The Good Life - No rabbits allowed!

This is myself watering the triffids at sunset - Photo by Moritz "the Sicilian"

The recent rain has brought about a discernable amount of growth. Weeds are abundent of course and grow with unusual rapidity. Seeds that have slowly germinated in the last few weeks have fresh leaves after emerging from the darkness of the soil; the carrots, beetroot, lettuce and spring onions are now readily recognisable albeit still diminutive. The deep green leaves of the potato plants have emerged from the crusty earth. Surprises are plentiful elsewhere as the gooseberry and redcurrant fruit have begun to form and the first sighting of a thin lonely spear of asparagus. Of the five asparagus crowns we planted on the fifth April, this solitary spear will hopefuly have set the example for his fellow spears and demonstrates some promise for future months, although they shall be required to grow through for the first two years before harvesting.

Fruit forming on the red currants

Although it is practically the middle of May, the weather is still somewhat unstable for planting young vegetables. The weather is improving and temperatures are rising, however the wind is still predominately from the north east and the damaging chill of winter remains with us for the moment, threatening tender young seedlings, and pushing back planting plans. Dwarf yellow beans which we planted three weeks ago have had to be dug up and new drills sown due to recent ground frosts which killed the plants. The extra time afforded to us due to the delayed planting schedule has allowed us develop some of the more difficult ground at the front of the allotment. In the last few days we have been digging and developing a small complex of new raised beds. Harry has also been working hard on the allotment during the weeks. He told us he found a tonne of bark (in an as yet undisclosed place known as "somewhere") and the walkways are now quite neat and hopefully will be weed and mud free for the foreseeable future.

Some new digging and raised beds

In the last few weeks we have seem a number of young rabbits about looking to gorge themselves on young leaves. Other allotment holders have found them hiding under upturned wheel barrows. We think our little patch is pretty much rabbit proof at this stage, and have dug the wire into the ground to prevent burrowing. Corinne is considering putting up a notice to ward them off. It was originally entitled "No Rabbits Allowed". This sign has been since changed to read "Rabbits strictly by appointment only".

 Primroses

 Blossom from a wild prune tree

The Dandelion wine was siphoned into the demi johns on Tuesday the 27th April. Having given it some thought, I decided to add a teaspoon of wine yeast to kick the fermentation process off, and since then it has been bubbling away in the corner and keeping us entertained. Every now and again froth develops on the surface of the mixture and will suddenly recede, but all the time the fine bubbles rise to the surface causing the fermentation trap to bubble and gurgle away. We have also opened a few bottles of the nettle beer which is approximately two weeks in the bottle. The first bottle was certainly an active brew, because I had primed the bottle with a teaspoon of demerara sugar. Luckily mugs were on hand and very little beer ended up being wasted. Subsequent bottles were more of the gentle sparkling variety, and the beer exited the bottle without ceremony in the normal way, which was a relief. It was served chilled with a slice of lemon and it tasted very refreshing and palatable. To reduce the ceremonial type pressure there are a number of options available; I might use less sugar priming the bottle or simply wash the inside of the bottle with a sugar solution.


As May begins the countryside is full of colour at this time of year for a very brief period. Along with the abundant and easily recognisable dandelion explosion, the last two weeks heralded the more subtle arrival of the pretty yellow primrose. The primrose grows in small tufts on grassy lanes, railway sidings and in secluded watery ditches. The cherry and apple trees are now bright and coloured with blossom and among the hedgerows the wild prunus and hawthorn are full of delicate while blossom. A brisk wind or heavy rainfall will carry the delicate blooms to the ground to be forgotten for another year.

 Corinne dreaming about her garden in the evening sunshine

The Good Life - Rain

View from the shed where sheltered during the showers

There are holes in the sky where the rain gets in

But they're ever so small

That's why the rain is thin

Spike Milligan

Nearly four weeks of dry weather ended on Saturday evening as gradually but surely isolated droplets of rain began to fall through the small holes in the sky. Initially I could count the drops on the windscreen of Corinne's car, monitoring with interest the possibility of a downpour, and after about 20 minutes of it became clear we would have a decent shower or two overnight. Harry worships the rain, and waxes lyrically about the special nourishment all vegetation receives from it. He often says that the watering can is no substitute for the rain and in his experience plants would be jumping out the ground after a good spell of rain.

The first radish; a striking 1960's red against our 1960's baby blue table

Harry always recommends a steady slow pace of work in order to make it through to the end of the day. He has numerous stories, approaching the status of parables of a bygone age, from his days working with Dublin Corporation. In between planting a few rows of onions Harry broke off and told me a story of a man he used to work with. He had been tasked with the preparation of a patch of ground for a lawn and half way through the day, but not the job itself, a manager arrived on site and insisted the grass be sewn that evening. After a moments thought, this man seeing the impossibility of the demand and the lack of knowledge or his supervisor, responded with a moderate amount of Dublin sarcasm, and requested permission to mow the grass the following morning. We laughed heartily for a while before casually progressing onto the few remaining shallots, while Corinne was slaving away elsewhere in the allotment transplanting beans.

Corinne sorting through the dandelion flower heads

 

Bright full blooming dandelions during a sunny spell in the afternoon

There has been a fantastic growth of dandelions in the last three weeks and recently I have been reading about traditional Midday Dandelion Wine. I suggested to Corinne that we might try to make a batch. She seemed to be quite enthusiastic and told me her father made many bottles of what they called vin de pissenlits in France and went on to say that it tasted very nice. I was immediately sold on the idea, and when we had a break on Sunday afternoon I walked across to a neighbouring field and set about collecting as many dandelions as I could. The idea is to pick the flowers at midday or when they are fully open. After about two hours I had tired of the constant picking and bending routine, and became slighly worried by the fact my fingers were being stained black, and  returned to Corinne. For a good hour we picked through the flowers watching the little beatles make their escape from the pile of yellow flowers while removing as much of the green leaves and stalk from beneath the flower head as possible.

Upon returning home, I measured out 8 pints of flowers into a clean bucket and then poured 16 pints of boiling water over them finally covering the bucket with a clean cloth. The recipe stipulates that they be left to steep for two days and no longer. The mixture must then be strained and poured back into a pot and brought to the boil. For the quantities I am using, I must use the zest of 8 oranges and boil the mixture for ten minutes. The mixture must then be strained again through a muslin cloth into a clean bucket containing what I am currently calculating to be 6 pounds of sugar, making sure to dissolve the sugar. When cooled sufficiently, the juice of the oranges and the yeast can be added, and this mixture can be poured into a secondary fermentation vessel with a fermentation trap, and allowed to ferment completely.
 

Corinne's father has warmed me already that yeast will not be necessary as this mixture will ferment like crazy. Furthermore he recommended I should leave at least 20% free space in the demi john to deal with the highly active fermentation process. The English recipes recommend racking and bottling the wine when it becomes clear and to allow it to age six months in the bottle before tasting. Corinne's father differs on this point as well, and being French he is probably more patient with the whole process. He advises bottling the wine after a year and promises us time will improve the wine. In any event my next date with the dandelions is Tuesday evening when I must strain the mix and add the zest and sugar, and make a decision in the yeast.
 

The forecast for the week is good for the allotment because showers are forecasted for just about everyday during the week providing good prospects for the initial growth period and reported green shoots. The Irish economy may not be as fortunate as every week brings with it revelations of financial impropriety. The unimaginative politician's refrain of green shoots has now lapsed only to be replaced with the specter of projected economic growth, which it must be said would sound more convincing from an old haggard gypsy clasping a crystal ball.