January Gardening Newsletter 2024
Dear Fellow Gardeners, This year was certainly one of the more difficult years in the vegetable garden with enough rain to put off any new aspiring vegetable gardener. The good…
Read MoreGeneral Garden Info
December Gardening Newsletter 2023
Dear Fellow Gardeners, We wish you all a Happy Christmas and a fruitful New Year. This year was certainly one of the more difficult years in the vegetable garden…
Read MoreNovember Gardening Newsletter 2022
Dear Fellow Gardeners, November Gardening Newsletter 2022. The year 2022 has been a very busy and exciting year for us travelling and discovering new and old vegetable crops from Southern…
Read MoreGardening Newsletter May 2022
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Gardening Newsletter May 2022 May is definitely the busiest month in your vegetable garden and hopefully you have managed to do all the other jobs such as…
Read MoreGardening Newsletter April 2022
Gardening Newsletter April 2022 Dear Fellow Gardeners, This must have been the nicest early spring in many years. It’s wonderful to see all the early awakenings in nature. The blackthorn…
Read MoreGardening Newsletter February 2022
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Gardening Newsletter February 2022 February is generally the month when I get out of my gardening hibernation. Finally there is work to be done. The days are…
Read MoreGardening Newsletter January 2022
Dear Fellow Gardeners, January is often a cold and miserable month in Ireland and it’s far too early to get out into the garden. I do, however, love the cold…
Read MoreGardening Newsletter December 2021
Dear Fellow Gardeners, I can’t believe how fast this year is going. It has been an exciting year with lots of new and exciting projects. Online Polytunnel Course (NOTS) The…
Read MoreGardening Newsletter October 2021
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Everything in nature has gone to rest and maybe we should also slow down a little bit now. However, there are some plants that want or even…
Read MoreGardening Newsletter September 2021
Gardening Newsletter September 2021 Dear Fellow Gardeners, September can often be one of the nicest months in the garden and we can still look forward to the Indian summer (or…
Read MoreJuly 2021 Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Just in case we do get a dry summer you might have to water your plants outdoors. If you water your plants, give them a thorough…
Read MoreApril 2021 Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Finally there are days again that remind us of spring. I think it’s so important for all of us to get this little lift – this little…
Read MoreJanuary 2021 Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Last week I was out tending the old Huegelbed in Bundoran and it was one of these magical days with the occasional blue sky, not a breeze…
Read MoreDecember 2020 Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, We would like to wish you all a wonderful and happy Christmas. This was certainly a very strange and difficult year for everyone but one of the…
Read MoreNovember Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, You may think this newsletter has little to do with gardening but at the end it will come back to it – to soil – the Earth’s…
Read MoreSeptember Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, In September we often have the best weather but so far this hasn’t materialised – at least not in the North-West. It seems to have been a…
Read MoreAugust Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, August is a lovely month in the garden. You can sit back and reap the rewards from it. So many crops are ready now with the endless…
Read MoreMay Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Everyone with a garden is in a lucky position. At least we have some escape from this crazy situation. Maybe one good thing that may come out…
Read MoreApril Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, These are difficult times – more difficult than most of us have ever experienced, but often during and after these events it is time to re-evaluate our…
Read MoreFebruary Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, One would imagine that after 30 years in a profession one would know everything important and essential about it. But not so with gardening or at least…
Read MoreDecember Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, I have finally finished my Nuffield report. It’s such a relief to have it all completed. The title is “The potential of growing Yacon and other Lost…
Read MoreNovember 2019 Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Usually November is my least favourite month of the year but leading up to it was really fabulous. I was harvesting some of the Jerusalem artichokes last…
Read MoreOctober 2019 Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Time to prepare for winter Please don’t listen to the old tale that you should dig over your garden, spread compost or manure and leave it rough…
Read MoreSeptember 2019 Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, I can’t believe it’s already September. Since we got back from holidays a couple of weeks ago it hasn’t stopped raining. Lough Melvin is already as high…
Read MoreGrowing Dill
Growing Dill Growing Dill is very quick and easy. However, if you buy plain dill seeds they are likely to bolt much quicker because the plants are meant for producing…
Read MoreAugust 2019 Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, August 2019 Gardening Newsletter We are spending some time in the Peloponnese in Greece in a beautiful area called Arcadia. The word Arcadia means “a place where…
Read MoreJuly 2019 Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, July 2019 Gardening Newsletter Just in case we do get another dry summer you might have to water your plants outdoors. If you water your plants, give…
Read MoreJune Gardening Newsletter 2019
Round-up – Glyphosate The momentum is really picking up now after an American couple was awarded $2 billion compensation from Bayer/Monsanto. This is the third case where compensation was awarded…
Read MoreMay Gardening Newsletter 2019
Dear Fellow Gardeners, May is definitely the busiest month in your vegetable garden and hopefully you have managed to do all the other jobs such as bed preparation in the…
Read MoreMarch Gardening Newsletter 2019
Dear Fellow Gardeners, We certainly won’t get bored with the weather – from the summery spell last week to winter in the last few days. According to old gardener’s lore…
Read MoreApril Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, In case you haven’t seen it yet – we have a new website with a completely new design. We hope you like it. It was designed and…
Read MoreFebruary Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, We might not feel that spring is just around the corner during this cold spell. It’s great to see some snow though – everything looks so pure…
Read MoreJanuary Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, We would like to thank all our seed customers and newsletter readers for your support and wish you a wonderful and happy new year. The year 2018…
Read MoreMay Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, The next step on our Global Agricultural Focus Trip was Canada – British Columbia. I was very impressed with agriculture in British Columbia. Unlike the rest of…
Read MoreApril Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, I hope you won’t be disappointed, as this won’t be an informative practical gardening newsletter, but more a summary of my first few weeks of my Nuffield…
Read MoreMarch Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, I hope you have all survived the storm with not too much damage. We were lucky here – there wasn’t even a breeze and not even a…
Read MoreFebruary Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, February is often the nicest month in Ireland. We really notice the days are getting a bit longer and we’ll probably get as much sunshine in February…
Read MoreJanuary Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, I wish all readers a wonderful and successful gardening year in 2018. The last year was certainly quite a challenge with all the rain throughout the summer…
Read MoreDecember Gardening Newsletter
December Gardening Newsletter Dear Fellow Gardeners, Last week I was teaching for a couple of days at the Permaculture College in Kinsale. It’s a fascinating place with student from all…
Read MoreNovember Gardening Newsletter
November Gardening Newsletter Dear Fellow Gardeners, It’s great to get a dry spell especially during this time of year. It makes gardening so much easier. I was very busy in…
Read MoreOctober Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners I am sincerely honoured at having been awarded the Nuffield Scholarship. In my 50th year I will be travelling around the globe searching for vegetables that have…
Read MoreSeptember Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Every year seems to go faster and faster – we are already in September and up here in Leitrim we didn’t get a summer yet again. The…
Read MoreAugust Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, It seems strange to write a gardening newsletter from Greece. We are in the most stunningly beautiful southern part of mainland Greece on the Peloponnese peninsula’s middle…
Read MoreJuly Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardener We have finally moved again – last year we sold Milkwood Farm and rented for 6 months in Bundoran while we renovated a cottage in Rossinver, Co.…
Read MoreMay Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, April was quite a cold month but luckily it stayed reasonably dry. It was still a bit early to sow the majority of crops. There is still…
Read MoreApril Gardening Newsletter – Green Vegetable Seeds
April Gardening Newsletter Dear Fellow Gardeners, April is one of the busiest months in the vegetable garden. There is little time left to reflect – only time for getting the…
Read MoreMarch Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, March is really the beginning of the gardening year but please don’t be impatient. I suppose the weather this March isn’t conducive to gardening yet. Let’s hope…
Read MoreFebruary Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Who would have thought that January was such a beautiful month. The winter rains usually last well into February and the soil stays saturated until March –…
Read MoreOnion, shallot and garlic information
Onion, shallot and garlic information Dear Fellow Gardeners, We just received our onion and shallot sets and garlic bulbs. Here is some useful information about these crops that belong to…
Read MoreOca Recipes – Bernadette O’Shea
Oca Recipes I recently gave some oca tubers to a good friend and wonderful chef – Bernadette O’Shea. As you can read below she was most impressed about this old/new…
Read MoreDecember Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, World Soil Day is next Monday 5th December. We are organising a conference at the Botanic Gardens on the day but unfortunately for anyone who hasn’t got…
Read MoreNovember Gardening Newsletter
November Gardening Newsletter Dear Fellow Gardeners This newsletter is about protecting ours soils. The “People4Soil” petition is now open and I hope many of you will sign this important petition. …
Read MoreOctober Gardening Newsletter
October Gardening Newsletter Dear Fellow Gardeners, I’m always looking forward to October. It’s usually quite a dry and beautiful month and the colours are amazing. Unfortunately the beautiful autumn leaves…
Read MoreSeptember Gardening Newsletter
September Gardening Newsletter Dear Fellow Gardeners, In the last few days I’ve been travelling up and down the country participating in garden open days or study days. On Friday I…
Read MoreAugust Gardening Newsletter
August Gardening Newsletter Dear Fellow Gardeners, This year is a really trying year, more so for gardeners than for the vegetables. Most crops are doing quite well despite the grey…
Read MoreJuly Gardening Newsletter
July Gardening Newsletter Dear Fellow Gardeners, Just in case we do get a dry summer (maybe a repeat from our pre-summer experiences in May) you might have to water your…
Read MoreJune Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Welcome to the June Gardening Newsletter. It appears that we are getting well compensated for the miserable wet winter we had. Summer is here and more good…
Read MoreMay Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners May is definitely the busiest month in your vegetable garden and hopefully you have managed to do all the other jobs such as bed preparation in the…
Read MoreApril Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Finally the gardening year begins. From now on everything moves fast and I need to shake myself from hibernation. There is little time to reflect. April is…
Read MoreMarch Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners Yesterday was the first day I could feel that spring was in the air. I lifted the seaweed which covered the beds over the winter months and…
Read MoreFebruary Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Phenological Calendar In Ireland February is officially the beginning of spring. I never fully believed it as it is still is a very dark month, but in…
Read MoreJanuary Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Growing Oca, Yacon I wish you all a wonderful new year. Hopefully we’ll get a much better year than 2015. While most European countries suffered from heatwaves…
Read MoreDecember Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Wild Bird Seed In the last two weeks we were nearly drowning up here in Leitrim. The wind and rain never stopped. I’m quite annoyed with myself…
Read MoreOca Growing Instructions
Oca (Oxalis tuberosa) Even if you don’t fancy eating this delicious vegetable it deserves a good place in your ornamental garden as a beautiful curiosity. It resembles the native wood…
Read MoreUsing Fresh Seaweed
Q: Hi Klaus, I have my allotment in Skerries and can get good fresh seaweed. Should I dig it into the soil in my polytunnel or put it on top…
Read MoreVegetables for the Polytunnel and Greenhouse
Q: Hi, I was wondering if I can order a copy of your book ‘Vegetables For The Polytunnel & Greenhouse’ ? I recently bought your book A Vegetable ‘Handbook and…
Read MoreNovember Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Blight Free Potato Usually November is my least favourite month of the year but leading up to it was really fabulous. I was harvesting my potatoes yesterday…
Read MoreOctober Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Snail Farming September always seems to make up for a bad summer even up in County Leitrim. We call it the Indian summer here – it’s really…
Read MoreSeptember Newslstter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Welcome to the September Newsletter. In September we often have the best weather and the harvest is even more abundant. We probably had the most terrible summer…
Read MoreAugust Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Welcome to the August Gardening Newsletter. August is a lovely month in the garden. You can sit back and reap the rewards from it. So many crops…
Read MoreJuly Newsletter – Soil Conference
Soil Conference Dear Fellow Gardeners, July is the month where we can enjoy the fruits of our labour. I’m always looking forward to the first tomatoes. Again I’m trying out…
Read MoreJune Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, May has really been a terrible month all over the country. Let’s just hope that June will be better just as the New Zealand weather prophet predicts. …
Read MoreFrost Damage On Potatoes
Q: Frost damage on potatoes I have sown your mixed salad which has grown extremely well and is delicious. Have also planted tomatoes and am now ready to plant your beetroots.…
Read MoreGarlic Spray
Q: Garlic Spray Hello Klaus The seeds I ordered from you have now started to grow well and I am interested to know how you make the Garlic spray that…
Read MoreTreated Fence Posts
Q: Treated Fence Posts Hello Klaus, I hope you are keeping well. I hope you don’t mind me emailing you but I have a question in relation to treated fence…
Read MoreKale & Chard
Q: Kale and Chard Chard and Kale … what a magnificent start for any small gardener. I have just pulled up last year’s Kale plants….nearly a metre high and having…
Read MoreChitting Seed Potatoes
Q: I have some potatoes left from last year. They were quite scabby. Can I re-plant them now as seed potatoes or should I buy new ones ? A: You …
Read MoreModular Trays
Q: One other quick question, I am trying to find info on the appropriate sized module tray for different seeds, I presume it just size of seed really and how…
Read MoreDigging In Leaf Mould
Q: Last year I was mulching all my beds with leaf mould and then dug it into the beds in spring. All crops were very poor and never grew properly.…
Read MoreStoring Squash & Pumpkins
Q: Last year I grew the Crown Prince squash which you highly recommended. They were delicious but unfortunately didn’t keep well. I harvested them as they turned big. A: Both…
Read MoreAutumn Raspberries
Q: Autumn Raspberries When and how should I prune my autumn raspberries? A: Autumn raspberries are the easiest fruit to grow and to maintain. January an February is the best time to…
Read MoreBroad Beans
Q: Broad Beans Can I sow broad beans now in February? A: Yes, broad beans don’t mind the cold at all. You can sow the seeds directly outdoors into a…
Read MoreSeed Compost
Q: Seed Compost Would you mind giving me a recipe for making a good seed compost? A: I would recommend that you buy a good organically approved seed compost. There…
Read MoreOca Storage
Q: Oca Storage I recently received Oca tubers from you. I see that they do not need to be planted until April. How should I store them until they are…
Read MoreWatering Modular Trays
Q: Watering modular trays I have been sowing some of the veggies you recommended for this time of year under protection in your book. Just wondering how often to water…
Read MoreOnion Troubles
Q: Onion troubles I have been growing vegetables for many years – last year’s crop of onions was a complete disaster for some reason. I grow different varieties to ensure…
Read MoreTomato Problems
Q: Tomato Problems I planted about 24 plants in the polytunnel. They grew fine – in fact over grew – because I probably overfed them. Set loads of flowers- but…
Read MoreChitting New Potatoes
Q: Chitting New Potatoes I was hoping you could give me some advice on new potatoes. I just got a delivery yesterday from Fruithill Farm of seed potato of Orla , Casablanca…
Read MoreSuperNemos
Q: SuperNemos Just wondering if you have any feedback for us on your applications of SuperNemos over the past few years? A: I thought the Super Nemos worked really well…
Read MoreYacon Tubers
Q: Yacon Tubers Your Yacon is delicious but I’m a bit mystified by the round, dark red tubers attached to the edible and the knobbly – mind telling me what…
Read MoreMay Newsletter
Delay Planting Your Vegetables Until The Weather Is Warmer Dear Fellow Gardeners, We had such a wonderful spring followed by a return of winter in the last couple of days.…
Read MoreApril Newsletter
Vegetable Growing Information Dear Fellow Gardeners, Spinach – Annual and Perpetual While both of them belong to the beet family (Chenopodiaceae) they are actually quite different. Perpetual spinach is more…
Read MoreMarch Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Hopefully we’ll soon be getting the first glimpses of spring. I still don’t understand why February should be the beginning of spring. It can often be the…
Read MoreFebruary Gardening Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, In Ireland February is the beginning of spring. I personally think it’s a little optimistic to think of spring in February but there are definitely signs that…
Read MoreGardening and Wildlife Activities for Schools
Gardening and Wildlife Projects for Schools The aim of this project is to encourage school children to experience and learn from nature. A garden is often the best classroom where…
Read MoreJanuary Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, January is generally a cold and miserable month in Ireland and it’s far too early to get out into the garden. I do, however, love the cold…
Read MoreDecember Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, This year was definitely one of the easiest gardening years I remember in Ireland. All gardening jobs, especially hoeing and weeding are so much easier and more…
Read MoreNovember Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, The year 2014 must have been the kindest year for gardening. Nearly all crops grew better than ever before and we have our store full of carrots,…
Read MoreOctober Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Even if it doesn’t feel like it yet – autumn is fast approaching. The leaves on the trees are changing colour and the days are getting noticeably…
Read MoreSeptember Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, It must be the first year in living memory where farmers and gardeners aren’t complaining. It was definitely one of the easiest gardening years with great growth…
Read MoreAugust Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardener, August is supposed to be the hottest month of the year so let’s hope to get great drying weather for our onions and garlic. Onions and…
Read MoreJuly Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Isn’t it a beautiful year in the garden? Everything is much easier and more beautiful when the sun shines. Also the crops are doing much better. There…
Read MoreJune Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, The 21st of June is the longest day of the year and it’s also one of the most important days in the plant kingdom. Plants are highly…
Read MoreMay Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, May is definitely the busiest month of the year. There is no time to be complacent, nearly everything needs to be done now or at least within…
Read MoreApril Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Let’s hope that spring is just around the corner. We are still waiting for it up here in Leitrim. At least we haven’t been tempted…
Read MoreMarch Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners Spring must be round the corner by now. It hasn’t come up to Leitrim yet, but when I was down in Skibbereen last week I got the…
Read MoreFebruary Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners, Welcome to the February Newsletter and I hope you’ll enjoy reading it. February is generally the month when I get out of my gardening hibernation. …
Read MoreJanuary Newsletter
Newsletter January 2014 Dear Fellow Gardeners Another year has started but the gardening bug is still asleep. Probably only the hardiest gardeners will be out and about now. I…
Read MoreDecember Newsletter
Dear Fellow Gardeners Welcome to our December Newsletter. December is a quiet month in the garden. It is the month to reflect and to plan the year ahead. …
Read MoreNovember Newsletter
A great tidy up – or fruit for free Every garden has their problem areas. Forgotten corners or messy areas that we get used to and choose to ignore. …
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