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To chit or not to chit

Well regardless of your opinion on this statement I hope you all have your spuds in and are eagerly awaiting that first new potato of the year.

For a wonderful insight into the potato follow this link to another blogsite http://allotmentheaven.blogspot.ie/2012/01/potato-solanum-tuberosum.html

At Woodville we got distracted with one thing and another and so even though we got the First Earlies (Colleen and Maris Piper) in on time we only managed to get the main crop (Cara)  in last week.

I had the bed covered for the winter, so it was weed free and warm, a perfect start. Or maybe not!  Jim Cronin gave a talk on soil at the Clare Garden Festival and advocated not covering soil with plastic or any other mulch. Instead he suggested sowing a green manure and he made sense. Apparently covering the bed results in giving slugs and snails a wonderful place to hide up for the winter, lay their eggs and generally increase the population. Whereas by first mulching with compost and then sowing an over wintering green manure a healthy enriched soil will result. I will say that when we pulled back the plastic we did find lots of fat juicy slugs. More about green manures next blog.

In Woodville  we plant potatoes using the dibber method. This means making a hole with the dibber and dropping the chitted potato (yes we do chit them) into the hole and covering it over. This is easier on the back and the soul. We mark the line with string and dib and drop. We leave enough soil between rows to earth up the soil as the season goes on. Last year we used grass cuttings as suggested by Bob Flowerdew however  may be its our wet Irish weather but we found that the slugs and snails loved it.

I have successfully tried seaweed (no need to wash the seaweed) and lazybed methods both used in this bloglink https://www.quickcrop.ie/blog/2014/02/growing-potatoes-in-seaweed/ and for those with a green field the lazybed gets you started on creating a new bed, potatoes are great for leaving behind a lovely crumbly soil.

What ever method you choose its all a waiting game now, with a little bit of earthing up.

So what is your favorite potato and have you any tips on what works for you? Let me know.

Garden Gnome

WWG

Mothers Day gift

Why not give your mother the gift of flowers all year long with a membership to Woodville Walled Garden. Only twenty euro for a single membership or fifty euro for a family membership. A gift that lasts not just for a day but all the way through to next years Mothers Day!

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Gifts are not just for Christmas.

Imagine my delight when last week, I arrived to Woodville, and found waiting for me not one but two gifts of Snowdrops. One gift of three large pots, unnamed, not yet identified from Nenagh, thank you Moira. Gift two a little pot of the much coveted ‘Castlegar’ thank you Dorothy. Originally from the Mahon Estate discovered by Keith Lamb. This delicate beauty can flower early, mid December, which makes it all the more welcome in this bleak time of year. I would like to thank everybody for their donations of snowdrops in the last year, I eagerly await my little treasures.

Lets talk spuds! What are you growing this year? (first and second earlies should be chitted now in a sunny and frost free place).

Hope its a great year.

The garden gnome

Woodville W. G.

 

Open Day at Woodville Walled Garden

Open Day at Woodville Walled Garden

with talks by Klaus Latinberger organic guru extraordinaire

and acclaimed plants man Karl Wright

Sunday 22nd September 2013

11am to 5.30pm

Admission€10 includes garden talks, tour and refreshments.GardenEventSeptember

Woodville Volunteers 2013

Have you some spare time and would like to develop your gardening skills.
Why not volunteer at Woodville Walled Garden.
This magical place will inspire you to new success in your own garden.
Meet like minded people and have fun!!!!

Snowdrops and Helleborous

Woodville Walled Garden, Kilchreest, Loughrea, Co. Galway will open from Thursday to Sunday 11am to 4pm for the month of February. A special tour of the garden will be provided each day at 2pm by the head gardener. Woodville Walled Garden once owned by a brother of Lady Augusta Gregory and the adjoining stables exhibits old photos and artifacts belonging to her family. The walled garden is an enchanting place to visit and see the first early spring bulbs in full bloom.
Just 20 mins drive from Galway City.

Practical Gardening Classes

Woodville Walled Garden will be hosting a series of gardening classes this September. All aspects of gardening will be demonstrated with practical advice and gardening tips by our head gardener. Booking is essential as limited places available. Contact Margarita for further details at 087/9069191