Newsletters

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…

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…

 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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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 –…

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…

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…

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. …

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…