SOAP SUBSTIUTE

SOAPWORT

I have grown this plant from seed over the years and it proves to be a good ground cover and an interesting talking point. Usually the original form of this plant is seen in hedgerows, but there are cultivated species around they would have escaped from private gardens. Soapwort of Saponaria officianalis, was grown because of its use in the kitchen. If soapwort is boiled, both the leaves and the roots make lather and the resulting mixture was used to wash wool. I tried this myself and it really worked, although I wouldn’t use it on white clothes, as there is a green pigment from the chlorophyll in the leaves. The plant was cultivated near woollen mills and probably escaped into the countryside, much like the teasel did. Scotland seems to have more that anywhere else and this is because they had a thriving woollen industry in the past. The plant reaches 60- 90 cm in length and will have either pink or white flowers.

WELCOME!

Hi and welcome to Inishindie.

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Topics on Environmental issues, Sustainability and Gardening and a few motoring interviews are all jumbled up in one big pile.

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I have singled a few things out for those that don't care to rummage. The rest can be found on the "Check out the other titles" list on the left of the page.

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I am in the process of setting up an offshoot called Gardening Matters I'll let you know when it is up and running

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I welcome your comments and hope you come back soon!!

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I have set up the Up the Garden Path Forum Page and hope that you join in the chat....

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....Let's put Inishowen on the map!!!!

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I also highlight the work of Noeline Haylett from County Mayo. Noeline has been tirelessly working with wild and neglected animals from her home. Her work in Ghana is inspirational and I am in the process for creating her own website to highlight the plight of her village and hopefully raise vital funds for more aid

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Cheers

Ian

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PS.

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If you use any of the images please let me know where you put them!

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NOELINE IN GHANA

Noeline Haylett visited Ho in Ghana this year to see where all of the goods she shipped over were being used. There is great progress with the school up and runing and fresh water from the wells. This photo was one of the most striking images that I came accross. It is a woman who sits under the canopy all day,every day, breaking rocks. The lagrer rocks in the basket are made smaller then used for building purposes. Please go to the link below to see more about the fabulous work that Noeline from Westport is doing in Ghana.

NOT SO DAFF

Ths is a bit late now, hopefully your daffodils are well on the way to flowering for Christmas!!

Q. Can I get daffodils to flower for Christmas?

A. You can get some in the shops called Paperwhite that could be grown in pots. These have been “Prepared” which means they have been forced to flower early. If you are growing the dwarf Téte a Téte ones try putting them in pots and leaving in a warm place for a few weeks then place them outside or in the greenhouse. No guarantee but it’s worth a try!

IS THIS A QUESTION?

I put this very question to the Yahoo questions and answers site recently. I was getting loads of answers from people saying that it was a genuine question. Reasons being that it had a question mark at the end so it must be. There were some that said no because This isn't a question in itself as it is a demonstrative pronoun. Anyway,to cut a long story short it has been take off because the moderator thinks it isn't a question.

I wrote back to the moderator and asked

Is this an answer?

What do you think!

SUNFLOWERS

It’s been a fabulous year for plants that need a lot of water to flourish. Fruit is in abundance. Everyone I know who grows apples, plums, pears and raspberries have said that they have had bumper crops. The only fruits to suffer were strawberries; it was just too wet for them. One flowering plant that has done really well is the sunflower. I was down at Tanya Dean’s house in Redcastle last week looking at her son Altáns fabulous collection of tall plants outside their front door. They are all self supporting and taking into consideration the lack of soil they are growing in, have done remarkably well -reaching up to at least nine feet.

SAVING THE SEEDS
If you have sunflowers then you can save the seed heads when the petals fade and the neck goes brown. You could put the complete head in the hot press to dry but we find they can go a bit mouldy. Try scraping the seeds off from the head and then put these into a paper bag to dry instead. The seeds make a great snack and are full of nutrients – calcium, thiamine, vitamin B6 and folic acid. (Peel the outside hull off first though!) Alternatively just leave the heads out for the birds to feast on.