Before and After Gardens

I responded to a survey about gardening and growing fruit and veg today. This is what I wrote...

BEFORE...

I grow succulents indoors so I can go on holiday and not worry about them. 

I have a small greenhouse and a cold frame near the house, as well as an herb garden that produces year-round. I grow lettuce and tomatoes, spinach and radishes so I can pick them easily for lunch or dinner. 

I have a polytunnel for the fruits and veg that I want to extend the season of or don't do well outside here: strawberries, peach, olive, small apple, orange, lemon, kiwi berry, grapevine, avocado tree, lettuce, tomatoes, cukes, peppers, pak choy, etc all grow happily in the tunnel. It is my happy place in most seasons, especially in winter. 

I grow other vegetables and fruit in beds in the garden: raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries  and currents that come back every year.  Asparagus and artichokes come back every year, too. Annuals include brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, kale, etc), Swiss chard, beetroot, potatoes of many colours, and various other crops that I rotate every year.  I intersperse flowers throughout for colour. 

We have an orchard that brings us an abundance of apples for cooking and eating, a crabapple and rosa rugosa for rose hips, a pear tree and several cherries which are dying this year.  It takes careful pruning to make an orchard productive. 

I have a vineyard planted outside that is doing exceptionally well and producing wine grapes: Solaris, Rondo, Chardonnay, Pinto Noir and Albarino. It is the westernmost vineyard in Europe (sort of if you don't count the Azores, Madeiras and Canaries). I hope to convince farmers to grow grapes and make wine instead of milking cows and raising bullocks. 

I keep one field naturalised and allowed it to rewild after planting an area of trees and shrubs. Many native species have returned including wild orchids which support the insects and pollinators that are now plentiful on our land. We have other wildlife that is living in the forest we planted up the hill from the gardens. We have pheasants and curlew, a fox, otters, and a hedgehog.  We hope to attract more to our little oasis. 

We built a pond for the wildlife during Covid and it has proven very popular. It collected rainwater off the roof. 

Everything is grown organically and biodynamically, with our own compost, comfrey, and seaweed collected from the shore as fertiliser. 

There was nothing here but a bulldozed brown clay hill when we started. No grass, no trees, no shrubs, no wildflowers, no wildlife. In 15 years we have enabled nature to re-establish itself while providing joy and sustenance for ourselves.  

AFTER:

MET Eireann's analysis of June 2023

"Warmest June on record, dry periods and intense thunderstorm activity"

All mean air temperatures across the country were above their Long Term Average for the month. Deviations from mean air temperature ranged from 1.9 °C (15.3 °C, 15.6 °C mean temperature) at Dublin Airport, Co Dublin and Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford respectively to 3.9 °C (16.2 °C mean temperature) at Knock Airport, Co Mayo.

'Warmest in the West', was a common forecast this June. 

There were no days with gales. Monthly mean wind speeds ranged from 4.8 knots (8.9 km/h) at Ballyhaise, Co Cavan to 11.2 knots (20.7 km/h) at Mace Head, Co Galway. 

If this is a long-term trend, I'm going to really love living here. 

Clearing, planting, and fencing

Alex and I work well together

It was supposed to rain today, and apparently, it bucketed in places, but not here. So Alex started clearing the broken willow trees below the shed and tidying up the slope. After lunch, we did some more of the fencing and brought up the baby trees to plant along the fence. It will look very nice in a couple of years. There are already many trees that have grown tall enough to conceal and shelter the shed. We planted them the year we moved here in 2008. 

I must say it looks nice already. The fence is a bit wavy but that's okay, it's just meant to prevent people from driving off the precipice. 

Not bad!

Rain over Westport, sun in Kilmeena

Ready for the Oyster Coop/BIM group tomorrow

Shed progression

 

We met with Dmytro, a Ukrainian woodworker, who is going to erect our shelving, loft, and stairs. Alex gave him a basic outline plan, and Dmytro is going to draw up a detailed plan via CAD for review prior to build-out. He's tied up on another job for about 2 weeks so that works out well. 

We then went to McHales in Castlebar this morning to view containers that they refit for special purposes. Alex's idea was that we need a clean room for the winery and a container could fit the bill. I was skeptical but, by the time we were done, I was sold. 

So, we're going to put in a 20-foot container, with insulation so we can maintain fermentation through winter, electrics fitted for lighting and equipment, and water for cleanliness. It will have the typical container doors for equipment access and a people door for safe access. The container will sit in one corner of the shed and will have storage on top as it is load-bearing. Here's what it will look like:

It will cost in excess of €5000 but that's less than it would cost to build a room for the purpose. Now we have to order the equipment, de-stemmer/crusher, press, fermentation vats, bottler and corker. It's all coming together. 

Alex has started moving stuff into the shed, beekeeping stuff first. The RTV and mower look tiny in there whereas they looked huge in the polytunnel. He is laying down pallets so nothing sits on the floor. 

The concrete has low spots where water can collect so we have to be careful.  Apparently, the water mixer broke on the cement truck as it was delivering our cement, so one load was drier than it should have been and settled differently than the rest. Bummer. I thought this one build would turn out perfect. 

The shed doors are really nice. I am very pleased with the shed overall. I know this is Alex's casbah, but I can admire it. It still needs electricity and the water hookup. People doors are to be intalled this week. That's the last task for the builder. 

We started building the wooden fence along the perimeter where the land drops off into a steep decline. Some of the posts were misaligned so we stopped halfway, but it's looking nice and will at least stop someone from dropping into the abyss. 

The polytunnel is now all mine. The shed is his. I suppose we'll have to arrange visits. Sometime soon, we will have a party to christen it. 

Giner came back starving,