Scarriff News

Looking at some photographs from last year its hard to imagine that we would ever get on top of the weed situation.

An ongoing relationship with bindweed being one of the more serious problems we have had to deal with. However the garden is looking good, the fruit trees we planted in the spring are doing well we even had some morello cherries that brightened up the wall next to which they are planted.

We weren't really expecting a big harvest but we have been surprised and encouraged by the health and vigour of the plants that we put in.

With regular weeding we are getting on top of the nettles docks and bindweed and with close planting we have managed to get rid of a lot of the problem . The soil was compact and lacking in humus but this year we have really been concerned with improving soil and laying out a permanent garden which we hope will include many perennial herbs and vegetables with soft fruit and fruit trees.

The cardboard and mulch of bedding from a nearby stable worked really well. Making holes for planting this last few weeks has revealed a great improvement in soil structure thanks mostly to the help of our worm friends and other soil organisms who seem to be increasing on a daily basis.

We were pleased to be able to offer a space for gardeners from Dublin to put up their tents and enjoy the Seedsavers open day in august and maybe this could be a possibility for future visitors to Scarriff.

Its great to see the sunflowers reaching up and flowering in the garden and to remember the day a class full of children came down from the local junior school with pots in hand to plant them.

Plans for the Autumn are to continue to work on the gardens no dig method more mulching, and locating sources for plants, we are at present looking through a catalogue from the Agroforestry Research Trust www.agroforestry.co.uk for interesting edible plants recommended reading.

We are going ahead with a timber structure to house a clay oven that can be used for community celebrations in the garden.

We also have a sculpture workshop taking place every Tuesday which is open to everyone it has been going on for the past three months and there are some lovely pieces of sculpture starting to appear around the entrance to the garden.

The idea is to create a water feature using solar power,that will be apart of the garden and will inspire people to come and browse around and make a connection with the place.

Last Saturday we planted herbs in the garden many of them medicinal such as echinacea hypericum valarian rosemary which we can harvest at a future date, one aspect of the garden could be an apothecary garden with important beneficial herbs available for the community.

Brendan