Barley Grow

Filling odd socks with barley can have its drawbacks.

Foot Warmers

During the cold spell we took positive action to keep warm. I got a bit fed up of looking at the oil level in the tank going down like the barometer mercury and layered up. I have a thick cardigan with a fluffy hood which I have worn since before December last and will probably be with me for some time yet (I do wash it occasionally). Another measure I took to keep my feet warm in bed was to fill old socks up with barley, we have plenty of odd ones so it gives them a use before going to odd sock heaven. I got the idea from a cuddly teddy bear filled with seeds that you put in the microwave for two minutes. Not wanting to do things by half I went to the Co-op and bought a 25 kg bag of barley animal feed for the job, we have big socks in our family.

Tie the Knot

I filled the socks up and tied them in a knot, one sock probably weighed in around the 1kg mark, maybe a bit more and there was plenty to go around to make a few. Some of the bought warmers have lavender in them to take away the smell of barley, but I quite liked the smell –it was comforting to a beer drinker, so I didn’t add any to the mix. The idea is that the moisture levels within the barley gets agitated in the microwave and stores the heat for long enough for us to get to sleep. Then like most hot water bottles they are pushed out of the bed as they lose heat. This method of warming things is all right until there is no moisture left.
But through over time and over use, the barley started to dry out. One night I heated the barley filled sock for 8 minutes in the microwave (it was very cold) and took myself to bed. During the next couple of hours I got restless and found that unlike most nights the bag wasn’t getting cooler, it was actually heating up. To the extent that I could no longer put my foot on it, I could also smell a crop burning. Thinking this was a bit strange I pulled back the covers, grabbing the sock. It was roasting and making strange crackling noises so I took it into the bathroom and ran it under the tap. There was an almighty hissing noise and steam filled the room. I had set the barley alight and the only thing to stop it, and the bed bursting into flames was the fact that there was no air circulating around the barley. I’ve resorted to the age old method of warming my feet now and move them to the other side of the bed. It’s always warmer.

Going spare

I have now found myself with about 20 kg of barley and although it would be tempting to turn the garden into a cash crop this year I did a bit of research and found that they are a bit of a superfood, apparently Greek athletes and Gladiators drank it’s juices and ate it’s sprouted seed. The seeds can be sprouted and eaten or grown to about 6 inches high then cut back and juiced.
Barley has high levels of copper, phosphorous, calcium, selenium, magnesium, lysine, vitamin B3 and 5,. It lowers cholesterol, gets rid of pesticides and insecticides that have been added fruit and vegetables. Barley boosts the immune system, rejuvenates cells, slowing down the aging process, eases inflammatory conditions like arthritis and builds bone strength as well as controlling eczema and rough skin. It’s really good news for me and it’s just as well, with 20kg of it to get through. I have a cup full soaking already to sprout. Just as a tip if you do cook dried beans or pulses, you need to soak them for 2 days to get rid of the natural anti-nutrients and growth inhibitors.

Could you be a Super Gardener?

I was contacted by a company making programmes for RTÉ this week to see if anyone in Inishowen has what it takes to design a great garden. I’m sure we do, but have you got the bottle to go in front of the cameras? Here’s what they have to say about the television series Super Garden’. (Last year’s series is being shown at the moment).
“Are you passionate about gardening? Is it your ambition to be a garden designer? Do you dream of winning a Gold Medal at Chelsea?
'Super Garden' is seeking 5 amateur garden designers to compete for the title of 'Super Gardener' in the new RTÉ series, to be broadcast in May 2011.

What you need
A passion for gardening is a must, as is creative flair, and the ability to design a garden to a budget and deadline. So if you feel you have what it takes, this is what you need to do.
Email supergarden@vipmg.tv and tell them briefly why you love garden design, and what your dream design would be. Where possible, please enclose basic plans or drawings. Only amateur garden designers are eligible to enter this competition. Filming will take place during the months of March and April 2011, so applicants must be available for filming during this time”. You can also check out their web page on the RTÉ website. Good luck.

What's Your Favourite Tool?

If I had a screwdriver with a motor when I was four, who knows what I would have taken to bits.

Favourite tool

If anyone was to ask me what my all time favourite tool was they might be surprised. I have raved on about particular tools recently, such as the hoes from Chillington and the small hand tool I picked up for 2 euro in Lidl that is perfect for getting creeping buttercup roots out. But it’s not those. My all time favourite tool was a penknife, given to me, in hindsight, rather irresponsibly by a friend of the family...for my fourth birthday. The four inch blade was finely forged Sheffield steel and the beautiful tortoiseshell handle shimmered in the sunlight as I took the tool out of its box.

That penknife was the best present ever I thought, as I made my way outside to see what I could carve up. I learnt a lot from that penknife. It showed me that you can’t cut backwards as the knife folded up and trapped your fingers. I learned that you could easily shave slithers of wood from the dining chair backs and also that parents were horrified when you ran down the stairs with the blade open chasing flies. I only managed to keep the penknife for a day, maybe that’s why it was my favourite tool, because it was forbidden for me to have it. It spent ten years in a secret place until ‘I was old enough to use it properly’. I was given a screwdriver instead and this remains number two in my list of favourite tools. The fun I had with that, taking the afore mentioned dining chairs to bits, seeing what happened when you took the screws out of the back of the television and poking it into electrical appliances. I didn’t have that present long either as I recall.

I’m reminiscing because I was recently talking to James Kilkelly from the GardenPlansIreland forum. He has started a weekly questionnaire for gardeners to fill in and I thought I would give it a go. After all I spent a happy year or two asking gardeners around Inishowen questions about their gardens when for the paper. I thought it was time I had a go to see how difficult it can be to think of answers.

Questions and Answers

Your favourite qualities in a garden.
To be practical and edible. I like the idea of incorporating a well to avoid water metering. I also like gardens to be versatile and adapt to different stages of people lives.
Your favourite garden.
Mapperley allotments in Nottingham. There are all nationalities together, some living on the site permanently. There are also organisations set up for people with mental health issues to undertake horticultural therapy.
Your favourite colour.
I like contrast in the garden so it depend on the backdrop. I tend to sway towards natural colours in the hedgerows.
Your favourite tree.
Hazel and willow are great and very useful. I will say the oak tree though. We live on the coast and these hardy trees survive anything, most of them grow sideways because of the wind.
Your favourite shrub.
Garrya elliptica (the silk tassel bush) is a great winter favourite. I suppose it’s because I have never managed to grow one here. For practicality though I would plant blackcurrants, they are easy to propagate and if you don’t eat the berries the birds will.
Your favourite flower.
As a kid it was the white trumpet bindweed flower. As a gardener it’s the cheerful spring flowers of crocus, snowdrops and daffodils. The promise of things to come.
If you could grow only one vegetable, which one would it be.
Curly Kale. It’s both hardy and versatile. You can eat it from autumn to late spring and I especially enjoy the small broccoli like florets.
If there was one plant that you never had to see again, which one would you consign to history?
Leylandii. They are a menace. They grow too quickly taking all of the nutrients out of the soil, no wildlife lives in them, they cut out neighbours light and they go bare on the bottom.
The main fault you come across in gardening/garden design.
Builders don’t put enough topsoil in gardens when a new house goes up. The poor owners spend years digging out rubbish.
Your least favourite part of gardening.
Digging. That’s why I don’t do it. I prefer to work with a ‘no dig’ policy. I add to the top of the soil so that the structure remains intact for the worms to do their magic.
If you were not involved in the gardening trade what would your ideal occupation be.
A presenter on Top Gear. -as long as I could still have time to garden as a hobby.
Your top gardening tip.
Incorporate vegetables into your garden, even if you don’t have vegetable beds. Grow them in the borders as you would ornamental plants.
Your life motto.
Work smart, not hard and leave something to do tomorrow.

RTÉ Super Garden 2011

 Last years contestants

NEW SERIES OF

‘SUPER GARDEN’

COULD YOU BE A SUPER GARDENER?

Are you passionate about gardening? Is it your ambition to be a garden designer? Do you dream of winning a Gold Medal at Chelsea?

‘Super Garden’ is seeking 5 amateur garden designers to compete for the title of ‘Super Gardener’ in the new RTÉ series, to be broadcast in May 2011.

A passion for gardening is a must, as is creative flair, and the ability to design a garden to a budget and deadline.
So if you feel you have what it takes, this is what you need to do!

Email us and tell us briefly why you love garden design, and what your dream design would be. Where possible, please enclose basic plans or drawings.


Only amateur garden designers are eligible to enter this competition.
Filming will take place during the months of March and April 2011, so applicants must be available for filming during this time.

Here is last years winner.... They didn't build it sideways...I can't get the photo to behave...

Terms and conditions apply.

Contacts:
The Super Garden Team
(01) 864 1444

Watch online:

Raised Beds

In between the showers

I welcome a heavy burst of rain for two reasons. One is that it gives me an opportunity to be in and out of doors, which stops me from doing too much in the garden. The other reason is that these short burst of rain are like a pressure washer, cleaning the driveway and saving me the bother of having to sweep up all of the conifer needles that seem to be dropping in abundance this year. I think the local council must like downpours too as it saves them having to go around and wash the pavements down, affording them more time to do the thankless task of filling in all the potholes that have yet again appeared on the roads. I’ve taken to giving some of them names. We have the Blackfarm Bully, the Cockhill Cruncher, Malin Mauler and watch out for the Cavern in Carndonagh, well you get the idea. I’m filling up a similar gaping hole today as I am out in between the downpours to add soil into the raised beds.

Settle down

Over the year, soil in raised beds settle, this is because of the microorganisms munching away at the organic bulking materials and general settling of the soil. We have one bed that needs to be boosted a lot as it is near to the hedge and gets starved of both nutrients and moisture in the summer. I was on the ball before the end of last year and spent a happy week sieving the topsoil ready for today. Sometimes I can be very organised.
My first job is to clear the bed. This isn’t a problem as the only things in there at present are a few one year old strawberry plants and some rogue creeping buttercups. The creeping buttercups come out without any effort. If I have a favourite weed that I enjoyed digging up, this would be it. The roots come out so cleanly. I have a container with plenty of drainage to place the strawberry plants into and I can decide where to put these later.

Patience

It’s handy to have clear beds to work on. I have other raised beds that need work but these have things planted in them. One bed has a selection of herbs growing so I might just leave them in place and mulch around them a bit with some compost, although I could do with digging up the parsley and replanting new as it’s two years old and getting a bit woody. I have another bed with broccoli and kale in it that will need attention at some stage. These edible spring plants are great but do stay in the soil a long time. If I am patient the beds will get a good top dress of topsoil and compost after the plants have gone to flower in mid spring. I might be impatient though and mulch around the stems of the plants to get the soil more or less ready for the new vegetable seedlings that will go straight in after I feed any surplus greens to the ever hungry guinea pigs- I’ll see how I feel after filling this one up.

Before Christmas I shovelled soil into old empty coal bags and stacked them neatly in a pile to use later. With the help of my wheelbarrow I am moving four bags at a time to the long bed. I put about 25kg of soil in each bag so they wouldn’t be too heavy to lift. I’ve filled bags of dry soil before thinking they weren’t too heavy but they soon double in weight when they get drenched with the rain. I throw the bags onto the bed and tip them upside down to shake out all of the soil. The bags go on, and on, and on. It’s amazing just how much soil a bed needs. After 16 bags I lose count and I can still see the original soil underneath. It’s going to take a few more until it’s ready.

Your raised beds

I have one very interesting piece of work to be getting on with inside when the downpours start. I am on the computer regularly putting together a brochure giving tips and advice about how to build and look after you own raised vegetable beds in Inishowen. It’s going to be of interest to new gardeners around the peninsula and even growers who fancy expanding their plots.
Do you have images of established raised beds? If so I would love to have some pictures of them to add to the pages. Also if you have large amounts of reclaimed or new wooden planks or good quality topsoil, please let me know and I can include you in the pages. I’m also looking for a bit of advertising sponsorship to pay for the printing costs, so if you are in the horticultural or building trade then please get in touch.
You can contact me through the gardening.ie e-mail address info@gardening.ie