Country Garden Herbs (and Microgreens) in Garvagh and Check Tree Ties

 Country Garden Herbs wide choice of mints

 Perennials coming on well

 Plug grown thyme

 Pot grown thyme

The perennial bumper collection of 72 plants is doing very well.  I have had to re-pot a few varieties of some faster growing plants like the gaura, delphiniums and verbena into larger one litre pots and the others aren’t far behind. 

I’m very happy with the impulse buy but still haven’t found anywhere to put the plants once they mature. I did salvage a small plot of ground where the broccoli was growing. It had gone from flower to seed and the insect buzzing stopped so the time was just right to clear the ground. I built a small raised bed on the fresh, weed free soil and have decided to create a small creeping thyme area.  I am hedging my bets as usual and have acquired plants and seeds from different places.  The first set of cuttings I got from a neighbours garden, I then bought seeds from two different places to germinate, I ordered mail delivered plug plants and then I went to a plant nursery in Garvagh near Coleraine for the mature 9cm pot grown specimens.  

It might sound a bit OTT to get plants from so many places but it’s my irrepressible urge to not only grow the plants but to research and view how well each batch does. Some growers say cuttings are not a good idea and only go for seeds so we’ll see. I’ll probably bore you with the results sometime next year.

The seeds have been sown, cuttings taken and plugs planted in the raised bed.  I was happy (ish) with the plugs but they were a bit yellow on arrival but will soon pick up. The 9cm pot grown ones on the other hand were fabulous and well worth the trip into the North coast countryside.  I got them from a bloke called Malachy who runs Country Garden Herbs in Garvagh.  He specialises in growing all types of herbs so when I got there it was like a sweetie shop for me. He has 12 different types of mint so I couldn’t come away without getting a couple of varieties. Malachy suggested I sniff the separate leaves and there were subtle differences to the aroma.  I bought three types, chocolate, berry and cream and pineapple flavours. They are in pots on the patio as I would guess they are all just as invasive as the more common types.

I came away from Country garden Herbs learning a lot and 12 beautiful thyme plants.  I planted 10 of them straight out  in my new planting space and then took 360 cuttings from the last couple and put them in 3cm plug trays. If only a few survive I’ll be happy and if loads of them grow you’ll see me at the country market with a stall.

Microgreens

As well as growing the dizzying array of herbs in pots, Malachy also spends his day delivering hydroponically grown Micro greens to hotels and restaurants along the north coast. He can pick, pack and deliver the fresh greens to discerning chefs within two hours of them being picked. He’s a busy man who seems to take everything at a really relaxed pace and loves what he does. 

To give you an idea of the range of microgreens Malachy is growing, he has 4 types of basil – including spice and cinnamon flavour, coriander, celery, fennel, mustard, chervil, red cabbage, broccoli and spicy mixed salad so the next time you are eating out on the North coast chances are you’ll be tucking into some of Malachy’s freshly picked greens.

Mulch can damage trees

If you plant a small tree, ties aren’t generally needed. In fact research has shown (not mine) that a small tree without a tie will grow far faster and healthier than a larger tree planted with a stake and tie holding it in place.  So when I see trees all tied up where the bark is straining to expand because of the pressure of the rubber, I generally adjust them so they can grow unhindered. – or take them off all together.

All too often they are just forgotten about after planting. There’s another issue for trees and that’s to much mulch around the base of the trunk.  Too much mulch applied over the root ball or resting against the trunk can cause problems. Roots often grow up and into the mulch causing stem ‘girdling’ roots. This is where the tree doesn’t know where ground level is. The cover can also hide decay and dead spots on the lower trunk and major roots. Decay in this portion of the tree can cause the tree to become unstable. If you are mulching around trees then keep mulch about 12 to 18 inches (30-45cm) from the trunk for any size of tree. If you see someone kicking mulch from a tree trunk in your travels it’s probably me.

GROW Pilot Study - A call for action on climate change

 The stylish GROW soil monitoring device

Chairperson of Community Gardens Ireland Joanne Lindsay Butler from OurGanics in Gortahork is moving one step closer to a sustainable future. 

Joanne is spearheading a pilot study on soil quality around Donegal as part of a wider European study and is calling on all growers in Donegal to get involved in GROW.

Community Gardens Ireland have been selected as GROW ‘Community Champions’, and will be joining similar organisations from Portugal, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Greece, Spain and Scotland to develop GROW Places. 

Joanne tells us “Through my work with community gardens Ireland, I have now been selected to roll Donegal out as a pilot stage to advise land owners/users how to use simple soil sensors and collect soil moisture data to help with environmental monitoring for climate change adaptation. This means we will contribute data to help scientists develop more accurate climatic models and help predict severe weather events such as droughts, flooding and fires. We are hoping to engage with a wide audience and especially in Inishowen with recent flooding! "

Taking Part

All we need to do is welcome Joanne and her soil monitoring device and she will guide us through the simple operating procedure. 

“We will provide growers and interested parties with all the details and support that you will you need to join in” Joanne continues.  “This includes printed materials, on-line supports and sensors. We will also organise fun and engaging face to face events, these will be a great opportunity to learn more about soil and meet likeminded growers from this region. This is a big project from a grass roots level to possible global impact to help mitigate climate change.”

What is GROW?

The GROW Observatory (GROW) is a European-wide project engaging thousands of growers, scientists and others passionate about the land.  Working together using simple tools to better manage soil and grow food, while contributing to vital scientific environmental monitoring.

What is GROW doing?

There are many human and environmental challenges facing us today and two challenges that GROW is focusing on are saving our soils and adapting to climate change by collating information to improve both soil and food growing practices.  The information gathered will contribute to soil moisture data over a large geographical scale and empower us to work on these topics collaboratively. Changes could come from adding to climate science, impact on environmental policies, and make a difference in how we manage the land. 

Online

Thousands of growers are learning together on the GROW website and via the online courses available both locally and across Europe. Growers are trying out exciting new ways to improve their soil and food production methods. With the simple, coordinated soil experiments to capture and make sense of data on our environment, collectively this helps validate good local growing practices and international environmental monitoring.

GROW Vision – Building Better Soil Through Citizen Science

GROW’s vision is to create and support a movement of thousands of citizens across Europe that will produce, exchange and use information related to land and soil.

This can lead to more sustainable land use practices, better soil and land governance and policy, and a unique data repository for science. Through this, people gain a voice on local issues and tailored advice on which new crops to plant, when to water, sow and harvest. In turn, their insight will underpin better-informed decision­-making and policy objectives, while improving soil, land use, climate change adaptation and our overall sustainability.

All we need to do is a simple soil moisture test with the sensor supplied by Joanne.

Joanne is out and about around the county on a daily basis and is bust dropping off the sensors to individuals and groups interested in taking part.

You can read more on the GROW website https://growobservatory.org/

If you would like to get involved and host sensors, contact Joanne on 0861789971 or growdonegal@gmail.com

All the Veg is Planted -Yea!

 Sagina

We have the young baby vegetables planted in place at last. 

Well, apart from some broad beans that are still in small pots. There’s time for those yet and we’ll get those in as soon as I have finished making a wigwam shape out of bamboo poles. I can’t make the climbing structure until we remove last years old broccoli plants, but they are still producing florets. Granted the heads are progressively getting smaller and smaller as we pick away at them but so far they haven’t flowered or gone to seed. It takes me an hour to get a small pan full but I’m not giving up on them yet. It’s always the same with these plants, they do tend to be in the way a bit as we rotate the crops. I’m not complaining though as even a small portion is very welcome at any time of year.

It’s always a relief when the young plants go into the ground as it’s not long before they start suffering when they get pot bound, especially the broccoli and kale as they tend to go to seed really quickly if they are subjected to any form or stress. 

I made the structures for the peas, mange tout and beans a week or two ago and they are happily spiralling their tendrils around the poles and reaching for the sun.  We have parsley coming up, it’s been very slow to appear and I’d nearly given up on them and the ‘pick and come again’ lettuce is doing really well. It’s been kept out of the glaring sun we had last week as they don’t really like it too sunny all day, a bit like my head.

More Seasonal Changes

The tunnel is mostly empty now because it was getting far too hot for most of the plants apart from the young perennial plugs which seem to cope with the 40 degree heat and one of my dogs who for some reason insists on sitting in there. I think it might be something to do with her staring at the two resident frogs for hours. She does the same with cats too until they give her a swipe. 

I also have seven gifted tomato plants filling up the available space and loving the heat. I wasn’t going to grow any this year but I just can’t say no when someone calls around with them in their arms. It’d be impolite to refuse. 

I had to remove the chamomile plugs I have growing as they were starting to get too soft and leggy They have now taken over the patio as the 20 packs are covering every paving slab and available ledge. The patio chairs and now in the middle of the lawn out of the way (and in the shade). The family are very patient with me and let me get on with taking over the place with the small plants. I’ve been a couple of years making my small chamomile lawn and these will be filling in all the gaps in a few weeks so it’ll be business as usual on the patio in not time.  I’ll be growing them under cover later in the year to fill any more gaps that appear in winter but I doubt we’ll be even thinking about the patio then.

Irish Moss

I’ve started to grow ‘Irish Moss’ or pearlwort (Sagina Subulata) in plugs for a bit of ground cover, not for a lawn, more as a rockery plant.  I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before but Irish moss isn’t Irish and it’s not a moss, but it does cover the ground really well only growing to about 4 cm in height. It’s a plant originating in the sandy, gravel hills of Europe and is very popular with people who have gaps in slabs or a bit of a decorative green space they want covering. The plant is evergreen, has small white flowers and all it does in winter is get smaller and more compact until the warmer weather starts up again. It doesn’t have the fragrance of chamomiles but not everyone wants the sweet smell of apples when you walk on a lawn. I’ve already covered half of the garden with them as we have a lot of cracked concrete to cover, maybe I can cover the patio slabs for next year.

Family Wedding and Watering Plants

 Tiny Plug Plants

I was at a family wedding last week. We do seem to be going to quite a few at the moment as our nieces and nephews are settling down. I still think of them as toddlers running around but most of them are reaching or have passed the age of thirty so they are toddlers no more. 

 

Thankfully we didn’t have to travel too far this time as it was just over the water near Exeter in Devon. 

The last wedding was in Alicante and although I was getting the impression they chose the far away holiday destination so we wouldn’t take them up their invitation, we went anyway. Apparently it’s quite the in thing to go to exotic places now, not only for the wedding but also the stag and hen do’s.  A friend of mine went overseas no less than five times last year to his mates stag parties and it cost him most of his wages but at least he’s amassed some air miles so he can go somewhere on his own to give his liver a rest.

The wedding venues the relations have chosen have all been fantastic and there are so many factors to take into consideration when doing the planning especially the unpredictable weather. Precautions were taken and all of the outside ceremony areas had some lovely canopies put up just in case the weather turned. The day was forecast really heavy thunder, lightning and rain so this was a wise precaution to take. The young people camping just had to hope their canvas was waterproof. 

As it turned out the precautions weren’t needed to keep the torrential rain off, they were more being used as shades from the sun. Somehow the weather predictions of the impending storm just kept being put back and back, much to everyone’s relief.   

I do realise that at weddings it doesn’t really matter about the décor, the food, weather or if things run smoothly, it’s all about the loving family members and friends getting together for a good old knees up and celebrating the couple’s big day. I’m saying that for anyone who is getting stressed about planning a wedding as I am beginning to realise just how much time and energy (and money) can go into them. 

The storm did come. It was very late at around 10:30 in the evening and the spectacle was better than a firework display and on par with seeing the Northern Lights.  Everyone came off the dance floor and stood at the windows oohing and aahing at the sheet and bolts of lightning passing over us. You can’t plan or buy that sort of spectacle. It made my night.  

The rain was a deluge for a short while and gave everything a good watering.

Watering

As the storm wasn’t passing over our house back home I left instructions for my lad to water my young plants and vegetables twice in the day. Some of them are really young, especially the 70 perennial plants that arrived an hour before I left for the airport. 

We potted them up into small pots and put them in a sheltered area away from direct sunlight until they established a bit. I’ve actually never seen plant plugs as small as these before, to give you an idea of the size you can probably get at least 8 of these tiny plugs into a regular plug cell. If you recall I got them all for €2 so I wasn’t complaining and they arrived healthy enough.

My lad asked me when he should water the plants and veggies in the garden. I said just water them when you can, it doesn’t matter to me when they are done as long as the roots have water.  There are some that say leaves get scorched in the heat of the day but I have never had that happen to any of my plants. The beads of water are supposed to act like magnifying glasses and scorch leaves but there’s nowhere on the planet where this would happen so that doesn’t bother me.   

Late in the evening is said to be an issue too if the leaves don’t have time to dry off as they could get mouldy. I’ve not really experienced that either with more mature plants. Generally if you need to water then it’s going to be a drying breeze anyway.  I suppose in an ideal world we’d be watering either in the early morning so there’s less evaporation or late afternoon as it gives the plants time to dry but sunshine and rain come at any time and mostly together at this time of year so we might as well just go with the flow and do it when we can.