by Steve Byrne | Jan 16, 2018 | food
We grow a lot of squash here, it seems to like our polytunnel. Our favourite so far is Burgess Buttercup, which grow squashes to a decent but manageable size and can be quite prolific. They also store beautifully, so we don’t tend to eat them until the dark days of January and February, when sometimes you just need a decent, cheering soup on a wild oul day.
by Steve Byrne | Feb 3, 2015 | smallholding
Well, Imbolc is upon us, and Steph came to cut some rushes to make St.Brigit’s crosses with. Surely one of the older surviving traditions from the dawn of Christianity and beyond. One thing we aren’t short of is rushes, and it looks like we’ll get...
by Steve Byrne | Jan 27, 2015 | off grid
A friend recently introduced me to the excellent website of the strangely named Mr Money Mustache, and I have to say that despite my initial apprehension about it all being rather money driven, it is actually a very helpful and interesting blog. The gist of it...
by Steve Byrne | Dec 24, 2014 | permaculture
To all our friends and supporters – blessings to you this midwinter, however you celebrate it – have a wonderful Yule, a happy Christmas, and a great time. Our heartfelt thanks to all those who helped us in this last year, it means a great deal. We...
by Steve Byrne | Nov 23, 2014 | self sufficiency
As we approach December, and I wake to the first heavy frost we’ve had, I am reminded that winter hasn’t really arrived yet. The cold night is just a reminder of all the things we need to do – very soon – if the coming months aren’t to be...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 30, 2014 | smallholding
August 2014 will long be remembered as the month of many visitors. Over the course of four weeks we have laughed (mostly) cried (a little), celebrated some amazing cookery and culture, and seen the power that comes from a group of diverse people when they put...
by Steve Byrne | Nov 20, 2013 | self sufficiency
We are members of the Landworkers Alliance – a group of people who work the land, campaigning for the rights of small producers and a better food system. It is part of La Via Campesina international and works in solidarity with fellow land workers across the...
by Steve Byrne | Sep 30, 2013 | permaculture
This weekend saw our first two day permaculture course, led by Hannah Mole, and we had a ball. After a frantic week of preparations by our wwoofers Bettina and Caroline, the place looked amazing, and the energy of having some 20 people on site was really...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 18, 2013 | permaculture, the farm
Managing the vegetables has been hard going whilst keeping a tiny Lyra happy, but today we all headed out and harvested my favourite crops – garlic and onions. The garlic has its roots trimmed off, and the muddy outer skin removed, and after a few days drying in...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 14, 2013 | water
One of the best things about living where we do, is that Turleys hardware store is nearby. Turleys is one of those places that sell everything. Well, almost. I have yet to be disappointed by them, and occasionally they really come up trumps. Back in the late...
by Steve Byrne | May 31, 2013 | permaculture
At long last all the beds in the big polytunnel are filled, and I think we officially have the oddest tunnel layout in the land. The centre beds with a circular path and keyhole beds in the corners are designed to maximise the available edge in the tunnel, and...
by Steve Byrne | May 22, 2013 | smallholding
As we enter our second year on the farm, we wanted to take time to thank all the people who have helped us. To Sinead for helping with the truly horrible task of pulling out old thatch, and to our family and those who came and helped us tear up floors and walls. Then...
by Steve Byrne | May 7, 2013 | self sufficiency
For a while there we thought it might never be sunny again, but once again we are enjoying the warmth, and the knowledge that the sun is providing our electricity and an increasing amount of our hot water. All around us the place is bursting into life, and the brown...
by Steve Byrne | Apr 5, 2013 | permaculture
‘Pruck’, as Dougie assures me, is the local word for things that have been scrounged, recovered, recycled or blagged, and a marvellous word it is too. This week has seen what I can only describe as a pruckathon, and we have many people to thank for...
by Steve Byrne | Mar 28, 2013 | off grid
A fundamental part of our thinking here at Lackan Cottage is resilience – being able to cope with whatever life happens to be throwing our way at the time. For us, this means doing more ourselves and being less reliant on outside sources. The mainstay of this is...
by Steve Byrne | Mar 8, 2013 | self sufficiency
Well folks, after much late night toiling, here it is – our new website and blog. We’ve been with blogger for years now, but the time has come when we need more than it can offer, especially now that we’re a business and have volunteers and...
by Steve Byrne | Sep 29, 2012 | self sufficiency
For those readers who are also smallholders or have small farms, this is an incredibly useful read.Small is Successful – a report put together by the Ecological Land CoOperative – examines eight smallholdings with land-based businesses on 10 acres or less....
by Steve Byrne | May 26, 2012 | the farm
Ok, so here is the view from where I am sitting at the laptop, and rather fine it is too. I think we are still at the stage where we keep wandering about just staring at the amazing place in which we find ourselves. For instance, if I look away from the mountains, I...
by Steve Byrne | May 20, 2012 | woodlands
Blogging from the phone now as we have no proper Internet. Explored our woods today and found a little cabin hidden away..Some great clearings for camping, so exciting things ahead there.
by Steve Byrne | May 19, 2012 | animals
Do you know this sheep? Or at least what breed she might be? She looked at us with a very enquiring air yesterday as we passed her by at the Balmoral Show, so we stopped for a chat. Balmoral was fascinating, and we could have spent days wandering round. These chaps...
