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 | Sep 3, 2017 | food
Late summer in the garden and there’s an abundance of food ready to harvest – from beans to apples.
by Steve Byrne | Nov 4, 2015 | food
When we started growing food here, we weren’t sure what would thrive, and so I continue to be amazed and grateful when I walk down into the gardens and find an abundance of food growing, now, in November. Strawberries – not only the traditional ones but...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 5, 2014 | permaculture
Our intrepid wwoof volunteers Samantha and Irene from Italy have arrived, and are getting to grips with our vegetable beds, which after a spell of very dry and then very wet weather, were growing increasingly full of weeds. Happily they have now tamed the...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 1, 2014 | permaculture
Today we created a simple raised ‘lazy’ bed, although why they are called that I’ve no idea – making them is strenuous enough. The first step is to mark out and then turn over all the sod on your bed area. At this stage the bed is pretty flat...
by Steve Byrne | Mar 7, 2014 | permaculture
The joys of our polytunnels mean that even on horrid days we can be doing something and be toasty and dry. Lyra can come down and play whilst we get on with the serious business of growing this years supply of veg. Four of the outdoor beds are planted with autumn sown...
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 | permaculture
In this, our first year of growing here at Lackan Cottage Farm, we have been blessed with great abundance. Indeed so great has been the harvest of some produce that we are able to share it with others. Elaine and John from the Turnip House came to visit, and we...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 28, 2013 | food
This week we hosted a GIY get together, before which we had to undertake some serious tidying, as nature has been busy in the last few weeks. The sun shone, and some 20 people came and we spent a very pleasant evening swapping plants, stories and cake....
by Steve Byrne | Jun 23, 2013 | permaculture
Midsummer is already upon us, and to mark the occasion, we have erected our own standing stone, which looks toward the mountains with which it shares its roots. We will mark important occasions through the year with a circle of stones. The granite here weathers...
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 18, 2013 | permaculture
Although it might not look it here, we are finally seeing a lot of young vegetables growing and are reaping the benefit of the new tunnel in this not-quite-spring. Hundreds of young seedlings are coming on in modules, and the first of those have been planted...
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 | Mar 11, 2013 | woodlands
March feels like a sprint to the finish in our woodland, which despite this latest brief cold snap is starting to come to life. Everywhere you look, green shoots are appearing, and some of the trees have tiny buds coming out. The challenge for us is to finish...
by Steve Byrne | Jan 15, 2013 | climate, smallholding, the farm
Following the midwinter break, we’ve emerged from a brief hibernation to begin the process of preparing the ground for growing our veg, fruit, trees and flowers. Although the hens are helping enthusiastically by scratching over and fertilising various bits of...
