Sallygardens Smallholding

Interactive Food Map of Ireland

Paul O Mahony of Siopa Eile has launched the Interactive Food Map of Ireland. It's a brilliant idea for both producers and consumers. If you wish to locate an artisan made food product zoom into the area in question and click on the pointers to read contact information and product descriptions. Anybody can add or amend information on the map so if you are a producer go ahead and add your details, or if you know of a producer who isn't on the map please and add them. The success of the map depends on it's users adding information so don't be shy, jump in and help to make it a fantastic resource ... and don't worry you can't break it either!

What better way could there possibly be to start International Downshifting Week than to support a local food artisan in your area.

Spread the word. If you're an Irish blogger add the badge.

A Natural Handmade Gift For You

A bar of healing beeswax skin balm is on offer to one lucky reader as a way to say 'thank you' for your continued support.

So why beeswax? Everything about it is amazing. When taken direct from the hive its healing properties are most potent, unlike the beeswax found in many products which has been heated, strained and depleted of the many components that are beneficial. The wax is an emolient (hydrating), calms inflamed skin, forms a protective barrier, acts as an antibacterial agent, it's antiallergic, antioxidant, antibactericidal, germicidal, skin softening and has elasticity enhancing properties.  Bees secrete it from wax glands on their bodies and chew it before sculpting it into perfectly shaped honeycomb. It may also contain remnants of pollen and propolis (plant resins that the bees use to strengthen the comb).

Well we can read as much as we like about the various attributes of beeswax but there's nothing like trying out the real thing. Dan and I work long hours outside in all sorts of weather and this takes its toll on our hands. We've tried all sorts of creams but nothing has worked as well as our own home-made beeswax skin balm. I've even started using it on my cheeks and it works wonders to keep them moisturised in winter winds. It contains comb scraped direct from my hives which is gently melted, then mixed with avocado, olive and chamomile essential oils. It's  then poured into a mould to cool. Because the beeswax is very much a limited resource I only have enough to make a handfull of these balms but I've kept one aside to offer as a gift to my readers. Just leave a comment below this post and in a weeks time I'll pick a winner. Anyone may enter from anywhere in the world (only readers from Mars are excluded). Good luck everyone.

Excrement Happens - Composting Toilets

How many of you are turning up your noses having just read the title of this post? A couple of years ago I'd have done the same, but since then I've used two fantastic composting toilets and I'm a convert.  The experience was not disgusting, I did not see other peoples poo, there were no coma inducing odours and no flies issued forth from the lifted seat to attack my nether regions. It was all very civilised indeed if you don't mind and thankfully none of my preconceived fears materialised.  Common sense research has added one or two simple factors into the equation to make this a perfectly pleasant experience! In fact I've shifted my opinion from 'no feckin way' to 'actually, I want one of my own'.

Excrement happens, but why contaminate 7 to 15L of water with every flush and then use huge amounts of energy and money to clean up the mess, often performed inefficiently causing ground water and soil contamination? If there was a safe healthy alternative that provided biomass for basket and fence making, fuel for your stove and fertiliser for your plants wouldn't you want to know more? Read on ...

The composting toilet is not an old fashioned hole in the ground latrine, which did result in terrifically bad smells and were not altogether pleasant to put it mildly. A composting toilet avoids the smell by ensuring the decomposition process is performed aerobically (air present for sweet microbes) rather than anaerobically (without air=stink to high heaven). Also some bulking agents are added in the form of sawdust or shredded paper which corrects the nutrient balance and again ensures conditions are ideal for aerobic as opposed to anaerobic digestion. Its not rocket science. So simple, yet very effective.

Let me describe both of the compost toilet options that I was privy to test run. The first was a commercially available toilet by Separett. On first approach it looks exactly like a conventional toilet. It's made from all the materials you would expect a toilet to be made of which does tend to put one at ease. Lifting the lid things initially look complicated ... where do I wee, do I have to get a poo onto that ledge, what if I do it in the wrong place ... a quick tutorial from the proud owner and I soldiered on in the name of sustainable living. A flap covers the contents and only opens when weight is placed on the toilet seat, along with a fan, so theres no 'view' or odour to contend with. This toilet cost €1000 and the owners have been very happy with its performance since they installed it two years ago. 'We didn't want all the bother that goes with installing a septic tank, along with the usual capers of regularly unblocking drains. Septic tanks just don't seem to work in Leitrim. Our toilet needs emptying once a month, then the composted contents are used as fertiliser around the trees and fruit garden'.

The other compost toilet I used was totally home made. On approach it looked quite appealing as it was all made with wood and decorated nicely with eco paint. It felt very 'clean'. There was a lovely smell of pine, not a toilet cleaner overpowering synthetic pine smell, but a natural one. Opening the lid met with no nasty surprises, and revealed the source of the lovely odour as each visitor scatters a small scoop of sawdust to cover any solids. This immediately neutralises any potential odours. The lidded pot needs emptying a couple of times a week. Total Cost €30. When I asked the owner why he chose to use a composting toilet he said 'Speed and simplicity, and wanting to save those good nutrients - plus not wanting to pollute the ground by using a 'normal' system.' It's more eco-friendly than todays septic/sewage treatments? 'No question about it.'

Composting Toilet at Dial House, UK

For those sunny days when we are outdoors a lot, and if your land has plenty of privacy then you might also consider a garden based treebog. This design does not require emptying so the compost is not harvested for use, well at least not directly. Again aeration is the key factor to excluding odour. The other ingredient is the use of nutrient rich plant species to harness the compost. The toilet is placed over a one metre squared space, walled with double chicken wire which is then filled with hay. This provides a visual barrier to the contents but allows aeration. Willow is planted closely around the toilet boundary and then a band of deep rooting comfrey. The nutrient hungry willow can be harvested yearly to provide poles for gardening and basket making, or harvested every few years instead when large enough to burn on in a stove. The comfrey leaves can be harvested annually to make liquid fertiliser for your vegetable garden.

Planning legislation in Ireland in not yet proactive in this area yet. However I did find the planning departments of other countries who provide publications on how to build one or where to buy one, and plenty of information on the web from various users.

The Humanure Handbook is the place to start if you are interested. Try your local library, request it on Freecycle, buy it from your local bookshop or lastly, order it from our Sallygardens Bookshop  by Amazon.

Do you think you could use one?

Lathered Up

One of my children has very sensitive skin and has suffered from eczema over the years. Some of the things we have tried to help her includes eliminating the use of washing detergents by using ecoballs, going dairy free, minimising wheat in her diet, using a Crystal Ball Bath Dechlorinator and using the most simple of soaps with the least amount of harsh ingredients.

All these things add up in cost and so began my latest quest (as if I hadn't enough things on the go!!! ). I decided I could try to make our own soap, and so after an awful lot of web based research and the use of a wonderful book called The Handmade Soap Book (The Handmade Series). I eventually donned my husbands face mask and respirator from his workshop, this coupled with my own pink rubber gloves, was not exactly a fetching look! However, fashion aside, the end result of the soap was excellent.

I'm delighted we now have a soap which I've made with natural ingredients, and some of those from my own smallholding. I used my goats milk, added some herbs from my garden, and used oils sourced with the least amount of air miles. That mean't that coconut and palm oils were out as possible ingredients. I also made an animal fat based soap which turned out wonderful. My local butcher who raises his own animals, donated the fat, which would otherwise have been thrown out. In return I'll give him a few bars of soap.

Before you shudder at the thought of using animal fat in a bar of soap ... unless you specifically buy vegetarian soap, it will be a major ingredient. It may be listed as tallow. Personally I think that unless I have chosen to be a vegetarian, then I should try to waste as little as possible of an animal which has lost its life for the sole purpose of providing people with food. 

Hobby Horse Toys

My children’s favourite toys are their wooden hobby horses on wheels handcrafted by their very own Dad. Dan, my husband, wanted to make Aoife a special present for her third birthday. He disappeared into his workshop for a day and he emerged with the birth of his first ever hobby horse.

That was two years ago, and last year Dan started crafting these hobby horses as his full time job. Now he supplies a growing number of prestigious art & design outlets, craft shops and toy shops in Ireland and sells internationally via his Hobby Horse Toys website. Lots of people prefer to have a hobby horse or car personalised with the recipients name, and choose the base colour and scroll work colour of their choice. The horses are also commissioned by those seeking a special gift for a newborn and request have the babies name, date of birth and weight inscribed in the scroll work.

This year Dan has also added more toys to his range coming up to Christmas, including wooden cars and miniature hobby horses. Yes it is already ‘coming up to Christmas’, its official because I saw Christmas crackers for sale in Tesco’s today! Its been an exciting year watching the hobby horses grow in popularity. There has also been interest by Irish television and Dan will feature with his hobby horses on Nationwide and also on TV3am over the next couple of months. I will let you know the exact dates when we know ourselves. I must put aside some time for serious house work before the tv cameras arrive!