HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY
I started the day off as the ultimate Northern Irish domestic goddess and baked fresh fruit soda farls for myself and my lovely hubby. I had never done it before (I know, shame on me) but I felt I really ought to something vaguely traditional. Nana used to make these and plain ones and wheaten bread etc just automatically; in fact it was hard for her to put anything into ounces for anyone, she did it all by eye :) So I took her 'recipe', plus a couple off the Internet and melded them together to make my own. I'll share it with you tomorrow xx
P.S. Unlike most St Patrick's day food stuffs you find on the net - this isn't green, it hasn't any booze in it and is actually pretty yummy.
Then with full bellies and joy in our hearts we ventured forth, plotwise, not wanting to waste any of this precious bank holiday. We we sure there would be people there today and naturally you never get as much done with all the chat, but, lo and behold, only 2 people at the far side of the field and only a few in the other fields altogether :(
St. Patrick's is the traditional day to plant your potatoes here, so.... Andrew did it the lazy way this year and good on him too, none of this double digging lark etc. Ridges and furrows are the way to go, quick as you can say 'spud' and they are planted.
We have 3 types, left to right ~
* Saxon
* Kestrel
* Pentland Javelin
This is when it really starts to feel like a new year at the plot, this is when we genuinely get excited :) Talk turns to painting the shed again and doing runs to the dump, we get giddy about crop rotations and where our permanent new plants will go. Daydream about that first ice lolly and picnics in the blazing sun...This year we have no ready access to water! Only that which falls on the roof of the community centre (between 4 fields!) and what we can get in our own water butts - I can foresee trouble ahead, but we try not to talk about that.
I was at it again with the old de-shaming of 14b...I may be slightly obsessed by now. I got rid of that damned Carex ornamental grass which had produced over 35 good babies which also needed discarded (there were more than 35 but I gave up counting and just started to go feral and rip them up, kind of like an demented lottie ninja...) aaarrrghhhh
Oh and I found a rose bush :)
Andrew planted our brand new Blackthorn hedge-lings and more Raspberry canes (Glen Ample) where I had ripped out all the dead ones.
Suddenly the rain cam in and we had to rush around gathering everything up - where did that massive cloud come from?? I guess when you have your face in the soil you don't notice the sky as much. So there aren't any good leaving photos from this day :(
But I shall give you one more - Maggie's face when she sniffed my wee dram of whiskey at the end of the day, haha..
That was one brown post! More colour next time :)
Hugs and love
I've never heard of farls so your recipe will be interesting.
ReplyDeleteWe plant potatoes a lazy way too - with a trowel. To be honest we have never noticed a diiference to when we dug a large trench except we get the potatoes planting much much quicker.
it looks a bit like the date scones my mother used to make?
ReplyDeleteI love how tidy and new the garden looks in spring. And look at those neat rows of potatoes! Bet that hedge of blackthorns is going to look fabulous.
ReplyDeleteThose farls look delicious. I'm even lazier when it comes to planting potatoes as I do the same as Sue.
ReplyDeleteYou've certainly been busy on the plots, which should all have been well worthwhile come the summer. Flighty xx
When I come here, I enjoy vicariously gardening with you. I love to see the changes in the plots and finding the rose bush. Was it one you planted? Spring is bringing out the good energy and while I don't do it, I know from others there's nothing quite like digging your fingers in fresh soil and planting something.
ReplyDeleteWell, I can say I kind of planted something. I took an inside plant I had severely over watered (I have a tendency towards this) and re-planted in drier soil. We'll see if it survives.
The farl looked yummy. You eat with bacon? I toast to you for a nice work day:`)
Yep, the rose bush was one I had planted but, ummm forgot about and thus it was 'lost' under weeds - oops. If I wasn't so blasted scared about going out alone I would love to be there working away in the soil :/ Hahahaha - I have the touch, maybe even the simple glance of death when it comes to house plants so don't worry, you aren't alone in loving them (ie watering them) too much. Best wishes it survives!
DeleteThe farls can be eaten with sweet or savoury foodstuffs - great recipe to know :)