Trevors garden kitchen

Politics brings with it good and bad days and satisfaction interspersed with frustration. People cope with the pressures in different ways. For me, tilling the good earth is, in every sense, a grounding experience.
I know from experience that readers of the Green Voice are busy people so where does one fit in the time associated with ‘tilling the earth’?” I hear you ask. The answer is to have a plan and not to put off until next week what has to be done today. Also get yourself a rechargeable torch so you can sally forth into the garden when, like me, you get home after dark.
First: The Plan
A busy person’s garden needs all-weather footpaths, wide enough for a small wheelbarrow. Nothing should dissuade you (rain, slippers, good suit, being bare-footed) from making a foray outside when you do snatch a couple of minutes before you get busy again.
In my case I measured out the back garden, drew a plan to scale on paper incorporating a four-year crop rotation, a patch for herbs, fruit bushes and trees, asparagus, a pond, roses. That is the fun part - deciding what you want to grow. I may be cramming too much diversity in for the space available but I relish the challenge of proving my detractors wrong. (Famous last words!)
Second: Avoid Procrastination
The year in a kitchen garden is punctuated by tasks. For example, sowing certain seeds, which if left too late will not give optimum results. The instructions on the seed packaging tell you when to sow. Likewise when weather improves, weeds don’t stay small for long. Watering is a morning task but too much water is as bad as too little so check soil is actually dry UNDER the surface prior to reaching for the watering can.
When not watering of a morning, uprooting young weed seedlings before they become established will save you time and possibly a sore back in the long run. As they say, “a stitch in time saves nine”.
Third: After Dark
After dark is the best time to catch unsuspecting slugs and snails how are partying in your garden during the night. Slugs can be prolific and need to be kept in check if you expect to get a reasonable crop from you garden. I have a head torch, like a miner’s lamp, as well as a hand torch. I am not a fan of slug pellets. However, my alternative is not for the squeamish; it is as quick and humane as the guillotine - or the scissors.
If you have a less gruesome way to win out against slug and snail predation, let me know. Comments can be left on
www.TrevorsKitchenGarden.ie.