Food production – Page 5 – thegreenerdream

October.

November 6, 2017mariamayfleming

Looking back at October we realize that we have spent another month mostly away from the garden. The building work inside is progressing slowly but we have also spent quite a lot of time working in and for the Ballaghaderreen Community Garden. It is a precious project, lots of fun but equally time consuming now in its early stages. 50 Kg of Daffodils have been planted by the committee and volunteers, well over 1000 bulbs and we are looking forward to the display this coming spring and for many years to come.

Kale perfection

September 30, 2017mariamayfleming

Sometimes it can be a bit tricky to cook and preserve your crops in a way that everyone in the family enjoys. This year we have found ourselves with a lot of kale. This super green has numerous health benefits but is not very popular, at least in our house, when steamed or stir-fried. We have been doing some research and cooked up a few batches with different flavourings, in the hunt for perfectly crunchy, delicious kale chips. Here in Ireland they would probably be known as kale crisps though.

August in the forest garden.

September 3, 2017mariamayfleming

September has arrived and with it a slight change in the air. The mornings are colder with lots of dew glistening on plants and spider’s webs and the colours are slowly changing in the garden.

High summer

August 9, 2017mariamayfleming

After spending two lovely weeks in half of our family’s native country Sweden, we returned home to a garden full of life. There has been lots of rain while we where away so everything has put on massive amounts of growth, the flowers, vegetables and grass is all looking verdant and lush. It is nice to come back after half a month away and realize that the garden has not suffered at all in our absence. It is one of the positives we can experience from living in a climate with few droughts and no extreme changes in temperature. We think it can also be put down to the fact that we mulch all our plants well with cardboard, straw and just about any organic matter we can get our hands on. This makes for a sustainable eco system in the garden where less intervention is needed to keep the balance right.

June in retrospect.

July 2, 2017mariamayfleming

June was a month that seems to have passed very quickly this year. Maybe that is because we have been busy preparing for our open garden day on July 15^th. There is still quite a lot to do in the garden, and we are baking every day and kind friends are letting us use their freezers for all the muffins, Swedish cinnamon buns and scones. We have had masses of ripe raspberries over the last couple of weeks and most of them have been used for vanilla and raspberry muffins for our guests on the open day.

A spiral of herbs

June 18, 2017mariamayfleming

Our original herb garden that we planted four years ago is quite far from the cottage, tucked away in a corner of the garden. Although it is a lovely place to visit and enjoy, it is not always very practical when you need some rosemary for the roasted vegetables or some sage for a sore throat.

Anticipation in March.

April 3, 2017April 3, 2017mariamayfleming

There is a saying around here that you can get four seasons in a day and it has certainly been true for some days in the past month. Wet snow, sleet, torrential rain, blazing sun and summer temperatures have all played a role in the very changeable weather of March.
Read more →

Days in December.

January 5, 2017mariamayfleming

As we look back on December we realize we did not spend a large amount of time in the garden. There were so many other things to tend to in the house and in our new conservatory. The days were not long, with darkness falling shortly after four in the afternoon and the light not returning until after eight in the morning.

Another year.

December 28, 2016February 6, 2017mariamayfleming

It is almost time to close the door on another year in our little cottage. We are so happy to be able to live a simple life in the countryside, grow more and more of our own food and spend time in close connection with the soil. It is very gratifying to see the soil slowly improving as we add more organic matter to it. Our trees create their own mulch now and the land is changing into a very exciting place. Where there was only a field of creeping buttercups, we now have a multitude of useful plants and a wildlife haven.

Gingerbread house construction.

December 17, 2016mariamayfleming

After some debate we have decided to include this post in the food production category of the blog. The subject matter might not be very nutritious but it does feed the soul and creates many happy memories.