1. The sun,the moon and the stars are there to guide us

    — Dennis Banks

  3. The moon ,the garden and you

    Gardening using the phases of the moon is an idea as old as agriculture itself , part folklore part superstition and now with modern science to back it up is quickly becoming the far more sensible greener and responsible way to garden . Known as (BIODYNAMIC ) this is a holistic approach to cultivation, considering everything from the makeup of the soil, atmospheric conditions , pest life cycle , the requirements of the plants ,every living organism within your garden ,and the movement of the moon and the planets around the earth , as apposed to the word organic which is latin for( it’s going to cost you more) . Now I could never write or cover everything to do with biodynamic gardening in a blog but I will try to in a very simple way explain about the moon and how it will effect your spring garden .

      The moon has four phases or quarters lasting about seven days each ,the first two are during the waxing or increasing light between the new to the full moon the third and fourth quarters are after the full moon called the waning or decreasing light ,just as the moon effects the tides it’s gravitational pull effects how the water moves through the soil and every living thing on the planet (have you noticed how much more you run to the toilet more during the full moon ) or maybe that’s just my age . So planting or sowing seeds at specific times of the month will dictate how your plants grow so here’s a quick rough guide 

     NEW MOON 

                 at the new moon the lunar gravity pulls moisture up causing seeds to germinate and come to life ,creating balanced root and leaf growth ,this is the best time for sowing lettuce ,spinach ,celery,cabbage ,cauliflower ,grain crops , and cucumbers 

    SECOND QUARTER

     now the gravitational pull is less giving strong leaf growth ,this is a good time for planting beans,melons,squashes tomatoes (cut your lawns in the the first and second quarters to increase growth )

    THIRD QUARTER

     after the full moon the gravitational pull is high creating more moisture in the soil and putting growth and energy to the roots this is the favorable time for planting root crops such as potatoes,carrots,onions,beets etc. 

    FOURTH QUARTER 

      the gravitational pull is at it’s lowest and the plants rest ,growth slows cut the grass now to retard the growth ,good time to cultivate ,transplant and prune 

     now  this next week coming in is the build up towards the next full moon all the slugs and snails will be mating laying their eggs and are very very active in the garden declare war on them this week and you will have alot less damage plant any seeds you have and you will have better germination, and as an extra precaution buy in extra loo rolls  and leave the toilet seat up 

  4. Grafting cherry trees

    Grafting cherry trees

  5. More ornamental trees ready for planting

    BARE ROOT PRICES 

    Acer Campestre   5/6 ft    £15.00 

    Acer Davidii                     £35.00

    Acer Pseudoplatanus        £20.00

    Acer Worleii         6/7 ft   £ 18.00

    Betula Pendula               £20.00

    Betula Pendula “Youngii”       £30.00

    Cotoneaster “Hibridus Pendulus ”   £15.00

    Crateagus  Laevegata “Pauls Scarlet ”  4/5 ft   £12.00

    Fraxinus Excelsior “Jaspidea”        £12.00

    Laburnum x Waterii “vossii            £15.00   also in whips  5/6 ft £12.00

    Malus   ” Golden Hornet”      4/5 ft    £14.00

    Malus   “John Downey”         4/5 ft  £16.00

    Malus   “Sun Riaval ”                     £15.00

    Prunus “Amanogawa”                   £20.00

    Prunus “Autumnalis Rosea”            £15.00

    Prunus “Avium Plena”                   £15.00

    Prunus “kanzan ”                         £15.00 

    Prunus “Sherofugen”                    £20.00

    Prunus  ”Sargentii ”                     £20.00 

    Prunus  ”Serrulata ”                    £20.00

    Prunus “Shidara Sakura”             £15.00

    Prunus “Ukon”                           £15.00

    Prunus x Subhirttella  ”Autumnalis Rosea   £ 20.00

    Pyrus calleryana                      ”Chanticleer”    £25.00

    Salix “Caprea Pendula ”                    £25.00 

    Sorbus “Joseph Rock”                        £20.00

    Sorbus “Casmiriana”                        £18.00

    Sorbus “sunshine ”                          £15.00 

    Sorbus “Vilmorinii”                          £20.00

    Sorbus Aria “Lutesens”                   £15.00

    Fagus ” Dawyck”                          £ 35.00

    priced for bare root trees , when potted up the price will rise accordingly 

  6. Wouldn’t it be great if it was like this all the time ?

    — Van  Morrison (Coney Island)

  8. More fruit trees ready for planting

    Apples 1 year old on m26 root stock   £12.50 each

    Breaburn  ( pollination group )  4 

    Crispen               ”              3   

    Katy                   ”             3

    Lady sudeley       ”             4

    Lanes Prince Albert  ”          4 

    Rev. W. Wilks      ”            3 

     Bush Apples  2 year old on mm 106 root stock  £ 15.00 each 

    Bramley Seedling  (pollination group ) 4 

    Devonshire Quarrenden   ”               5

    Katy                           ”                3

    Rev.w.wilks                  ”               3 

    Apple Family Tree  ( something special )  three apples are grafted on to the one stem

    Elstar/ Egremont / Worchester   we only have a few  £25.00 each

    Pears 2 year old self fertile     £12.50 each

    Concord   (pollination group) 4

    Conference        ”              3 

    Medler ” Dutch Monstrous”   self fertile   £ 12.50 

    Quince  2 year old  self fertile            £ 12.50 

    Damson 1year old  pollination group 3 self fertile  £12.50 

    Farleigh

    Merryweather

    Plums 1 year old           self fertile     £12.50 

    Czar            (pollination group )  3 

    Opal                     ”               3

    Purple Pershore       ”              3

    Yellow Pershore      ”               2

    Victoria                ”               3 

    Cherries 1 year old  self fertile    £12.50 

    Stella

    Nabella

    Lapins ” Cherokee” 

    Gage 1 year old  self fertile   £12.50 

    Dennistons Superb

    Apricot 1 year old self fertile    £ 12.50 

    Early Moorpark

    Nectarine 1 year old self fertile  £12.50 

    Lord Napier

    Peach   1 year old  self fertile  £12.50 

    Rochester

    All the above are priced as bare root , the price will increase when we pot up the trees 

  9. Planting apple trees

    January 2012 , never mind where did the months go, where did the years go , it seems no time since we were planting apple trees last year , but this year we have the native irish trees lifted bare root ready to plant and they are just about perfect so here is a list of what we got ready ,this is is just the irish trees , 

    Scarlet Croften

    Reids Seedling

    Irish Peach

    Ballyfatten

    Kerry Pippen

    Gibbons Russet 

    Lough Tree of Wexford

    Ardcairn Russet 

    Bloody Butcher

    Kikenny pearmain

    Blood of the Boyne 

    Brown croften

    Sam Young 

    Now if you like the sound of any of these apples , look them up on google , please don,t ring me up and ask me for some other Irish apple ( this is all we got ) this year . they are on dwarfing root stock , about 5 ft tall and will cost £12.50 each .

    Hope this is the start of your own wee orchard 

    The English apples ,and other fruit trees will be ready , hopefully by the third week of the month , 

  10. I can remember ,as a child walking hand in hand with my Ma through the Reverend Finlay’s orchard , the birds were singing and the apple blossom was floating in the still air . She stopped put her arms around me , and wistfully asked “son will you have an orchard like this when your a big man ” I looked up into her soft eyes ,and they smiled back down at me ” aye I will Ma ” says I .

    — Myself