Snow etc, on the eve of St Bridget's Day

This weekend has us looking forward to more awful weather.  We're promised gales and rain with a drop in temperatures and the chance of snow.

Well, we've already had a dusting of snow this evening.  Tomorrow will see the forecasted storm reach its peak.  I've signd up for a free weather alert text service from Clare County Council.  had three texts yesterday and today. They take it seriously.

Still no more work done in the garden, but seeds are arriving almost every day.  Later posts will rate the sellers we've used in terms of value, speed of service and postal charges.

Here are the promised rhubarb pictures.

This rhubarb crown had become hollow

inside.  It was so old.

"I'm Rhubarbicus!"

One crown was successfully divided into about seven plants, each with three or four shoots.

Let's talk about the weather.

My goodness!  Such winds.

We've had wind, rain, hail and something very much like snow today and the odd rumble of thunder too.  Our phone was unplugged for a while as a precaution and the feed from the satellite dish removed from the back of the box.  Lightening has fried our equipment twice in the last year, so we don't feel like taking chances.

Kinvara Farmers' Market is holding its"Christmas" dinner tonight in the town.  We have chosen not to attend due to the weather. It is truly foul and potentially dangerous.

Once this current spate of inclement weather subsides, we'll feel more inclined to do a bit more in the garden.  For now, it's batten down the hatches and sit by the stove.

Incidentally, I was chuffed to see that the brothers have "liked" the new Beagh Herbs FB page.  Don't know where this'll take us, but we'll give it a go.

Still very damp, but change is on the way. Beginning to think about getting busy.

Here we are...24th January 2014.  Happy New Year!

It's been quite some time since we last tapped-in an entry.  So what has sparked this renewed interest in the blog?

We've decided to set up a Facebook page, for our sins, and as FB wanted a website, we thought we'd use this one and one thing led to another so why not try again to catalogue our horticultural eforts?

We have started to do things, albeit slowly.  January is a cruel month and one not suited to much enterprise.  We have begun to divide our old rhubarb plants.  Thus long-overdue task entailed giving the beds a serious weeding, uprooting the rhubarb and slicing the crowns with a spade so that each new section has two or three shoots.

Some of these will be re-planted in the garden and others put into pots for sale.

It continues to be very wet outside and not conducive to happy gardening.  However, there are things to be done in the tunnels to prepare them for the start of propagation.  We sow chillies in mid-February on soil-warming cables set to around 27 degrees C.  We cover the whole bed in plastic too providing a warm and humid environment for the chillies.  Still, we're not there yet.  Our seed orders are going in now. Plenty of time to get the tunnels ready.

After the chilli successes brought on by last year's summer, we have hopes for another good season this year. Look out for some lovely specimens and a few very hot ones as well.  Fingers crossed.

Hopefully we'll post some rhubarb pictures soon.

Easter Monday and a showery, cold afternoon.  The morning was much better, but (sod's law) we spent it shopping in Gort.  Still, we have to eat.

Work on the fruit cage continues.  When dinner stopped play this evening, it looked like some sort of henge.  The top rail is on, fixed by dowelling.  All that remains before the door can be fixed and the netting goes on, is for the corners to receive a couple of fastenings.

Fruit cage - work progresses

Over the last few days, while I've been busy with posts and timber, Tricia has been potting-on various flowers.  I hope to add some photos of these soon.  For the record, she's been pricking out the following and possibly more:

• Antirrhinums
• 10 Week Stock
• Coreopsis
• Calendula
• Cosmos
• Agastache

In the tunnels, things are moving on apace.

The Red Pak Choi is shaping up nicely and will sell well on Friday.  Mental note: sow more next leaf day.  The sweet peas continue their ascent unabated and this years grapes are all incipience.

Red Pak Choi

The March of the Sweet Peas

Baby Bunch of Grapes

Yesterday saw the re-opening of Kinvara Farmers' Market.  In the lead-up to this, no activity on the blog.

The intended list of plants to be sold at the market never materialised.  That was one of the reasons for starting the blog in the first place.  Doh!

It was a good start to the trading season.  Pots of anemone and tulips sold out, Rau Ram was popular, all bunches of fresh mint went and there was reasonable interest in raspberry canes and willow slips.  The horseradish was the surprise hit of the day.

Today is starting off sunny, so I'll go outside and begin watering where necessary in the tunnels.  Later, the plan is to dig over a plot in the back garden for planting peas into.  They're ready to be planted out!

 More later...I'm out the gap!

It was bright, sunny and hot again today.  Accuweather says 20 C.  Watering is so important in this weather - so easy to frazzle the little seedlings.  We try to give a liberal dose of water twice a day.

It was an inauspicious day, plant-wise, today so we did a bit of general maintenance.  I pulled the strimmer out of storage and fired it up.  We've had very bad luck with these machines over the years.  I think we're on our fifth or sixth model at this stage.  This one's a Maruyama and it seems a good one.  Anyway, it started without much difficulty, old fuel mix and all.

I cut the goose lawn.  We don't have any geese now, but the name stuck.  While having a cup of tea on the newly mown goose lawn, we were amazed to see a Peacock butterfly.  In March!  It was a bit tatty and must have hibernated.  Brimstones continue to enjoy the heatwave.

While watering the sweet peas this evening, I counted 70 Rootrainer trays.  If every cell is full and germinates, that makes 2240 plants!

I noticed the Ajuga starting to flower, too.

Ajuga reptans "Caitlin's Giant"

Another corker of a day!  Why can't spring be like this every year?

The raspberry bed has been well dug-over.  Over the last two days, nearly all the raspberry canes have been dug up and stored in bags. The bed has been given a serious going-over with forks and most of the perennial weeds have been removed.  The umbellifers are unbellifably hard to dig up!


We'll sort through the canes, keep enough for a re-planted raspberry bed and take the remaining to market.  Once the bed has been reinstated, we are determined to manage it better.  Having said that, we planted the original bed over ten years ago and it has been very productive.  We like the autumn varieties - we have Autumn Bliss  and Fall Gold - because they fruit at a good time and the canes are self-supportiing.

Our forester friend came and took away his trailer this evening.  I'd made sure it was as full as I could manage.  He's taken away lots of Elder prunings, hedge prunings, old hebe, bits of hazel and ash from the roadside, some of the recent Thuja branches and anything else I could put my hand to.

It was a very sunny day and I worked without a shirt for too long.  I'll suffer tomorrow, no doubt.

The tunnels were well watered twice today. Once first thing and again just before coming indoors for the evening.  The peas and broad beans are almost all up and this year have managed nearly 100% germination.  The tomatoes are up too.  Something is going for our chillies.  Slugs or woodlice, we think. Every morning a few new corpses!

Even the sweet peas have started germinating.  With luck, we'll have a good crop.  There's a lot of work in preparing all the Rootrainers and sowing - must be over 1500 seeds again - so we hope for a good return for the labour.

When the Farmers' Market starts again Friday after next, we'll have quite a lot to bring for sale.  Watch this space for a list.