I have my 600kg pottery kiln up and running. It’s taken the best part of three months to
move it from its original pottery location, put it on the back of a lorry, have
it delivered to the house and then get it wired up.
As it cost about the same amount to fire the kiln up as it
does to run about five immersion heaters constantly for three days I’m only
firing the pots when I have a full load.
I did get the potter’s wheel a lot earlier than the kiln so I have had
plenty of time to experiment making terracotta pots and thrown enough for the
first firing which I did this week. So far no two pots are the same, mainly
because I haven’t got the skill level to start a production line. My lad is
optimistic; he says I have reached the professional level of a 5 year old. I’m
happy with that for now.
I’m a bit laid up with a cold at the moment so I thought it
a good time to see what’s happening later this year for the gardener.
Bloom Postcard
Gardens
Bord Bia is now looking for people to design Postcard
Gardens for the Bloom festival which returns to the Phoenix Park, Dublin, this
June bank holiday weekend from May 31 – June 5.
The Bloom Postcard Gardens consist of small but perfectly
formed 2m x 3m plots where amateur gardeners can create a showpiece
representing their club, locality, or perhaps even a special person or
character from their community.
The Postcard Gardens at Bloom offer passionate amateurs,
garden clubs and communities, and GIY groups a chance to showcase their talents
to over 100,000 visitors attending the event.
Applications are now open on the Bloom website and will
close by 6th March. Contact Kerrie Gardiner for application details at
kerrie.gardiner@bloominthepark.com or 086 130 4170 or visit www.bloominthepark.com’s
exhibit section.
Apprentice Organic Growers
sought for Internship Programme
Apprentice organic growers are being sought for an
internship programme that will be run by the Organic Growers of Ireland next
season.
The programme provides work experience on nine organic
horticulture farms around the country. This is supplemented by workshops, farm
walks and training days delivered by experts in the sector.
This work placement will involve a minimum of 30 hours a
week of work over a six-month period on a well-established organic horticultural
farm. The participants will be employed by the individual farms directly, and
will be supported by a formal training programme funded by the Department of Agriculture,
Food and the Marine.
The programme works to stimulate the personal development
and confidence of trainees in their ability to think for themselves and embrace
new technologies.
The initiative sets out to help bridge the gaps of students
who have completed horticultural courses, or have some practical work
experience, and give them the confidence to start up their own horticultural
enterprise, or take on the management of an existing horticultural venture.
Applicants should have either a Level 5 FETAC qualification
in horticulture or a minimum of one year’s work experience on a farm.
A certificate of completion will be issued by the Organic
Growers of Ireland on successfully concluding the work placement on the host
farm, attending all workshops and farm walks, completing the 25-hour block
course on organic principles, standards and certification as well as completing
a written project on a chosen crop.
The closing date for applications is Friday, February 23.
Further details are available from Noel on: futuregrowers1@gmail.com.
Bright colours are on the agenda for spring, the daffodils
are opening up and at least giving me a bit of colour looking up the garden out
of the window (did I tell you I have a cold?)
Daffodils
You can pay a lot of money for daffodil bulbs. One called
the ‘Causeway Sunset’ costs 80 euro each to buy.
You can’t mass-produce daffodil bulbs, you have to plant a
bulb and dig it up the following year and hope that the bulb has divided. The
process is then repeated until you have built up a stock. The reason these
bulbs are so expensive is because there were only ten to sell. There are 24,000
different daffodil bulbs that are registered at the RHS.
Anyone can grow his or her own unique daffodil. Take the
fluffy bit from the centre of a daffodil and use this to tickle inside the
flower of another different type of daffodil and wait until the seeds are ripe.
Grow the seeds and after four years of waiting patiently you will have a few
bulbs that will produce original flowers. The reason for the 24,000 different
types is that the slightest difference between flowers be it a slightly thicker
stem or the head tilting a fraction more than another would make it different
from any other. A bit like my clay pots.
