Small solar PV
One of the most common questions people ask when they see our little PV setup is ‘what will it power?’, and the answer is always a bit vague, because I know people are hoping that those little panels might be what they need to disconnect from the grid and...
Forest Gardens
Martin Crawford’s forest garden is truly an amazing thing, and we hope to visit one day. Enjoy.
GIY gathering
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....
Midsummer
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...
Loo with a view (and a living roof)
When we moved in to Lackan Cottage Farm a year ago, we inherited a variety of concrete and tin sheds, none of which were (or are) terribly pretty. Eventually we’ll replace or clad them all in timber, and we decided to make a start with the outside toilet. We...
Horses and permaculture
I’ve been fortunate enough to be around horses for 30 years now, and very early on, decided that horses would be my career. I’m ashamed to say that it is only now that I am getting to grips with pasture management. From a permaculture point of view,...
Life in the tunnel
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...
Thank You
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...
Spring (ish)
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...
Meet Rain!
This is Rain. He’s a two year old cob, who came to live with us this weekend, having been a resident at Holly’s Horse Haven, a horse rehabilitation and rescue centre in County Louth. He seems to have been more neglected than mistreated, and so apart...