Our 2012 course programme “Skills for life” has seen three extremely busy weekends so far and we are looking forward to our annual potato day.
Spuds and Seeds Day—Free Event
at The Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co. Leitrim Sunday 11th March 11am–5pm
The Organic Centre marks 15 years of Potato Day with a free event full of information, demonstrations, coping sessions, guided tours and gardening advice, potato printing for children, Dave Langford’s Potato Collection on show, vegetable seeds, onion sets, garlic and seed potatoes for sale including our favourites ORLA (first early) and SARPO MIRA (Blight-free late main crop). The first vegetables plants will be on sale. Guest speakers will address the hot topic: “Are potatoes still one of the most popular vegetables and foods in Ireland or not?”
This year’s event incorporates Seachtain na Gaeilge 2012 with guided tours in Irish.
Growing your own potatoes is one of the best ways to start up your garden as it is nearly always successfull and make a good crop for beginners. Another reason is that they can be grown outdoors and indoors in polytunnels or glasshouses and in barrels, tubs, grow bags, beds and fields.We will give you advice on planting and varieties and inform you about the latest on blight control and the new super blight strain Blue 13. Enjoy guided tours and lazy bed demonstrations.
The Grass Roof Café is open and the Eco-Shop will sell seed potatoes.
Top tips for great spuds
Dip seed potatoes into soot when you plant to protect against slugs. Use slug resistant varieties like Desiree and King Edward.
Put a layer of fresh grass clippings in the bottom of the drench before planting. It’s been proven to reduce scab problems.
New Nursery Development
Our new nursery is making steady progress. Dick, Chris and John Pat supported by the students have been busy to develop the new nursery at the centre, where we will propagate some of Jill’s perennials, soft and top fruit, herbs, vegetables and perennials for wildlife.
Heritage in Schools programme
Hans Wieland, Ciara Barrett and Johnny Toner have been appointed Heritage Experts by the INTO and the Heritage Council and can be booked by Primary Schools for visits to develop school gardens, conducting field trips and interactive workshops on seed sowing, composting and food production like butter making.
3 courses for €190 and 5 for €310—Special limited offer till the end of May
If you book any three courses or any five courses from our 2012 course programme you can now avail of this special offer till the end of May 2012. For example you can book 3 courses on renewable energy or 5 courses on cooking and baking or mix and match any 3 or 5 courses.
What The Bridgestone Guide 2012 says about us
“Skills For Life” is what the Organic Centre promises, and is what the Organic Centre delivers. Spend a day or more at one of the many courses here—discovering wild foods; making stone walls; understanding nutrition, maybe come for their Potato Day, or the Apple Day—and you come away feeling not just empowered, but distinctly wiser. Something in your head and your heart will have been skilled up by the wise instructors and lecturers, the feeling that the natural world is your ally, your companion, your collaborator.
The Organic Centre is a portal into understanding the rhythms of the world we live in, and when you step out of the portal at the end of the course, the world will look differently to you. It will look better, friendlier. Skill up.
Looking for the right tool…
by Hans Wieland
“The right tool in the right hand saves you time, money and you keep your sanity.” (H.Wieland senior)
Hello fellow gardeners!
It is still early days yet and without a polytunnel not so much to do outside. It’s the time for planning your garden, do your first sowings and have a good look at your tools before you sue them again.
For starting a small vegetable garden there is no need to buy a large range of fancy garden tools. My only advice is: Do not buy cheap tools. The following will be sufficient:
A good spade with a stainless steel blade for digging and planting, a garden fork for handling compost, loosening and aerating the soil and digging out root crops, a rake with a smooth and long enough handle for levelling soil, breaking down lumps and weeding and your very own favourite hoe.
As hoeing is probably one of the most important gardening activities in terms of bed preparation, planting and weeding—only hoe when the weather is dry—take a good look at round hoes, oscillating hoes and draw hoes, get some advice and buy one. My favourite hoe is a trenching hoe with a light Ash handle that has 2 sturdy prongs on one side to break up compacted soil and a heart shaped blade for making drills and general hoeing.
Last not least you need a hand trowel, a quality watering can, a 5m long rope and a measuring tape.
The tools you have could last you a lifetime if you maintain them. Use linseed oil for the handles and sharpen the blades every so often. Remember you wouldn’t chop vegetables with a blunt knife! Most important clean tools after use and store them dry in a shed.
The tools of The Organic Centre staff
Talking to my fellow gardeners here at The Organic Centre and watching them every so often I have asked a few of them about their favourite tool, the one that they would bring to a dessert Island and here are their stories:
Steve has named his favourite tool an implement: “It is a two-wheel, tipping wheelbarrow and is the best new piece of garden equipment I have had the pleasure to use.
The two wheels, side by side towards the front mean that the barrow can never tip over no matter how rough the terrain. The deep sides mean it can carry 3 or 4 times more than a regular wheel barrow. It can be tipped effortlessly and it’s so well balanced that it can be pushed or pulled with one hand. Every home should have one of these!”
Market gardener Mary says: “The tool of the day has to be the Oscillating Hoe. Choosen for its ease of use and multiple beneficial effects on soil and plants alike. I find weeding is one of the most time consuming and sometimes back breaking activities in the ever explosive life of the garden. As we strive to overcome the weed population in an effort to harvest our home grown crops the oscillating hoe appears as a welcome friend to me.”
Hoeing is a method of weeding whereby a gardener uses a long or short handled implement to aid in the weeding process. An oscillating hoe is one variation of this; it is unlike the traditional garden hoe in that it consists of a sharp edge which freely moves as the gardener lightly disturbs the top of the soil. As well as removing unwanted weeds it inadvertently gives the roots of the crops a wake up call with a gentle shake in the meanwhile allowing essential aerating of the soil, with this wake up call the roots begin to grow with improved vigour. Its multiple actions make it a busy gardeners right hand man or woman.
Head gardener Julia likes her round hoe: “It is a light tool with a sharp blade which is very useful to cut and bury small weeds between rows of vegetables. Apart from weed control regular hoeing helps to aerate the soil. The additional oxygen supply will increase the biological activity in the soil and in this process microorganism will decompose organic matter and release plant available nutrients. Therefore hoeing will increase vitality and health and growth of the crop.”
Some of our students said: “You need a good bucket, light, durable, plastic with a good handle.”
And sometimes the right tool will find you! This happened to me a good few years ago when a friend presented me with a brightly yellow sprayed hand fork and a plastic handle. I looked at it and thought by myself “I will never use that ugly yoke!” Years later it looks worn and exhausted, because of its ongoing use. There you go.
