Garden Advice

catterpillar cabbage (2)As I type this weeks article the door off my outside room is open and I am wondering on the one hand if and how the weather reports for the last five days have been so far off the radar. It was due to become Noahs ark type weather but somehow or other a few short down pours, a sort of weather Gods mini-tantrum if you may, came and very swiftly passed. The importance of this to me and any garden enthusiast is of serious importance.

Last week I had tonnes of soil to shift, by hand, well, with a bucket shovel. Of which my upper body carried. And when I say tonnes, I mean twelve of them. Suffice to say, my left arm is at present the size of a bullock.

I have been reading back over what I have written on my garden blog for the last few days and noted my reference yet again to attire for the great outdoors and yes I hear you holler back at me

There is no such thing as bad weather – just the wrong clothing

But if you have ever lifted a bag of saturated and wet bagged compost you’ll have a rough of idea of what a difference this could make to ones day….. alone from a just keeping the place clean and trying to sweep up mud, as versus dry clay or from a muscle development perspective – have you ever carried eleven litres of milk ? Then try carrying eleven litres of powder milk. A bit of a weight difference ?

But within this there is a point where the methodology of the construction of the raised vegetable beds in which the soil was filled, has to be of extreme behind the scenes intelligence to be able to support the weight from inside forcing against the timber. And this is the point where all of the you get what you pay for type cliché’s come to mind, my favourite of which is

cheaper can often be more tearful than cheerful

Whilst I did touch on it in last weeks article I have yet to rummage through the seed catalogues and chose the crops I want to grow here for the seasons of lower temperature that are en route. I was stalled in this department because my hens, now touching three years old are slowly progressing to pet only status. Personally, I simply couldn’t shorten their tenure, if you understand me, but the eggs resulting from their stay here are lessening. In conversation with my good friend Paddy we found a solution.

Paddy has what I can only describe as a bird sanctuary. He also has twelve chicks and a Mom that need to be re-homed. It will be a straight swap. But once again, I am back to the point where construction of the area in which the hens will be housed will make life very easy for me. To side track mildly, I don’t, personally, understand the wee triangle type all-in-one hen-house set ups. They may suit fine the domestic, with three garden walls scenario, but when like me you live in an Emmerdale farm type affair – where the dogs keep the cats away and the cats keep the….

All Gods Creatures gotta place in the choir some sing low and some….

Again, it is horses for courses and one suit does not fit all. Funnily enough, outside of my own garden and fowl, I have two one-off hen areas to build within the next month, something that in my eleven years in the landscaping business, has never happened at all.

To the photosynthetic side of my garden, my garlic has developed some rust on the almost crozier like stems and are just about to burst into flower. I can’t wait for that one, but as soon as they pass I’m hoping to plant an autumn/ winter crop.

My apple trees were weighted to the point of leaning over almost at a forty five degree angle and the pear trees I can happily boast are quite simply in abundance.

Outside of that there’s not much else really to brag about. August running into September is a bit of a no mans lands type month for me and it is here I refer to gardeners hindsight in that forward planning is everything. Anything I have growing at the moment was planted months ago and I’m literally just waiting for the lettuce to bolt and the onion stems to die back so that I can plant something else in their place.

If you do want your greens on your table come Christmas, now is the time to act. In the meantime I’m going to go one step ahead and get myself ready for moving some of my trees. Digging holes and moving soil…. again.

Contact Peter Donegan

The Gardener, originally published in The Tribesman week Monday 29th August
By |August 31st, 2011|All Posts, Garden Advice|0 Comments
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Spot The Alien Species

Lilioceris lilii leaf damage 2001 J.O.Sullivan

Nature and garden lovers around the country are being asked to report sightings of 3 invasive alien species that may be seen in their area. The Spot the Alien recording scheme is a new initiative being launched by the National Biodiversity Data Centre.

I got this in from Colette

Hi Peter,
I hope all is good with you.

I just wanted to let you know about the ‘Spot the Alien’ recording scheme that the National Biodiversity Data Centre has just launched. We have put out a call for help for people to report valuable sightings of three species most likely to be seen in gardens but could be found in the wild.

I thought your blog followers may be interested in this.

Attached is the press release and the Spot the Alien poster but for full information on the scheme, the three species and to submit sightings people can go to http://invasives.biodiversityireland.ie

All the best,
Colette

Harmonia axyridis f. succinea Brian Power-2011

According to the schemes coordinator, Colette O’ Flynn,

…the sightings that people submit can provide valuable data to help us understand the level of invasion, distribution and spread of these alien species in Ireland.

Spot the Alien aims to gather information on three invasive species:

  • New Zealand flatworm which devours our hard working native earthworms and has a very flat sticky dark body, with two pointed ends and speckled edges.
  • The Harlequin ladybird which is highly variable in looks but is larger than most of our native ladybirds which it eats, can overwinter in houses in the hundreds to thousands as seen in England.
  • The Red lily beetle that damages the gardeners much loved lily and fritillary plants but which is very noticeable by its vibrant red with a black head, legs and antennae.

Harmonia axyridis f. spectabilis C. O' Flynn-2010

Ms. O’ Flynn notes:

it is widely recognised that invasive species are one of the world’s greatest threats to biodiversity and have socio-economic impacts”. Recent reports have shown that the cost of alien invasive species in Europe is over €12 billion per year and costs the British economy £1.7 billion per year.

Failing to prevent invasive species being introduced into Ireland we need to detect their presence as soon as possible.

People all over Ireland can do their bit to contribute data to better inform the development of our response to and research of invasive species

All sightings submitted will be sent to experts Dr. Roy Anderson and Dr. Archie Murchie for verification.

Ms. Cliona O’ Brien, Wildlife Officer with the Heritage Council said:

The data provided by public recording schemes is very valuable. The importance of every record you submit shouldn’t be under-estimated. I urge everyone to get involved in spotting these species and submitting their sighting to the Invasive Species Database.

Go to invasives.biodiversityireland.ie to get more information on the Spot the Alien scheme, the species and to submit sightings. To assist with verification please submit a photo if possible.

Other Points you may find of intrigue:

  • A similar public recording scheme targeted at the New Zealand flatworm in Northern Ireland resulted in finding out that its distribution was widespread in Northern Ireland.
  • To date, the Red lily beetle has only been reported from the Cork City area in the Republic of Ireland. It
    was first recorded on the island of Ireland in Belfast in 2002.
  • The Harlequin ladybird has been dubbed ‘the most invasive ladybird on Earth’ and ‘the fastest spreading invasive insect in Europe’. It is also listed as one of Europe’s 100 of the Worst Invasive Species by the EU funded project ‘Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe’.
  • The scientific name of the New Zealand flatworm is Arthurdendyus triangulatus, the scientific name for
    Red lily beetle is Lilioceris lilii and the scientific name for Harlequin ladybird is Harmonia axyridis.
  • The database has been developed as a resource to assist recording, monitoring and surveillance programmes, and provides the infrastructure for development of an early warning system for invasive species.
By |August 29th, 2011|All Posts, Horticulture Ireland|0 Comments
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4 New Garden Books For My Local Library

fingal libraries card

I did ask fingal Libraries to keep me posted on new gardening books as and when they came in. In short, it’s a nice and easy way for this Dublin based gardener/ horticulturist to keep in touch with what’s coming on the market and also what might take my fancy.

The last post I published regarding new garden related books hitting the shelves of Fingal Libraries was August 9th. I was suffice to say, pretty impressed when an email came in again this month with the note of four new gardening publications attached.

The Self Sufficiency handbook by Alan & Gill Bridgewater

A practical guide to growing your own organic food, rearing chicken, goats and pigs, having an eco friendly home, this book is full of tips and advice with clear illustrations.

The Cook’s Garden - Australian Women’s Weekly

Information on when and where to plant, pest control and harvesting, tips on storing produce – bottling, freezing and drying, and lots of delicious recipes.

Gardening Landscape manual by Paul Wagland

[haynes] It describes the full range of popular landscaping techniques e.g. laying paving and building walls that even an amateur gardener could tackle with each project clearly explained and illustrated step by step.

The Veggie Gardener’s Answer Book by Barbara W. Ellis

A Questions & Answers format that covers a wide range of topics from dealing with pests and diseases, advice about soils and composting to the secrets of success with different vegetables.

Many thanks to Siobhan Walshe of Fingal Libraries PR Department for the above.

By |August 29th, 2011|All Posts, Reading|0 Comments
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EcoStore Ballymun Customer Evening

recycled garden

Never been to the Eco Store in Ballymun ? I highly recommend it. How do I know the Rediscovery Folks ? I bought my kitchen furniture there – table and six chairs – for €30 ! I’ve also used their furniture in one of my display gardens…. and….

I didn’t know they did bicycles…. Anyhow, the Rediscovery Centre Ecostore is hosting a customer evening on Thursday 1st September from 5pm – 8pm and discounted items will be available on the night.

EcoStore ballymun

By |August 29th, 2011|All Posts, People, Business|0 Comments
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Grow Your Own Raised Beds

raised vegetable beds

If you are going to invest in raised vegetable beds for the purposes of growing your own kitchen garden or more, then there is only one real way to do it. Enquires, getting some built suited to your space outside or changes in design and style…. my contact details are below.

Build requirements:

  • Well built. Structurally sound, strong and solid.
  • Built to last for the future, well able for the Irish weather
  • Fit their intended use aesthetically

making raised vegetable beds making raised vegetable beds

Main ingredients:

  • 10cm x 22cm x 240cm new timber sleepers [10 x 8.5 inch timber]
  • 6.3 x 200 mm [8" long] corrosion resistant In-Dex screws
  • butyl rubber lining

in-dex screw in dex screw hex driver

Of note:

  • The screws are expensive but – they are the modern version of a coach bolt and are seriously strong. So strong that a standard drill would not do the job of churning them in. Then again, they are 8″ long. Also they use an 8mm hex driver bit. Again, for the long term quality will matter.

dewalt saw draper spirit level

Know in Advance:

  • Timber can vary in length by up to/ about 10mm. When one is 230cm and the next 245cm – as precision goes, it matters and is is extremely important, for me. Measure twice – cut once.
  • Wood can twist and bend, slightly. This is not unusual – it’s just what wood is and what it does. It may need some working.
  • Spirit level is one thing – aesthic levels are far more important. This is not a swimming pool.

making raised vegetable beds making raised vegetable beds

Alternates:

One could reduce on timber quality and timber dimensions, but each of these beds will have 2- 4 tonne of wet soil forcing against it’s sides. Strong, durable and tough matters here and hence why the screws/ bolts are the quality that they are.

The lining could be done cheaper. However, butyl rubber is generally noted for lining ponds and again that amount of wet soil lying constantly against timber sides…. you simply won’t find a stronger longer lasting liner than this.

Quality counts:

The ground here had three different levels from three different sides. A spirit level is of benefit but so is a good eye for appearance. A mattock will dig perfect trenches.

The timbers are [the tallest] three high on their side – 66cm – the largest area of which is 240cm x 180cm. I didn’t want them to look like [silly as it may sound] big boxes. The alternated end corners help for that reason.

Above all the right tools for the right job and life will be made much easier less complex. The tools I use are not that that will put together an ikea type book shelf.

raised timber beds

After Construction:

This is a place as versus being thought of as labour intensive, I would like to be renowned and considered for being one of retreat, relaxation and escapism.

Next for this garden space, from the same timber I’m going to build a garden bench. If I could, I put a matching espresso machine in there too – hand-made, from wood of course. Select planting to the peripherals will also help make this more of a home. But, Rome was, in this case, very well built in a matter of days – phase 2, the growing, begins soon after the soil is hand balled in. ;)

Enquiries or further information on your made to measure grow your own raised beds ?

Ask for Peter

timber for landscaping

By |August 29th, 2011|All Posts, Good Life|0 Comments
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