The drains feed our pond with rainwater but we will also put in a sluice gate in the end of the tunnel. That way we can also use it as a kind of swale if we get a dry summer.
That basically holds water longer in the land instead of draining it away. Easy and cheap to do, so why not.
We took the opportunity to clear and improve the drain on the hill side of our tunnel while it was warm.
It was overgrown and a great habitat for snails and wildlife. The poor frog looked completely insulted when we moved him to the pond.
We were delighted to find that some solitary bees had moved in to our bee&bee log.
It's in a sunny spot on the western side of the house so we hope they will like it.
It would be great to get to see what comes out of it!
Beautiful warm weather here yesterday. Perfect for some garden work.
We had to take out the "windows" on the doors of our tunnel because the temperatures during the day were hitting 40C. Nights are still cool though
#organic
#seeds
#westcork
#gardening
#vegetables
#ireland
This is a great event in Kinsale and we are delighted to be there with a stall to sell seeds and talk about seed saving.
We hope to see you there
#seeds
#organic
#westcork
#ireland
#seedsovereignty
Have you tried to grow "Oca" (pronounced oh-kah)?
It is an interesting bushy heirloom from the Andes region in South America that has trifoliate leaves that looks a bit like a shamrocks.
wolfseeds.ie/product/oca-...
#Organic
#garden
#seeds
#westcork
Oca Tubers wolfseeds.ie/product/oca-...
Now is a perfect time to plant some nice vegetables in your garden, e.g. maize, tomatoes, salad greens, cape gooseberries etc.
Your own vegetables will taste amazing and you don't need to use any fuel to get them!
#organic
#vegetables
#gardening
#seed
#westcork
Nice but blustery day at the market.
Good Friday seems like a particularly good day for the fish stall.
We also were gifted a lovely haiku by one of the market customers.
#clonakilty
#westcork
#organic
#seeds
#garden
#vegetables
The bud's shell was the bud all winter long.
What is this new thing that gnaws and shatters?
Yes, of course it hurts when buds burst open — pain for what grows, and for what closes.'
It makes me think of an old Swedish poem about buds in the spring and change
"Yes, of course it hurts when buds burst open.
Why else would spring hesitate?
Why would all our burning longing remain bound in the frozen, bitter-pale?
Our overwintered cabbages looks like an alien burst out of their heads. However, its just the flower stalk that dramatically pierces the head.
#organic
#seeds
#westcork
#ireland
#gortahork
I went out with a nice mug of coffee this morning to sit down and listen to the birds.
Pretty spectacular and very relaxing
First time this year I pulled up the Merlin Bird ID app.
These are the birds it identified in our little valley at 7 am
#birds
#organic
#cottage
#westcork
#ireland
A lovely sunny morning at the Clonakilty Friday Market.
Listening to Artie Shaw jazz, drinking coffee and talking with people about gardening and local seeds. 🍆🥒🌽🫛🌶️🥬🫑🧅
#seeds
#organic
#garden
#westcork
#heirloomseeds
With all the war mongering in the world currently we got inspired to get a serious portable power bank. We already got a 100w portable solar panel last year and with some patience we got the two to work together.
It will be interesting to see how it works out.
#Ireland
#westcork
#solarbattery
Yesterday Elise found this little nest in one of my trousers hanging on the clothes horse min our polytunnel.
In just 2 days an industrious little bird had created a new nice warm home for herself.
Could it be a wren’s nest?
#westcork
#organic
#seeds
#gardening
#wren
We meet him once before when he was demonstrating how comfy the pet beds are in the shop.
Apparently Billy lives next door and when his owner goes to work he likes to help out in the store and garden centre.
His hard work and dedication is an inspiration to us.
Tomorrow (12th or March at 11 pm) we will visit Bandon COOP in Kinsale for a talk about local seeds.
We really hope to meet the garden centre’s hard working volunteer “Billy the Cat”.
#kinsale
#horticulture
#organic
#permaculture
#ecology
#westcork
#bandoncoop
It seems quite promising and we look forward to see how it works out
This season we are experimenting with a paper pot making kit.
With it you can use old newspapers to make pots for seedlings. The newspaper pot will dissolve when planted directly in the soil without disturbing the plant by uprooting it from the pot.
#westcork
#ireland
#vegetables
#organic
#seeds
We found the frogspawn frolicking in the pond today.
Look at all those air bubbles! Very busy little fellas.
We hope to see them scampering around later 🐸 🐸🐸
#westcork
#Ireland
#organic
#pond
It is that time of the year when we start to feel feel really restless…
So we will join the spring activities and put up a stall at the Clonakilty Friday Market on Friday the 13th.
Planting seeds in your garden is believing in the future…
See you there!
#Clonakilty
#vegetables
#organic
#seeds
We are chuffed to be invited to Bandon COOP’s garden centre in Kinsale the 12th of March.
We will be participating in talks about the value of local seeds , heirloom varieties and organic vegetable gardening.
We hope to meet you there at 11.
#kinsale
#westcork
#vegetables
#organic
#seeds
So when you go out for a walk with your dogs or just for your own enjoyment, take some time and admire the amazing Furze bushes and think about the old saying about kisses and Furze flowers.
You will find flowers on some Furze bushes all year around, which is amazing to see on drab days.
Furze bushes, also known as Gorse or Whin, are amazing evergreens that enrich the landscape. They are part of the legume family and their flowers has the same keel and sail like peas and beans.
A couple of years ago we visited Irish Seed Savers Association in county Clare and one of the gardeners there shared a beautiful old saying:
“Furze bushes will go out of bloom when kisses goes out of fashion”
#westcork
#organic
#ecology
#seeds
#gardening
We are very proud to say that our seed is stocked by the flower shop Verd in Cork City.
It is a very cosy little shop full from floor to ceiling with plants and flowers.
Thank you Michele for supporting locally grown seeds
#seeds
#organic
#vegetables
#cork
#verd_houseplants
We saved seeds from it and if there is an interest among adventurous growers we might sell some seed calling it something like the Unstable King/Tsar.
Addendum
We actually grew a second truffle variety in 2026. However, we found the seeds of the beefsteak tomato “King Truffle” to be of an unstable strain with the majority being red rather than multicoloured as advertised to us. While it tasted great, it didn’t look exactly like King truffle.
The “Yellow Truffle” is a variety that would be on our top 10 list of great tomatoes and we keep recommending it as an delicious exotic tomato to everyone that will listen.
The flavour and texture is deliciously tropical and pleasantly surprising. Imagine our faces when we tried it and instead of a good salad tomato found a tasty combination between a tomato and a mango.
