Dear Fellow Gardeners,
Over the last 18 months we have been working really hard getting our new organic education centre – Tilled Earth ready for courses and visitors. It is located in the one of the most scenic areas in Ireland between Mulranny and Achill Island. As with any project, it is never easy, but finally we seem to be getting there.
Our plan was that I would have to travel less and hope that gardeners would come to courses at our new centre. So far, it didn’t work out – I had to travel more and Joanna was doing the bulk of the work at Tilled Earth. She kangoed the entire front side of the old building to expose the beautiful stonework, strimmed, tiled and worked tirelessly.
Our plan is to convert a disused pub (formerly The Way Inn) into a classroom, kitchen and dining room and we will open up for gardening courses and courses in sustainability and biodiversity. We also invite gardening clubs, community garden members, active retirement groups, schools for gardening/wildlife tours followed by a home-grown, home-cooked lunch by our son Thien who recently trained in Ballymaloe Cookery School.
Good news
We got good news recently that our Leader Funding application to convert the pub into a classroom was approved. So we can move on quickly now and plan to open for the first course in early June and will be open for tours/visits.
Our main craftsman is our son-in-law Warren Connolly who worked for us two days a week over the last 18 months and built a beautiful family-sized red-brick Walled Garden and restored the buildings. Our 14-year old daughter, Elsbeth, helped with building the red brick walled garden last summer. She did expect payment though!
We already had a great year of crops from it in 2025. We only just finished eating our potatoes and still have plenty of Brussels sprouts, spinach and chard. I also dedicated an entire section to save the Martock bean seeds (the oldest known vegetable variety dating back to the 13th century).
We are just planning our course schedule for the summer and I’ll have it in my next newsletter.
If there is any group who would like to visit we can organise a tour of the garden and a delicious home-cooked lunch or soup and sandwiches. Please contact me on the following email: klauslaiten@gmail.com
We have also started a new instagram account tilled_earth where we will be uploading photo’s of our progress to date and keeping people informed about our courses and events.
Mother’s Day Flower & Herb Seed Box
The perfect gift for Mother’s Day.
A box with 5 flower seed packets and 5 herb seed packets €20
Each box contains: Sweet Pea, Love-in-a-Mist, Hollyhock, Cornflower, French Marigold, Parsley, Basil, Coriander, Chives, Dill
Mother’s Day Flower & Herb Seed Box – Green Vegetable Seeds
We also have a couple of seed potato varieties left
Red Duke of York – my favourite first early variety
Seed Potato -Red Duke of York (first early) – Green Vegetable Seeds
Vitabella – a fabulous blight resistant and delicious early maincrop
Seed Potato – Vitabella (early maincrop) – Green Vegetable Seeds
Purple Rain – a unique purple fleshed variety – you’ll get purple chips or mash
Seed Potato – Purple Rain (early maincrop) – Green Vegetable Seeds
Happy Gardening,
Klaus