 |
| 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 frosty and clear mornings following a freezing night. There are just a few jobs that can be done now but overall – it’s time to relax and reflect. Some of the gardening jobs I do in January include pruning apples and pears, red and white currants and gooseberries as well as the autumn fruiting raspberries. It’s also a good time to plant bareroot trees and shrubs provided the soil is not frozen or waterlogged. If you haven’t done so you could clean your gardening tools and rub boiled linseed oil onto the wooden handles. This prolongs their lifespan by many years. If you have a tunnel or greenhouse you can get started very early – you can plant first early potatoes and sow a lot of seeds on a heating bench indoors for planting into the tunnel about 4-6 weeks later but if you don’t have that facility there is little else to do. Today we made a willow wigwam and a small willow fedge in Bundoran – this is another lovely winter gardening job. A fedge is a hybrid word for fence/hedge. We did this for the online gardening course. I’m certainly not an expert but it turned out very sturdy.  January is also a good time to split your rhubarb crowns and take comfrey root cuttings. We actually filmed a session about these gardening tasks, including how to make a Huegelbed.Watch the video by clicking on the link below: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/663486155/2c28502070 Online Gardening Course – Spring in the Garden – now available for booking Just to let you know that the spring course is now available for booking. You can simply book it on our website this year. It will run from mid February to May, more or less on a weekly basis so you can follow what Assumpta and myself are doing in the garden. It costs €70 for 10 sessions and each session is about 45 minutes long. You can watch the sessions whenever it suits you. For more information click on the link below: Online Gardening Course with Klaus Laitenberger – Spring Session – Green Vegetable Seeds Aisling Newsletter: This is a newsletter I am always looking forward to reading. It is written by Dara Molloy and Tess Harper-Molloy. It is such a beautiful newsletters which celebrates nature, spirituality and ancient wisdom: Contact Aisling Publications :: Aisling Publications Dara’s new book – “Re-Imagining the Divine” will soon be out for sale. MSc in Organic and Biological Agriculture After several years of planning, a new Masters course at Waterford IT has been ratified. The MSc in Organic and Biological Agriculture will offer flexible learning with individual modules available from February 2022, and the full-time postgrad will begin in September 2022. There are still details to be finalised, but NOTS will be providing approximately 30% funding. For more information contact Sean at NOTS – [email protected] Gardening Courses and Talks at various venues by Klaus Laitenberger Course: Grow your own organic food Date: Saturday 19th February 2022 (10.00am – 4.30pm) Venue: Coolamber House, Co. Westmeath Contact: Ann-Marie Durkin Website: Grow your own Organic Food | Coolamber Garden Workshops Talk: Grow your own healthy food Date: Tuesday 22nd February 2022 (evening) Venue: Killyhevlin Hotel, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh Contact: Charlotte at [email protected] Talk: Grow your own healthy vegetables Date: Tuesday 1st March 2022 Venue: Foxrock Garden Society – ONLINE TALK Contact: Angela at [email protected] Course: Grow your own food Date: Saturday 5th March 2022 Venue: Corbalton Hall, Skryne, Co. Meath Contact: Andrina at [email protected] Course: Beginner’s Guide to Organic Gardening Date: Saturday 19th March 2022 Venue: Hydro Allotments, Blarney, Co. Cork Contact: Zwena Talk: Beginner’s Guide to Organic Gardening Date: Monday 28th March 2022 (evening) Venue: Kilternan, Dublin Contact: Ingrid on [email protected] Course: Growing in Polytunnels Date: Sunday 1st May 2022 Venue: Organic Centre, Co. Leitrim Contact: 071 9854338 Course: Beginner’s Guide to growing your own food Date: Saturday 7th May 2022 Venue: Corbalton Hall, Skryne, Co. Meath Contact: Andrina at [email protected] Happy Gardening, Klaus |
