101 Organic Gardening Hacks - Book Review

Well I have been either living under a rock or the Americans have been keeping Shawna Coronado away from me; she's huge with 7 thousand + followers on You Tube, almost 3 thousand followers on Instagram and nearly 20 thousand on Twitter. That doesn't even include those who love her blog and have bought her books (yes she has written two).

She describes herself thusly...
"Wellness, garden, & foodie author. TEDx speaker, photographer, blogger, travel adventurer with spinal osteoarthritis & a passion to make a difference."

Pretty impressive already, eh? And then, I get her latest book published by Cool Springs Press (sent to me by Quarto Publishing plc to review) as it launches here in the UK. And yes, I too have fallen for her no nonsense, fun and actually do-able gardening ideas.

So above is the book, please do not be put off by the word 'hack' by the way, her publishers simply say it is a word for 'a great idea that's come to life'. I have been flicking through this over the last week and really getting into over the past two days. It is so photogenic, so cute but most importantly, I found it to be inspiring and a friendly read, with practical ideas that are actually useful and easy to replicate. 

The publishers blurb is so on point...

In 101 Organic Gardening Hacks, you'll find the top tips, tricks and solutions unearthed by Shawna Coronado. Some are practical timesavers; others offer clever ways to 'upcycle' everyday items in your garden. Every hack, however, is completely organic and unfailingly environmentally friendly!

I suggest to take a wee look at the contents page pictured below, it covers everything from the beginners needs to inspiring ideas for the allotment, garden and even unused spaces. There is literally something for everyone and nothing is too expensive. Even those with little room can't get away, there are no excuses :)

As a bibliophile, the feel, text, layout and beauty of this book makes me very happy. It's easily going to fall into a coffee table book by it's looks but honestly don't let that fool you - it's got great ideas. We are certainly going to enjoy using it. Oh, and the cover is wipe-able, which is great as I'm also the muckiest allotmenteer out there.

Of course this book is for the organic grower, which I do strive to be, but the section on pollinator hacks really got me interested as it's maybe one area were we could try harder, especially with the terrible decline in bees these days. Shawna is also an advocate for the no-dig gardening style we have adopted over the past couple of years and seems to be just as in love with composting and manure as we are, haha.

101 Organic Gardening Hacks

Eco- friendly Solutions to

Improve Any Garden

by Shawna Coronado

January 2017

£12.99 | Paperback

Published by Cool Springs Press

If you go to her blog, which I know you will - http://shawnacoronado.com/ you will see those words again 'wellness author' and she truly seems to be. Inspiring in her fight over spinal osteoarthritis, a seemingly great cook and someone who sees the garden area as a place of therapy and joy. Her ideas in up-cycling see a creative desire mixed with growing food and beautiful plants. I find her quite the exciting find, even if I am way behind everyone else.

Stay cosy this weekend

Hugs

Carrie

Photo update from last weekend

'Things' have not been good inside the head of your exhausted writer, my dear friends. The debilitation of Depression, Anxiety and BPD is real, really real and I have been in my own personal Hades for quite some times now. I rarely talk to anyone or go outside and life without Maggie is still almost unbearable. So forgive me for the lack of blog posts or comments in fact, if you have a blog yourself, I just haven't been able to think properly - I am experiencing a moment of clarity and am devoting it to this space. Little dialogue but lots of photos....these were the plots last Sunday.

24a is the real producer and it was time for some constructive deconstruction (you know I love that), as the courgettes, sweetcorn and climbing french beans are all finished now and needed composting. Sadly all our leeks had bolted too so 'goodbye' (the plot smelt like soup all afternoon!)

14b is the embarrassing little sister, going through her grunge teenage years and so unkempt but beautiful underneath it all. It gifted us some lovely squashes that we are eating now and loving. Here's Andrew's gorgeous photo of them.

https://www.instagram.com/andrewgault_/

Anyway we focused, as I said on the finished veggie beds on 24a and got as much done as we could before I just couldn't take anymore....

I tackled the bean wigwam and weeded the whole bed .I was so happy to find this little fellow/lady? ladybird which I put in a cosy spot on it's leaf. I LOVE ladybirds!

By that stage we stopped for tea and listened to the crazy lady pheasants running and squawking about. Andrew had by this time cleared the last courgette plants (one last wee harvest first!) and all those sweetcorn stalks. The sweetcorn this year was amazing - Swift F1 as always but a great year!

Back to it and the leeks were lifted (sadly) and composted whilst I did some really quite pointless weeding of the paths which had gotten grassy and slippy up by the arch.  I also noted that the broccoli and even the purple sprouting broccoli  had bolted! What the heck!! The carrots had carrot fly *sad face*, but the companion plants were very happy...


















Andrew prepared the #1 bed for mulching with our glorious well rotted horse manure, look dear friend, I know you, as a true plotter will appreciate the wonder of our manure bin....

How lovely to watch such hard work, hahaa.

Sadly we didn't get to finish the #2 bed as I needed home but! it was fabulous to be there once again (bar seeing Maggie everywhere and her bowl sitting out for her). I am thankful for the good times and my amazing hubby who never gives up on me. Let's hope we have another nice wee time to treasure this weekend.

Best wishes to you all,
Hugs
Carrie xx

P.S. Apologises for the poor photos at times, these are all unedited and from my phone (apart from Andrew's one - it's perfect) x

The clock keeps ticking

It was been a week and life goes on, as of course it should and indeed, must. These past few days have been so terribly painful that I have found myself numb to feelings and confused by the utter silence I have been living in. Andrew goes off to work and I am completely alone now.

I hear her, well, I think do, every now and then and find that I still walk looking down at my feet (so we don't get entangled going back and forth), though she is not there. Her living room bed is now on top of the dining room one, I have gotten rid of all the food stuffs that were for her but the toys lie where they last fell and I can't bear to put her drink bowl and food bowl away yet.  I guess these things will simply take time.

That small collar with her name tag sits beside an old favourite black and white photo of her.

On a good note, I am more interested in the allotment now and have been there a few times since last Friday. Now it's a place of sweet Maggie flavoured memories and particularity of her last day, where she dandered about and lay in the sun before the trip to the vet.

The harvests have been prolific but the broad beans and the mangetout are now finished and some things such as the leeks and the broccoli have started to bolt. Our carrots have however been a triumph and after a few years of lament over them, we are certainly glad of success.

I haven't a photo but the Echlinville apple espaliers had their first harvest and a pie by Mamma G was duly made = darn good apples! There are more, so next time I'll give cooking with them a go.

Back again on Sunday and it was incredible how small courgettes the day before had become marrows! There were so many we had to give more than half away, literally carrying them to another plot holder's car and setting them down with their own harvest. Then the garlic was cleaned and it's perfect again, as each year so far - we have been so lucky.

Tonight were having more of our own vegetables, every meal has had organic, lottie-grown produce in it this week and so in an hour or so, it will be roasted root vegetables and a little chicken - I'm hungry! My appetite came back today and I am ready for a healthy feast :)

With love and thanks for your condolences last week,

Your Carrie x

Petite Brunette seeks free (organic) weedkiller, bug killer and blow torches!!!

I didn't order this weather!! What the heck is going on? It's raining, grey, blowy and darn right miserable out there, plus I have a blanket wrapped round me to help me feel cosy, it's JUNE! I have been trying to figure out what the word is that I have been looking for and I have it now....I am irked, blasted well irked.

So in the vain of this irk-y feeling I am going to moan, oh yes my friend, it is time to get something off my chest.

As I shared (with fanfare), we are now into our 5th season on the Lottie and all is going quiet well for the Gaults. But there is something that has been annoying me for quite some time now, something that has been getting up my nose, under my skin and rubbing me up the wrong way... THIS! >> There are so many people that have seemingly become bored with their soil 'toy' after so long and have let their plots go to gardening Hell!! To be honest I am fuming, really rather red in the face and though a non-violent person I could happily smack some butts!

Look at these examples, only the ones that surround our own plot! There is a waiting list for crying out loud and people have these in this state! ARRRGHHHHH. I know that any reader of my blog will be angry too and I thank you for your collective empathy for my present state.

We are naturally getting all the weeds of the day on our plots because of these plots and my hayfever (which up til now has been in check) is going mad with all this grass that has just been left to go to seed. I feel like getting tape from the Police and cordoning off these plots as crime scenes!

If that wasn't bad enough the green fly and aphids have returned in force. Yes I could squish them betwixt my fingers but seriously, with this many on one rose, it would be a green goo bath and I am just not strong enough in the tummy for that. Plus, there are no worms, none and only a smattering of ladybirds - they have abandoned us, left us to fight for ourselves and oh, woe is me!!

the Honeysuckle was sprayed with something - look how pretty it is now though!

There I feel much lighter for getting all that off my chest. I have so much to tell you about or wonderful plants that I could burst but patience my darlings, patience....For now let me show you the baby potatoes I dug up on Monday. These came from a couple of left over plants we had plonked in the ground whilst we waited for the Strawberries to come; now they're here was Goodbye spud plants and Hello tummy :)

Boiled and crushed with added homegrown garlic and peas - yummy!

A Story about the Benefits and the Heartache of Potash

I simply know that Potash is great for you Strawberry plants (fruit bearing plants in general) and it is highly recommended that we get out there and give them a good feed of the stuff. I learnt that off the gardening calendar in the kitchen. However, I have since looked at Andi Clevely's book 'The Allotment Book ' (good title: concise) and a RHS 'Essential Gardening Techniques' book to find out why.

The Science is simple my friends ~ Potash (K2O) contains Potassium which boosts nitrogen making the plant stronger, hardier and more resistant to disease. It also helps make the yield greater and the plant doesn't get yellowing of the leaves. Okay, it's probably more difficult than that but I like to know the basics and then let Andrew (who reads all the books there are) tell when and where to put it out. For instance we were meant to put some in with the broad beans I planted out on Sunday, but forgot and it would have all just blown away anyway. (But, I hear me cry, broad beans aren't fruit, they're veg! See not so easy.)

Ah, the joy of Potash this year was that we made a large bag of our own. Down in Fermanagh we had the loveliest wood burning stove and used it everyday (Andrew is a bit of a pyromaniac - it's under control though, don't fear), saving up the ash to take home for our Lottie. Here is were the heartache of this story comes in. Yesterday, in his haste to facilitate a lift for some colleagues over to a meeting in the Titanic Quarter, he threw out said bag of glorious Potash. It's gone, for good, in the bin of all places ~ what good will it do there?? The Lottie is miles away from that blasted bin in Belfast. I was tempted to make him go back and get it but it'll be gone now, forever out of reach; our special bag of holiday fire ash.

Yes, anyway, Potash; organic (sometimes very easy to get hold off!) and what some of your plants are crying out for.

The End.

Eden Allotment Gardens gets Bigger!

We received a letter yesterday from the council to offically declare that we are to have a 4th field of Lotties, hoorah! This new one,(excitingly named 'Field D') is going to be completely organic which is pretty cool. We have been offered a position there in place of our present Lottie ~ but how could I leave A24a! She means so much and has offered such love and produce. I could never love another Lottie in the same way. Luckily Andrew feels the same.

Check out the new area map here>
http://www.carrickfergusinbloom.org/allotment-location-map.pdf
or indeed there is a handy link down the right hand side which updates itself as the Council updates its info. Ah, technology.

The letter came with a little Fact Sheet about Organic growing and it seems we're doing rather well at that anyway! We only use Slug Pellets (I hate slugs with a passion that cannot be expressed with out you seeing my 'angry face') and once the container we have is finished we're going to get Organic Slug Pellets ~ none of this wasting good beer on them or trespassing on the site at night with a miners' head lamp and catching the blighters at it.

So soon there will be even more Eden Allotmenteers (and we know the waiting list is huge too). Oh yeah, Allotmenteering Rocks!

P.S. I have a member of my mental health team coming to the house today, I may sound cynical but I suspect I'll hear the usual " I'm so sorry but there just isn't anything available, I can't think how to help you". God, I'm miserable :(