotted down into fine compost and given away free. There would be drawbacks to this scheme for us. Living in a rural area we haven’t the population of Nottingham to produce this amount of material (never mind the income from rates to spend on such schemes. We would also have further to travel to a recycling centre, therefore burning more fossil fuels which causes more environmental problems and so on.
Well, there you have it, the only real solution is staring me in the face. It’s time for us as a community to get to work building up our compost bins and sterilizing our soil. I was in the library this week in Buncrana and there is a leaflet called “Composting Made Easy – A Simple Guide” which you can pick up for free. It’s also great to see local schools getting involved in composting. Composting your organic waste is not a quick way to get the compost you need for your plants. Even though the leaflets say you can make compost in twelve weeks, it usually takes my compost heap a lot longer (up to a year) as I just bung on my kitchen and garden waste and don’t worry too much about temperature, air, layering and all the technical stuff.

Horticultural,environmental.

FOOD BOXES

I headed off to Belfast last week to visit some friends. For a few years now they have been on a council waiting list to acquire an allotment within walking distance from their house. This will allow them to grow their own organic vegetables. Like many areas that doesn’t have an abundance of spare land, these allotments are very much sought after. It could be years until one comes up (it would be a good idea to put children’s names on the list when they are born, that way they will probably get a plot before they retire)!

One thing that appeals to a lot of people about allotments is the sociable aspect. You could spend many a happy hour talking vegetables with your neighbour, swapping tips and cultivating new ideas.

Being self-sufficient with organically grown produce in the garden can’t be beaten. But if you have no interest in the fine art of growing your own, where can you get organically grown fruit and vegetables that haven’t been genetically tampered with? Most local shops, supermarkets and market stalls only sell a very small proportion of organic fruit and vegetables. This may be because people don’t ask for organic as it does tend to be more expensive. Another reason is that the produce may have imperfections on them such as scabs on apples and the odd slug tucked away on the underside of the leaves. Every year growers are improving their growing techniques to such an extent that you would be hard pressed to tell organic produce from chemical grown, apart from the taste of course. Prices too are coming down as the demand increases. Organic produce tends to be grown on a smaller scale than chemically grown plants and there are strict measures to make sure that the soil isn’t eroded from over cropping. I remember once driving through Lincolnshire in England and the effects of open field and intensive farming were devastating, the roads are up to six feet higher than the fields. When the roads were built they were on the same level, the soil has simply been blown away leaving an appearance of nothing more than a desert. The only way to grow vegetables in some of the worst effected areas is to add more chemicals as all the goodness has gone from the remaining inch or so of the soil.


In Ireland we’re limited by the amount of fruit and vegetables we can grow, as the season for growing is quite short (thankfully we still have soil though). In an environmentally perfect world we would all eat just the things that are growing around us. It would be pretty boring eating curly Kale all winter though! After saying that, here, up until recent history all people ate all year were spuds, there was no choice. Thankfully though, now we do have a choice it’s very popular to buy out of season crops from the shops, a punnet of strawberries to eat after your avocado salad in January for example. There are of course things that would be totally impractical to grow in our climate; the heating costs to grow things such as bananas and oranges would make the fruit far too expensive, the heating would be a pollutant too.

There was a report recently where a team calculated that the contents from just one pot of yoghurt combined had travelled more than 3000 miles to get to the table, which is a total waste of energy. The same goes for fruit and vegetables, some travel thousands of miles to get to us and of course the more it is handled the greater the cost to us, some products going through two or three distributors before the shop gets them.

FOOD BOXES

There has to be a happy balance to satisfy our varied taste for fruit and vegetables. One person that has done a lot of research on this subject is Thomas Becht. Thomas runs Donegal Organic Farm Produce based in Glenties. His company specialises in organic home delivery boxes. There are a number of vegetables that they grow themselves that are available at this time of year such as parsnips, leeks, turnips and even fennel, but to cater for customer demand Thomas sources products locally and from our European neighbours whilst trying to keep transport down to a minimum.
The boxes are made up to the customer’s specifications depending on what fruit and vegetables they like. They can include extras such as organic orange juice and if you’re really lucky the odd free-range egg from their hens. One advantage of these delivery boxes is that if you ask for a surprise box you will find yourself eating things that you wouldn’t normally buy. On Friday’s the company delivers around Donegal from Killybegs up to Dunfanaghy through Letterkenny and down to Donegal town. Unfortunately they don’t come up to Inishowen, it’s only a question of time though before we all realise that we are what we eat and that Inishowen needs a constant supply of organic fruit and vegetables.

Horticultural.

MAKE YOUR OWN BOTTLE GARDEN WEEK 1

WEEK 1

When summer becomes nothing more than a memory, and the garden has gone to sleep for the winter, many gardeners revert to working inside. While caring for houseplants is somewhat satisfying, a potted plant sitting alone, on a table is just not the same as a garden filled with flowers. A bottle garden (or terrarium) is a collection of compatible plants grown in an enclosed, or partially enclosed, clear container. This might be an interesting hobby for the dark evenings ahead.

Creating a terrarium filled with ferns and other small plants is a practical and fun way to have a miniature landscape inside your home. Your choice of containers is only as broad as your imagination. There are many ready-made terrariums available, or you can use bottles, jars, aquariums, fishbowls, or even large plastic water bottles. The choice is yours.

Terrariums allow you to grow plants which require a high degree of humidity, which otherwise would probably perish in the dry atmosphere of a heated home. Once the plants become established within your miniature garden, the terrarium begins to create a climate of its own. The plants transpire moisture through their leaves, which then condenses on the glass, and flows back to the soil. This “rain effect” allows the terrarium to go for weeks without watering.

For the beginner, I recommend that you choose a large, open container such as an aquarium. These are much easier to work in. With experience, you can advance to using 'chopsticks' and dibble sticks to plant your garden inside a small-mouthed container, much like building a “ship in a bottle”.

LAYERS
Let us start by looking at the different layers you will need to make up the perfect growing medium for the plants to thrive in.

Layer 1. The bottom layer is for drainage, and consists of pea gravel, pebbles, or very coarse sand. Proper drainage is essential to ensure that the soil doesn't become over-saturated, which may lead to root rot, and the death of your plants.

Layer 2. On top of the drainage layer, it is a good idea to spread a thin layer of activated charcoal (like you would use in an aquarium filter). This layer will help to clean the air of the fumes caused when the organic materials begin to decompose.

Layer 3. The third layer is a thin cover of sphagnum moss, spread over the first two layers. The purpose of this is to prevent the soil from sifting down into the drainage layer, which would render it useless.

Final layer. The final level is that of your soil. Many garden centres sell a potting mix specifically for terrariums and bottle gardens. In reality, all that you normally get for the extra money is sand added to their regular potting mix. You may choose a pre-mixed terrarium soil, or, if you prefer, just add one part coarse builders sand, and one part leaf mould to each two parts of your usual mix. Never use beach sand in any potting mix as it has salt in it! Do not add any fertilizer to the potting mix. It already has enough nutrients to last a long time. Too much will cause the plants to out grow their surroundings, much too quickly. If you intend to create a “desert garden” with cacti, be sure to add extra sand to the soil mixture, and additional gravel to the drainage level.


Horticultural.

COMPANION PLANTING

Photo: Bees love Rosemary in flower.

This week I ventured out of my polythene tunnel and stepped out into the big wide world. Well I made it to Carndonagh anyway. I went over to the organic farm just out of the town to take herb cuttings. The cuttings are going to be grown on and planted in some raised beds that are being built at the Cashel na Cor centre. The idea is to make a raised sensory garden, which will be low maintenance. Other aromatic plants will be included eventually to fill out the spaces. The organic farm, I noticed uses companion planting. I mentioned a bit about this idea last week planting carrots and onions together to confuse the pests. There are many other plants that will thrive next to each other. Like people I suppose, plants benefit by a bit of company

COMPANION PLANTING
There are lots of varieties of herbs, flowers and shrubs that can be used for companion planting. Many plants have natural substances in their roots; flowers and leaves that can either repel unwanted pests or attract beneficial insects such as ladybirds to keep the greenfly at bay. Companion planting can also improve the flavour of your fruit and vegetables, for example if Basil is planted next to tomatoes this improves the growth as well as the flavour. The basil also repels flies.

Below is a list of the more common plants that are effective for companion planting.

PLANT GUIDE

Borage: A good companion plant for tomatoes and strawberries. The plant attracts bees and wasps though so don’t put them too close to where you sit and sunbathe. A good plant for adding minerals to the soil and when it is cut down it is a good addition to the compost heap.

Catnip: This fast growing plant keeps away a large number of pests such as beetles, ants and mice, it smells nice too. Your cat will love you for it!

Chives: These improve the growth and flavour of carrots and tomatoes. Planted among apple trees it is said to prevent scab. A tea made from chives helps to keep downy mildew off cucumbers.

Clover: This plant has long been used as a green manure as it brings up nutrients from deep in the soil, a lot of people spend all summer trying to get it out of their lawns though as it can be invasive.

Comfrey: This plant accumulates calcium, phosphorous and potassium from deep in the soil. Slugs like to hide under the leaves, so you know where to catch them. Mix equal quantities of nettle and comfrey leaves together and add water. Leave for a few days then use the liquid as a very effective plant food, you’ll never need to buy any ever again!

Coriander: Repels aphids, spider mites and potato beetle

Garlic: A spray made from as little as a 6-8% concentration kills greenfly, it also keeps beetles and snails off other plants. It keeps greenfly off roses if it is planted near the bushes.

Lavender: Repels moths and fleas, use dried sprigs in the house to keep the moths out.

Lemon balm: Lemon balm contains citronella which most insects find distasteful, some people use the crushed leaves as a skin rub to keep away insects in summer

Lovage: Improves the flavour and health of most vegetables. It is a large plant and makes an attractive backdrop for the borders. It is similar to celery in flavour.

Marigolds: These are the Calendula types that will self-seed around the garden. They keep the soil free from nematodes and discourage many other pests; the downside is that they attract slugs.

Marjoram: This plant improves the flavour of vegetables
Mint: If you dare plant this invasive plant in your garden you will see the benefits. It improves the health of cabbage and tomatoes, attracts hoverflies and predatory wasps. Cut the plant down and use as mulch around brassica plants to keep pests away. Earthworms are attracted to the plant as well which is good news for a healthy soil.

Rosemary: Companion plant to cabbage, beans, carrots and sage. It deters moths, beetles and flies.

Sage: Use as a companion to broccoli, cauliflower, rosemary, cabbage and carrots. This plant also keeps away moths, beetles and flies. Allowing them to flower attracts many beneficial insects into the garden.

Tarragon: Plant this throughout the garden as not many pests like this plant. It also improves the flavour of vegetables if planted nearby.

Yarrow: Yarrow has insect repelling properties and is an excellent natural fertilizer. A handful of cut leaves speeds up the compost bin. It seems to increase the natural oils in herbs when planted nearby

With a bit of trial and error the plants can be positioned in such a way that the garden will be virtually free of most of the pests and disease that can take over plants and it’s all done without the use of chemicals.

Horticultural.

SONAIRTE

(Click on the title for a link to Sonaitre)

We’re back from our annual get away from it all holiday. Thankfully we only went as far as Church Hill, near Letterkenny for our outdoor adventure. Camping expeditions can be really good fun if the weather holds out, but after 24 hours of rain we decided to wring ourselves out and beat a hasty retreat back home. On our return we found that our two friends, Paul and Deb had been working wonders in the short time we were away. We were only away for 24 hours and in that time they managed to tidy the house beyond recognition, reclaim the vegetable patch, planted a small woodland out the back and created a decent display for the front. Thanks to them both for all their work, particularly for writing the column last week. Their humorous informative article made a change from my usual ramblings. Cheers-we’ll have to go away more often.


Sonairte- The National Ecology Centre
I paid a visit to Sonairte in Co Meath on my way back from the Kildare growers show a couple of weeks ago. The centre was set up in the late 80’s to promote environmental awareness. At the centre you can experience ecology in action. There is a wide range of attractions designed to appeal to all types of interests and ages.

Organic garden.
The walled garden demonstrates how produce can be grown without the use of chemicals. They have rare old apple varieties a large herb garden and wildlife area.

Riverside Nature Trail.
The nature trail offers a tranquil riverside walk, which is rich in plants and wildlife. There is an opportunity to do a spot of bird watching on the Nanny estuary.

The Renewable Energy Courtyard.
Here you can see how the forces of nature can be used to produce safe, clean energy. There are solar, wind and waterpower displays together with interesting information and interactive exhibits to help understand how these systems work.

The Adventure Playground.
This is for people aged 6 to 16; it includes rope bridges, climbing towers and swings to provide hours of fun.

Toddlers Play Area.
For younger children, this area is in view of the Coffee Shop; it includes swings, slides and a climbing frame.

Lecture Hall.
This building hosts a variety of courses on environmental issues.

The centre also sells its home grown organic vegetables and herbs and a gift shop sells recycled glassware, pottery, candles and soaps.

I visited the centre on a Saturday and found it very quiet, they have a lot of school trips in the week and I was told that more staff work then too. So if you pay them a visit and like a bit of action it may be more fun on a weekday


Horticultural.

SLUGS AND SNAILS

Photo: Attracting birds into the garden will help to keep the slugs down.

A few years ago, when I lived in a housing estate I had a small garden that I planted up with an herbaceous border and a rockery. These were easily maintained, but slugs were a real pest. My eldest was just a toddler and I did not want to use slug pellets. My favoured approach was to go out after dark with my torch (usually about midnight) and pick the slugs off my plants, then disposing of them in various barbaric means. For example, stabbing with a pointy stick, snipping them in half or shaking them in salt bags. My neighbour initially thought I had lost my senses, wandering around the garden at such a late hour, but after an explanation, he was at it too. Unfortunately I forgot to mention to him that it is best to kill them, and so he decided to put them, still alive, into his wheelie bin. He kept his bin in his garage that was attached to his kitchen. Yes you’ve guessed it, his wife, who wasn’t best fond of things slimy, got up to find a mass invasion of her kitchen!

Slugs and Snails
There are about 30 types of slugs and snails. Not all of them are pests, although I wouldn’t be able to spot a friendly slug myself! The largest ones seem to be the least harmful to plants as they mainly live on dead organic matter. It’s the small slugs that do the most damage, some of which live underground and eat the plant roots.

So how can we keep slugs at bay?

My lad just collects them and keeps them as pets in a jam jar on the bookcase. As I cant see this being a popular option what about my mother in laws concentration camp. She collects slugs in a large tub with a lettuce leaf and once a week takes them to her friend who keeps ducks.

Other methods include:

Keep the area near vulnerable plants clear of dead foliage. Check in damp places nearby, under pots and stones etc destroying any slugs you find.

Attract wildlife into your garden such as birds and frogs. They will happily do the work for you.
With slug pellets, always follow the instructions carefully. Traditional pellets are not ecologically friendly as they are poisonous to birds as well as people (be careful if small children are around). There are some eco-friendly products around if you can find them. Those containing aluminium sulphate are less harmful although they are only effective until it rains (or you water).

Beer traps are set by sinking containers filled with flat beer around the garden. The slugs fall in and drown (not a bad way to go some might say). Clean them out regularly.

Divert the slugs from your favourite plants by putting bran in a terracotta pot and lay it on its side.
For plants in containers, try putting Vaseline around the rim of the pot. This tends to get a bit dirty after a while so try winding thin copper wire around the pot. The slugs and snails feel a shock from the naturally occurring electrical current and turn back.

Crush and bake egg shells to scatter around the plants. Sharp gravel or soot would also be effective.

Introduce biological control in the form of parasitic slug nematodes in spring. These work well on the root-eating slugs.


MORE ON SLUGS

I’ve been extremely lucky this summer with slugs, or lack of them I should say. For some reason they have decided to go elsewhere for their meals and most of my plants seem unaffected by the little slimy visitors. I think it might be something to do with the fact that it is a new garden and most of it is covered with wood chip and webbing. I have had a few e-mails recently from people who claim that they have found humane solutions to the imminent invasion every year. Most of them are good and generally effective. I have my doubts about keeping in with the neighbours though if you were to throw them over the fence at night as someone suggested! Here are the pick of the rest.

Fill a jar with cheap beer and sink it into the ground. The boozed up slugs can then be put on the compost bin. S.M

Place the skins of half cut grapefruit, cut side down, around vulnerable plants. Collect the sleepy slugs underneath EJ. G.

Bake eggshells and grind them up into sharp grit. A scattering around plants will keep the slugs off. M.C.

Put a smear of Vaseline around the pots. JF.

The next suggestions were all from Anne Martin, who seems to have most of the slugs in Inishowen in her garden!

Collect them with a brush and pan in the small hours and release them in the wild.

Use a sawdust barrier. The wood working places locally will usually give you a bag for free.

Encourage frogs into your garden.
Hostas seem well protected with pea gravel. Scatter this around the base of tender plants.

Horticultural.

MULCHING

(Taken from November)

This week I’ve had some much-needed help in the garden. My friend Paul, visiting from England, has been hacking away at the undergrowth in the more neglected areas and planting small trees and shrubs to create what will eventually be a forest garden. This has given me some much needed time to sort out my plants in the front garden that have quickly outgrown their pots and need more room to spread their roots out in comfort. He has also been going out to work with me. It has been a pleasure working with some one else, not least because he has been going to choir with Julie and is practising while he digs! While Paul is here we are planning to have a morning session on mulching on Saturday 1st of December. Paul will talk a bit about mulching and there will be hands on experience (bring wellies, raingear, gloves etc) and handouts. Paul has brought over a few specialist tools and of course you are welcome to look around. The cost is a tenner (or a donation if you prefer). For more details call me on the usual number (see below). In the meantime, here is Paul to talk some more about what mulching is.

Last week I introduced the concept of mulching as a way of maintaining and improving your garden without working too hard. Instead of digging (or double digging) your garden before planting you can simply mulch. Mulching is applying a top dressing of organic or inorganic materials to suppress weeds and improve soil fertility. You can use well-rotted horse manure, mushroom compost, seaweed, carpet, cardboard and even old cotton rags. It is complementary to the use of compost but easier. Ian and I have been trying to put our ideas into practice but my aching bones are telling me that we might not have the art perfected yet (If any-one has a motorized wheel barrow let me know!) I have used this system in the past with excellent results however you need to keep your nerves as old bits of carpet and cardboard lying around the garden does not exactly have that “garden makeover” look. The system may take a year or two to look good but when the materials have rotted in the soil is wonderfully rich, producing great crops of veggies, loads of flowers etc. If you think that what I’m saying is rubbish “literally,” we are putting your money where our mouths are on the open day. At least you can come along and see what I am talking about it action.

Why dig anyway! It is a primeval instinct. Put a spade in the hand of a small child and they will immediately imitate a digging action. Though lazy to a point of fastidious principle I still see a spade and think dig. We have evolved the mind-set to dig but have yet to develop the back muscles and stamina. If you want a he man body go to the gym, if you want an Eden to laze about in put your spade beyond use and start to mulch (it saves on weeding too)!

Farmers are digging all the time. They call it ploughing and use big machines to take the strain. It is the technique that humans have used since they first settled and developed agriculture in the near east thousands of years ago to keep the forest at bay. It’s a great idea if you want to grow a cereal crop quickly in a semi arid climate but it requires lots of intense inputs both in labour and resources to maintain its fertility. It also damages the natural soil structure.

Soil is a complex and wonderful medium. A hand full of dirt is a source of endless fascination. Put it under the microscope and there is more life and drama than a week of soap output on the telly.

First lets consider the bacteria that live in the soil. There are two main groups, aerobes that live in the first few inches, thriving in the surface conditions and anaerobes that live a bit deeper and like it cold, dark and wet. When we dig we change this natural state of affairs and by turning the soil we put the penthouse dwellers into the basement and the basement dwellers into the penthouse. They do not like this at all. In fact they dislike it so much they die! Initially this has a beneficial effect and the soil is made more fertile as the bacteria decompose. In time however, the soil becomes less productive relying on expensive inputs of artificial fertilizer. So mulching makes sense. Looking forward to meeting any interested would be mulchers on Saturday 1st December. Cheers!

Horticultural.

5 MINUTES WITH - BEV DOHERTY

Bev Doherty lives on the outskirts of Carndonagh with her husband Mike and son Ronan. Their married daughter lives in England. They have a ¾ of an acre smallholding surrounding them with organic fruit, herbs, vegetables and chickens. They have a polythene tunnel and greenhouse that increases their growing period and have invested in solar panels. Bev runs different workshops and also teaches the piano and recorder. She is a member of Transition Inishowen Initiative, part of the worldwide Transition Towns Movement that is empowering people to explore the challenges of climate change, peak oil and the economic crisis and how to come together as communities to live more on harmony with the earth.

What music are you listening to at the moment?
It’s a CD called Show me the Path made by my Dutch friends Wim Wali and Arienne Van der Zwan - a wonderful mix of sacred chants from the world's spiritual traditions.

What book are you reading?
I am re-reading the Transition Handbook by Rob Hopkins. It has an excellent account on the various crises that humanity is facing and how we can build up resilience by coming together as communities to produce locally grown food, energy and public transport.

What was your favourite childhood game?
Stilts, they were a real challenge and the top and whip. You don’t see either of these much now.

Have you been to the cinema recently, what did you see and was it any good?
I went to see The Age of Stupid. I was at the world premiere recently. I was gobsmacked at the images the film has that showed the outcome of climate change if we carry on with the “Business as Usual” attitude. The film stars Pete Postlethwaite who plays a future archivist who looks back from 2055 at old footage to understand why humankind failed to address climate change, and asks "Why didn't we save ourselves while we had the chance?"

What would you never throw away?
Anything that could be recycled or re-used. We recycle Christmas and birthday wrapping paper and never have to buy any.

Favourite TV programme?
I watched an excellent programme on the BBC Natural World series called A Farm for the Future recently. Wildlife filmmaker Rebecca Hosking looked into how to transform her family’s farm in Devon into a low energy farm for the future. She discovers that nature holds the key. I also enjoyed the series Around the World in 80 Faiths.

What job did you want to do when you were a child?
I always wanted to be a teacher.

Where was your best holiday and what made it special?
My 11 month trip around the world. I was travelling from September 06 to August 07 and it was the adventure of a lifetime. I was in the US, Australia, New Zealand, India and Europe. I worked on organic farms and with communities.I also stayed with friends and family and taught peace dances in ashrams in India. I met really inspirational people and saw many natural wonders. I discovered that the world is basically a friendly place.

What famous people would you invite around for dinner and why?
Rob Hopkins, the author of The Transition Town Handbook, he is so inspiring. I would also have Satish Kumar, the editor of Resurgence Magazine around. He walked around the world for peace in the 1970’s and is a very spiritual person and great storyteller.

What do you do for a special treat?
Grind some organic and fairtrade Colombian coffee beans, and make an amazing cafe latte with hot frothy milk and cream. It would be accompanied by a couple of squares of Seeds of Change dark chocolate.

Favourite animal?
A milking goat with a nice big udder. We used to keep them but then our home- schooled children went to school, got sophisticated and demanded cow’s milk.

Biggest thrill?
Going to Dublin with other members of the Inishowen Environmental Group in 1986. We went to collect £3000 for our 3rd prize in the National Washday Competition for our Inishowen Clean Up Campaign. At the time nearly every school, community group and individual in Inishowen cleared Inishowen of litter in a single weekend. Anneka Rice turned up on the GAA pitch in Carndonagh with three helicopters as part of our reward, which in hindsight probably wasn’t the most environmentally friendly thing to do, but you couldn't move in Carn for people!

Biggest Challenge?
Living in the present moment.

What was the best present you ever got?
The gift of my two children.

What charities do you support?
Concern, Irish Seed Savers, Voice, FOE, Practical Action, Garden Organic, Soil Association and local causes too.

Favourite meal?

Spanking fresh mackerel with vegetables from the garden - new charlotte potatoes, roasted squash, and green beans. For dessert a large bowl of fresh picked berries with a dollop of Rachel’s Greek yoghurt, washed down with freshly pressed apple juice…..

The world’s most irritating invention?
GM crops. Far from feeding the world biotech companies are leading farmers to bankruptcy and suicide.I saw it for myself in India - 20,000 deaths a year.

Favourite past-times?

Growing food and teaching the Dances of Universal Peace.

Which period in history would you most like to have lived through?
1650 – 1750 All that wonderful Baroque music and I could have met Bach and Handel and asked Telemann to write easier recorder music!

What do you have for breakfast?
An apple to start with, then a huge bowl of porridge with dried fruits and seeds mixed in, milled flaxseed on top, a dusting of cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup. Prunes on the side. I 'll have a hot water or weak green tea to drink.

Do you have a favourite cartoon character?
When I was young I loved Rupert Bear. I now have a favourite cartoonist. He goes by the name of Polyp and comments on the state of the world. It’s razor sharp.

What was your first paid job?
Working behind the delicatessen counter in David Greggs, a small supermarket in Wokingham in the UK in the 60’s.

Best/worst household task?
The best is baking bread, the worst is trying to get to the bottom of the mountains of clutter in the house.

What is the best/worst piece of advice you have been given?
The best was being advised to take up meditation. The worst was to plant hawthorn hedges in between our veggie beds. They get very prickly and the thorns can easily go straight through your gloves if they are lying on the ground after being pruned.

Personal philosophy?
Believe in the goodness of people and live lightly on the earth.