Sallygardens Smallholding

Elderberry Syrup Winter Warmer

Quickly go and grab the last of the elderberries (sambucus nigra), grab roughly a kilo if you can. Bring an ID book or a friend you trust in the know. Now you've almost got everything you need to make elderberry syrup and it's really easy to do. Don't be put off if you've tried eating a raw elderberry and the tart flavour almost turned your face inside out because trust me, the syrup is quite delicious. And if delicous isn't enough to persuade you then maybe you'll be swayed by the fact that this fruit is bursting with vitamins and antioxidants. Google elderberry nutrition and you'll also find mention of research into it being an immune system booster, cancer preventative and other such claims. Did I also mention it tastes delicious?

Snip the berries from the green stalks into a large pan (do you like the way I've just bullied you into making it?). Don't worry too much about the tiny stalks, well I don't worry about them anyway. I then use a potato masher to push the berries down and pour in just enough water to cover the fruit. Simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the resulting dark purple mixture through a sieve into a measuring jug. For each pint add 450grams (1lb) of white sugar and the juice of one lemon. Simmer again for another 20 minutes and leave covered to cool for 15 minutes or so. Pour the syrup into sterilised bottles. It's too late to mention it now but whatever wooden spoon you've used will now remain a lovely deep crimson colour. I hope you didn't spill any on your clothes.

That's the basic recipe. You can also add to the initial simmering an inch of ginger root, a dash of mixed spice, a cardamom pod, whatever you fancy.

Enjoy your syrup like a fruit cordial diluted with water, on ice cream, in hot water like a non alcoholic mulled wine or in a hot port like a very alchoholic mulled port.

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Fracking Coming to a County Near You

Fracking is a relatively new process used by the gas exploration industry in order to extract gas from geological areas of shale deposits.  Until recently I wasn't aware that I lived in such a geological area myself. Two companies have been granted an onshore petroleum license in my local region.

So what do we get out of it as a community? The two companies granted licenses are not Irish based so Ireland will not benefit from the profits. It seems the jobs created are highly specialised and so employment levels of any real significance will be not be gained here. Indeed, two very important areas of employment in the region are tourism and agriculture. Both of these are likely to suffer a significant blow even if the fracking goes without a hitch. Who would want to visit a landscape dotted with massive concrete extraction pads every couple of kilometres, toxic settlement ponds and rig towers? The thousands of lorries that would trundle along the local roads would not exactly be a picture of peace and tranquility.

You might ask what I mean't when I mentioned the word 'hitch' in the previous paragraph. Well it doesn't take too long when you google the word Fracking to find a lot of concern about very serious environmental issues surrounding it. After weighing up both the evidence of environmental pollution and it's possible threat to life and considering the as yet unknown long term impacts (as this is a very new technology) other countries and regions have banned the process. Polluted ground water will find it's way into waterways, humans, plants and animals. Polluted water travelling from the North West of Ireland along the River Shannon flows through many other regions before it reaches the ocean 386km from its source. That means whatever happens will impact not only the people on the fracking doorstep.

I'm only just scratching the surface here on the issue. If you'd like to find out more about Fracturing watch a movie called Gaslands, click to watch the trailer or have a look on the What The Frack website. For a balanced view also see what Tamboran have to say, perhaps you'll feel that maybe Fracking is a good thing. Or an informative Drivetime short radio documentary. Take your pic and share your thoughts....

Keeping With the Fruity Theme - Peaches

So we've done posts on strawberries, apples and plums ... now it's the turn of the peaches. Yes I did say peaches. In Ireland! Three years ago I planted a peach tree in the polytunnel and wondered how it would fare. I wondered if the flowers would pollinate because I'd been told the flowers arrive earlier than our Irish pollinated insects fly, I also wondered if the fruit would set, if the fruit might get mouldy from the heat of the tunnel, if it would ripen on time because our season is short, if the tree would be too big for the tunnel etc etc etc. Well I planted it anyway just to see. If you don't try you don't know.

In the second year I aided the pollination of the flowers with a paintbrush and there was subsequently a crop of five peaches. They were fluffy, red, juicy, sweet and truly delicious. I wondered if perhaps it had been a year particularly favourable for peaches. This year I forgot to interfere with the paint brushes when the flowers came but despite that the branches of the little tree were creaking under the weight of hundreds of little peaches by mid summer.

I rummaged through my Fruit Tree Expert book and followed the advice to remove a majority of the fruits so that the remaining peaches have a chance to fully develop. The resulting crop was amazing, I'd estimate a hundred ripe fruit there for the picking by the end of the summer. If there's a similar result next year I think peach jam or even schnapps might be on the cards.

Plums

This year has been an odd year for fruit. There has been a decent crop of apples but they've been quite small. The pears didn't do a thing. But as always the plums did really well. There seems to be a general consensus amongst my friends who have fruit trees that plums do consistently well ... so I think it's a fairly safe thing to say that in the Irish climate plums are a great fruit tree to start off with to ensure guaranteed feelings of delight when your crop is a success.

Once they are nearing ripeness keep a close eye on them because within a couple of days of being ready to pick the wasps will have moved in to compete with you.

Just enjoy the bounty.

We are getting with the times here on the farm ... Sallygardens Smallholding has just created a Facebook page. So if you'd like to chat along to other Sallygardens fans and share all your knowledge too, please click on the Facebook button in the top left corner.

Windfall Apples

The apples are falling from the trees and it's a shame to let them go to waste. There's a few things I like to try and do when there are apples on the ground. Pure apple juice is delicious, whether you use a centrifugal juicer or a mechanical one. It's worth doing a litre at a time and sipping at it through the day. It's almost instant and a real treat for everyone in the house.

 

Another option is to collect a basketful and make a simple apple crumble. Just cut the apples into slices, perhaps pour  a tablespoon of fruit juice, lemon, or water over the apples, you could throw in three cloves and a pinch of mixed spice or cinnamon. In a bowl mix some porridge oats, raisins, a tablespoon of sugar and some seeds such as pumpkin and sunflower, some nuts if you like them too.  Stir in 50g of melted butter to moisten the crumble mix. Pour this over the apples and sprinkle a spoon of dark sugar over the top and pop it in the oven for roughly 40 minutes at 180C.

 

Last but not least is the long term option to juice the apples and instead of drinking it instantly pour it into a sterilised demijohn with a spoon of cider yeast. I tried making my cider without adding yeast, relying on wild yeasts to flourish but alas it all went wrong and blue mould took hold. Next time I'll definitely use a commercial yeast to ensure it takes hold before anything else gets a chance. I have an e-booklet about brewing country wines if you'd like to give it a try, it's really quite simple and not expensive to get started (see store top right hand corner).

If you keep pigs they will devour any windfall apples with great glee. Or you could keep your apples for eating over winter by storing them in a cool room. They need checking every week because as they so rightly say, 'one bad apple spoils the bunch'! If you can pilfer some of those paper trays from your local vegetable shop they are ideal for stacking and storing apples.

Strawberries are Winners

This year I've put some effort into getting the polytunnel back on track. The strawberries are one of the crops that's given plenty of fruit without any real input from last year and minimal weeding this year. The bed is mulched with black woven plastic so the weeds have been mainly kept at bay and the moisture has been kept in the soil. The result has been masses of very ripe strawberries, more than we can eat. You can't imagine how satisfying it is to eat home grown strawberries to a point where you simply can't eat anymore! It's also quite fulfilling to know that if you were to buy the same amount in the supermarket you'd be down at least E30!

Strawberries are easy to grow. You can start off by buying a tray of six plants, these will sprout 'babies' on little runners that you can root in a pot and plant out, thus extending and replenishing your bed each year substantially without any further cost.

Stawberries, I just can't fault them.

... and ... we're back

... well I'm back! I've spent the year making sure that the children and myself are doing ok. We've found a new state of 'normal'. I have cut back a lot on animals and work around the farm and just left the bare minimum with the hope of getting back to it bit by bit to a level that's still fun and not overwhelming. I need to make sure I have time for me, the children and other important things in my life that ensure happiness. It's about finding a new balance. The polytunnel has been dormant. We'll thats not the best description. I haven't done any work in there whatsoever but it's far from dormant! It's like a jungle on steroids. In fact there's still quite a lot of edible stuff in there when I do go for ramble. All the perennial herbs of course are thriving and many of the annuals have self seeded. The grapes did exceptionally well with total neglect and were delicious. Self seeded spinach was in great supply as were many salad leaves. At one point in early summer I put in a few bought courgette and squash  seedlings along with several tomato plants but I didn't mind them. I still got plenty of harvest whenever I wandered in to see how the tunnel was getting on but it was hard and quite sad to see it getting so overgrown and out of hand.

I have realised that I need more than just me to get things back on track and keep things ticking along. I'm going to start taking in WWOOFers now and then. I didn't do it this year because I felt it was more important to have the space for me and the kids to find our feet as a new family first. We are getting there and it's time to start looking at seeds for Spring 2011. There's plenty that can be done between now and April in terms of clearing the weeds and preparing the beds. Its going to be a big job!

Watch this space.

Starting off the Vegetable Garden

The best way to give your seedlings a good start is to plant the seeds into a cell tray with a high quality compost. Don't be tempted to plant directly into the beds because everything will be decimated immediately by slugs and you'll be so disheartened it could put you off gardening for life! Also make sure you buy a top quality potting compost. In my experience cheap brands tend to result in spindly week seedlings ... you get what you pay for in that department. If the trays aren't new then before you start planting give them the once over to check for lurking slugs, there'll be a few.

 

In the above photo are thin plastic trays that normally don't survive more than one season, so it's worth investing in the more sturdy type of tray. I buy a couple from the organic centre each year to build up my stockpile. My oldest of these trays is five years old now and still in perfect working order.

Don't put your trays directly on the soil because the slugs with easily find them there. Up on a table is best but if you run out of space like me put a couple of planks down, raised on bricks and off you go.

She's Kidding

Spring is truly spring when the goats start kidding, even if it is snowing again. So far Esme has had a single billy kid. He's very friendly and tolerates plenty of kissing and cuddling from the children! I was unsure if she was going to kid because she showed no signs of pregnancy that I could detect, probably because it wasn't her normal set of twins, just the one. When there are twins packed in there it's easy to feel them moving around if you place your hand on the underbelly of the goat. At first it can be tricky to decipher between the wriggling of the foetus and the constant gurgling of the goats many stomachs, but a bit of practice helps.

I became suspicious that she might well be in kid after all when I noticed changes in her behaviour around the field .... sleeping in the sunshine, grazing a bit further away from the 'crowd' and spending some time in the goat house during the day resting while the others ventured out  ... sure enough after seeing this happen for about a week, along came Billy the Kid!

For more information on how to keep goats try the ebooklet available to buy from the Paypal store on the right hand column.

Grow Your Own Veg

It's the ideal time of year to start growing your own vegetables. If you've been thinking about starting off a vegetable bed now is the time to get going. If you are a total beginner to gardening start simple and try growing some mixed salad leaves, radishes, peas and broad beans. For inspiration head down to your local garden centre and browse the seed packets, but don't get carried away and buy too many .... which is bound to happen!

To get started you'll need to prepare a vegetable bed by digging over a small area of earth, even just a metre squared to begin with. If digging really isn't your thing or you don't have any land, you can still grow a good batch of salad in a grow bag or two.  Use a sharp knife to puncture plenty of drainage holes in one side of the grow bag and then cut away the top side of plastic for planting into.

I've been doing some weeding in the polytunnel and hope to get on top of it with some more helping hands this week. I hope to start planting into cell trays this week too and will probably keep those indoors until this new impending cold snap is over. I'm really looking forward to home grown salads every day and I'm yearning to be sick of courgettes again!

For some good gardening guidelines on starting to grow your own vegetables try my ebooklet which can be purchased via the Paypal store on the top right hand column. Happy gardening.

Book of Green Household Management

I've been asked by a publisher to review a book called 'The Essential Thrift Bible. Ms Harris's Book of Green Household Management', by Caroline Harris. It felt great when it arrived in the post, it was a bit like receiving a gift because this is a book that I might buy if I were browsing in a bookshop. It's a lovely little book and reads very easily with a nice dose of wit. It's divided into chapters which makes it an easy book to dip in and out of whenever it takes your fancy and the index at the back is a very useful addition because this book is jam packed full of very practical and useful tips and ideas on how to live with a low environmental impact. It covers everything from household cleaning, to growing your own vegetables, raising kids and energy etiquette. It's not just anecdotal either, there is accurate information on how to do all these things. It's a little book that gives you the knowledge you need to make changes in your lifestyle that will make a difference. It's a very useful little thing to have as a reference book but it's also a source of enjoyable reading and entertainment. Give it a go ... or give it to a friend ...

Meitheal and Changes at Sallygardens

You may have noticed some changes on this blog lately, changes that reflect things that have been happening in my life over the last month. I am now single, Dan and I having gone our separate ways. I will leave it at that as this blog is about sustainable living, not a sounding board for my personal problems! Practically though there is a lot to think about in terms of keeping the farm going. I have to reevaluate all the activities that I do here. I will have to make decisions about what I carry on with and what things I shall have to draw a line under. I need to consider how much time and effort I can put into the farm while keeping a balance of time for my children, friends, fiddle and fun.

Spring is here and it's already time to start getting the beds in the polytunnel weeded and ready for seedlings. I have to admit feeling a bit daunted by starting into it, not knowing if I'd the energy to tackle it at the moment, but a Meitheal came to the rescue. A Meitheal (meh-hill)  is an Irish term used for the practice of a group of neighbours to come together to help each other in tasks such as preparing the hay, or gathering the harvest. Each person would help their neighbour who would in turn reciprocate. Two girlfriends came over and the three of us worked for 2 hours weeding. It was great fun, we had a giggle and then shared lunch. A huge amount of work got done that would have taken me a lot longer by myself and it wouldn't have been half as much fun either! It's a great way to get work done when you're 'on your own'. I'll be helping them out in their own gardens in return. 

The tunnel looks barren and forlorn at the moment, it's hard to believe in just a few weeks it will be in all it's glory again like in this picture taken last summer ...

 

This is the time of year to get started if you want to try growing your own for the first time. You'll find lots of information throughout this blog, but it's all collected into one handy ebooklet called Grow Your Own, available from the paypal store at the top right hand corner of this webpage.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Sourdough Success

I've been having great success with the sourdough culture. Bread is delicious made with pure strong white flour, or experiment by replacing up to two thirds with rye flour and a dash of oats for plenty of slow release energy. We also had sourdough pancakes on Tuesday ... delicious.

Following my previous post I was offered a mother culture by a lady in Mullingar who blogs about Urban Food Gardening and she kindly arranged for it to be dropped to my home. It's wonderful to have these precious mother cultures live on and I've been asked by two friends now for some of my culture ... passing it on is what it's all about.

Baking With Sourdough

Before we began using modern cultured yeasts leavened bread was made with wild yeasts which exist naturally in the air. I've always wanted to try making sourdough bread because I'm curious about the whole process, want to see what it tastes like and as an added bonus it's supposed to be very good for you.

It's pretty simple. Mix half a mug of white flour with half a mug of water in a sterilised glass jar. Shake it up and leave at room temperature. After 24 hours pour off half the mixture and discard it, top up the remaining mixture in the jar with equal parts of flour and water ... this is feeding the yeast. After four or five days the mixture looks bubbly and frothy which indicates that yeasts are now flourishing and you have an active culture ready to start baking with.  Once the culture is nicely active it can be kept in the fridge and will then only need feeding once a week.

There are sourdough starter cultures you can buy in powder form which I tried out last year, but I killed it by mistake when I placed the bowl in a warm oven after baking earlier that day (thinking it would like the heat!). But this time I like the idea of utilising our own local wild yeasts and so I'm about to try again.

It's the frothy culture which is added to your bread dough to raise it and also impart a unique flavour to your bread. The sourdough process results in a more nutritional bread as it semi-digests the flour and releases important nutrients, making them available to us for optimum absorption. The process of sourdough proofing also results in a very low phytic acid content, something that remains high in modern yeasted breads. Phytic acid reduces mineral metabolism (Healing With Wholefoods, by Paul Pitchford), contains flora beneficial to the digestive system and the loaf stays naturally fresh for days, even weeks, after baking. Apart from all that, it's delicious and well worth a try.

For preparation and baking instructions try this website. I'll let you know how I get on in a week or two.

Don't Panic, I Have a 'Survival Seeds Emergency Package'

I recently had an email from a budding new on-line company called Hometown Seeds asking me to visit their website and in particular to review a package of seeds they sell called Survival Seeds Emergency Package which aims to provide everything a family might need to survive during a time of food supply crisis! The seeds are GMO free and not only provide delicious crops, they are also suitable for harvesting seed from when matured.  This is a huge advantage as many commercially available varieties are designed to be infertile so the consumer has no choice but to buy seeds year after year and if a crises does ever come to pass it's a bit of a design flaw from a survival point of view. It may seem a little far fetched but having peace of mind that you've got a sustainable strain of reliable seeds ready to go might not be a bad idea. You may be relieved to be able to pick from the garden rather than shop in a crowded supermarket during a virulent pandemic, or as prices rocket in the shops due to the increasing cost of fuel your home grown will come in at a fraction of the price. For us, the latter is a major reason for home growing and it helps make ends meet.

But we don't need a world crisis before investing in seeds! What could be a more fitting gift for anybody interested in gardening or starting to grow their own vegetables? Any seasoned gardener would jump for joy with this package under the tree and no better way to inspire a beginner than with a range of seeds and maybe a good gardening book.

Best Sustainable Living Christmas Book Selection

Much of our knowledge at Sallygardens has been gleaned from a range of most excellent books and since many folk are considering what gifts to give loved ones for Christmas this time of year I've compiled a list of top favourites. This is a chance to give a gift that can really make a positive lifestyle difference.

Top of the list for anybody remotely interested in living sustainably, whether living in a rural or urban environment is the now legendary eco  bible The New Complete Book of Self Sufficiency by John Seymour. This book is fantastic and covers a huge range of topics. It's detailed enough to get you started on most things but such a delightfully presented book it makes a wonderful coffee table book too. Five years down the line I still dip into it and find new ideas. Everything from vegetable gardening, to rearing pigs to making your own wine.

A great practical, no nonsense easy to understand gardening book is Organic Gardening by Geoff Hamilton, it's ideal for either total beginners or seasoned growers. The layout is crisp (although ours is very muddy from repeated use!) and attractive, the information is to the point. It's a great reference book for anything and everything you might want to consider growing in your veg garden, the organic way.

A brilliant way to investigate how all these eco conscious living ideas can be incorporated into everyday life is to get your hands on a copy of the Earthcare Manual, a book based on the theory of permaculture. It's full of practical information on how to achieve sustainable living not just in the garden, but in your home, work and right across the board. It will change the way you think about consumerism and the use of materials.

Now you have the veggies growing and your lifestyle in tune with the environment a great cook book for utilising those crops is the infamous River Cottage Cookbook. It's full of delicious recipies, tips on gardening and rearing livestock.

With the environment in mind ... you could probably borrow these books from your local library, but if you're planning on buying these as gifts you could check with like minded neighbours to make sure you don't buy the same book, instead plan to buy the range between you and then swap when needed. Any purchased via these links will mean I get a few percent towards a gift token. Happy shopping.

Brussel Sprouts Rock

This is our first year growing brussel sprouts and I have to say they get my vote. For some reason brassicas always make me feel sceptical with regards to success. They have such a long growing season in comparison to most crops which leaves them open to attack on many front. The brassicas ar sown in spring but unlike most crops aren't harvested till autumn or even the following spring. A lot of challenging conditions can present themselves to a slow maturing brassica during that time ; a lone slug can wipe one out in the early weeks, a couple of weeks weeding neglect can see them smothered, then there's caterpillar attacks later in the season, when summers over torrential rain or hailstones can leave the plant in tatters and winds can blow the mature plants flat to the ground.

But the majority of our brussels have come through all of that and we will easily have a good six weeks supply of lovely luscious sprouts. They will certainly feature in our Christmas dinner, as will one of our home reared organic ducks. Some homegrown vegetables outshine shop bought alternatives in terms of flavour and brussels score very highly, alongside sweet corn and tomatoes.

The Most Eco Conscious Chistmas Presents Ever, Probably

If you are looking for a sustainable and environmentally friendly Christmas present look no further! The Sallygardens ebooklets are lovingly written in a bid to share what we have learned during our four years of smallholding in Ireland. They are designed to offer all the information you need to get going on a range of topics ; Rearing Weaners for the Table, Growing Vegetables for Beginners, Making Country Wines, A Beginners Guide to Keeping Chickens and Keeping Goats.

They contain all the information that we wish was handed to us on a plate, but instead spent hours, days and months researching the ins and outs of the various activities we wanted to undertake at Sallygardens. They make a lovely thoughtful gift for anybody who has an interest in practical sustainable living and are very reasonably priced. The ebooklets are emailed to you as an attachment, so there are no postage charges and no envelopes used. The recipient can view the document on their computer or choose to print it out. Perhaps if you are buying it as a gift you could bind it nicely and give it a personal touch.

Click on the Paypal Store on the top right hand column of this web page to order an ebooklet from Sallygardens.

Pros & Cons of a Big Polytunnel

Polytunnels come in a huge range of sizes. Ours is a bit on the big side for a family of four (21 x 40ft) and there are pros and cons to this. With our inclement Irish climate having a lot of space under plastic is great because many vegetables that would just be drowned outside manage to flourish. The extra few degrees on sunny days really helps to boost ripening and growing rates of plants in the tunnel. Extending the length of the growing season is invaluable adding a month or two to either side of the normal time available. By choosing the varieties carefully there can be crops available year round from the tunnel (winter greens, chard, year round salads etc). Last but not least, having a dry wind free spot to work away in the garden is fantastic, even when it's lashing rain you can still happily potter in the polytunnel.

The downside is that there is a lot of space to manage and keep under control. This need not be too difficult. When the tunnel is first erected there's no need to get all the beds into commission in the first season. By using mulching, some areas can be left dormant for a year or two so the task isn't too daunting. As the years go by dormant beds can be sewn with green manure which will prevent weeds taking over and can have an advantage over mulching in that it doesn't become a slug hotel. The only other downside of a large tunnel is the annual cleaning of the plastic. Over winter and autumn a green algae grows on the plastic and cuts out a significant amount of light so it's important to clean it off before spring. This means wet work with chilly hands. Getting a few folk in to help can boost the moral and make it a social event. When the job is done hot chocolates all round go down a treat.

How to Make Pickled Eggs

Trust me, pickled eggs are delicious, no really they are. I think this is mainly an English tradition as I've never experienced them in Ireland. My first rendezvous with a pickled egg was after a long hike in the English countryside which ended at a rural pub, where my companion ordered me a pint of scrumpy cider and a packet of salt and vinegar crisps with a pickled egg thrown into it. I'll never forget that wonderful culinary discovery!

As the days begin to shorten and the weather cools chicken will slow down their laying and some will stop completely until spring. So while there is still a good stock of eggs in the fridge perhaps now is a good time to experiment with pickling.

Buy a good quality pale vinegar from your health shop, organic apple cider vinegar is great stuff and you can use up any remainder for your vegetable pickles and chutneys. As always, sterilise all equipment and utensils to be used and wash hands and surfaces in advance. Bring a pot of vinegar to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes to pasteurise it. Keep covered and allow to cool.  Hard boil some clean undamaged chicken eggs and allow to cool completely. Remove the shells with clean hands and place the eggs into a sterilised storage jar. Pour in enough vinegar to cover all the eggs completely and keep refrigerated. Leave the eggs to pickle for two weeks before eating.

Cleaning and sterisiling is very important to avoid botulism.

Elderflower and Strawberry Wine

Some of the wines that were brewed in spring are bottled already, and yes I know it's best to leave them for at least six months before drinking, but sometimes rules are worth breaking! My favourite wine of 2009 is currently our elderflower and strawberry wine, it's very fruity, has a wonderful summer perfume and is so cute with a hint of pink thanks to the strawberries. A chilled glass of this is my favourite way to cleanse the palate or enjoy a quiet half hour in the sun on the doorstep. That sort of weather is rapidly coming to a close though but I'm looking forward to some other wines I started in the summer and will make perfect winter wines. Honey and ginger mead will be warming on cosy winter nights in front of the fire and I can't wait to try the wild damson wine at Christmas.

Making wine at home is growing in popularity and you can read how to get started with lots of recipies I've tried for country wines in my little ebooklet, see the Paypal store on the top right column. Slainte (cheers).

Onion Ropes

After a few sunny days the onion skins were nice and dry (see previous post) so I began making onion ropes. First rub the loose dry soil from the onions with a soft dry cloth or teatowel, but don't peel them, the dry skins help to keep the onion bulbs fresh. Keep any damaged or bruised onions in a basket for immediate use in the kitchen, don't incorporate these in your ropes because as they begin to rot the mould will spread to the good onions too.  Put on some good music and get roping, enjoy the task, even better get a friend to come along and 'learn the ropes', passing on these skills to others is important (and fun). Here's a great link on how to rope onions to get you started. It's really very easy and you'll soon get a rhythm going.

When you've finished there's nothing more beautiful than a few ropes hanging in your scullery and kitchen, it's such a welcoming sight and every time you reach for an onion over the winter you'll feel very happy with your achievement.

Harvesting Onions

When are the onions ready to harvest? That's something I asked the first year we grew onions a few years ago. All the books are full of information on how to plant and care for the onions, but nowhere could I find details on when to pick them. Lots of expert gardeners forget how little we know as total beginners and so I promised myself I'd write a post on the topic.

The harvesting will depend on the variety you are growing, the soil in your plot, the amount of sun and shading on the plants and of course the weather. What I'm saying is that you can't say they'll be ready to harvest after a specific number of weeks after planting. It's more a case of watching and observing your vegetable garden, which is all part of the fun. There are some years onions will do well, and then others when they'll seem to have hardly grown since putting the sets in the ground.

Once the little bulbs are set in the soil they will throw up tall green hollow stalk like leaves. Weeds need to be kept at bay. The onion plants will become quite lush and there's nothing quite so fulfilling as a bed full of healthy onions reaching up towards the sky. Keep visiting your onions and cast an eye over them every few days. If you see any flowering stalks shoot up from the odd onion harvest and use those ones immediately, they won't grow anymore and they don't store either.  It's always nice to leave one or two, as the flowers are beautiful and the kids are interested in what happens if they're left to grow on.

These onions are drying out under a shelter, they will need turning every day to prevent the green shoots rotting,
or even better, space them out further than this.

After roughly three or four months you'll begin to notice a change in the lush miniature green forest. Some of the leafy stalks will begin to lie down, just a couple at first, but after a day or two most of the crop will be lying down and are ready to harvest. If you are lucky enough to have sunny dry weather leave the crop out in the sunshine a day or two for the leafy tops to shrivel and dry. Otherwise spread them out to indoors or under shelter. If you wish to try your hand at onion ropes leave roughly 10cm of stalk length on each onion for weaving it into a rope. Snip off the short roots. Store in net bags or hang the ropes.

If you'd like lots of information like this in one easy ebooklet take a look at the Grow Your Own Veg which is perfect for beginners. Or if you have time to spare, read through the blog for more free information, try clicking on 'Gardening, Fruit & Veg' under the Categories list.