Each week I join Johnny Oosten on CRC Fm in Castlebar Co. Mayo to chat about gardening, plants and growing your own food. This week we were talking about gorse bushes, Ulex europeaus, flowering currant, Ribes sanguineum and growing peaches. I also did a quick demonstration for Johnny of making a pot from aContinue reading ““In The Garden With Ciaran Burke” weekly radio feature in CRC FM”
Category Archives: Grow Your Own
Sea buckthorn berries make good jam!
I was getting ready to do a talk to the North Mayo Garden Club today, and as I was going through my presentation I remembered that I had a few pots of delicious apple and sea buckthorn jam left. Sea buckthorn berries are a super health food; one small berry can have a Vitamin CContinue reading “Sea buckthorn berries make good jam!”
Snails for dinner! L’Escargot With Onion and Pinhead Oatmeal
Snails, slime trails and munched leaves, hosta holes and devoured delphiniums, the ever-present threat, the garden terrorists. Innocent plant species, fresh from the secure haven of the nursery are easy targets for these ruthless slimy beings. How often have we gardeners gone to our gardens full of enthusiasm and optimism only to have our dayContinue reading “Snails for dinner! L’Escargot With Onion and Pinhead Oatmeal”
ELDERFLOWER AND APPLE JAM- A DELICIOUS TASTE OF SUMMER
Despite the less than summery weather over the last while I do feel that summer has indeed arrived. The reason, the ederflowers are in blossom. Sambucus nigra, common elder, is a native shrub/small tree to Ireland and all throughout the countryside its creamy white flat heads are to be seen. Apart from its medicinal usesContinue reading “ELDERFLOWER AND APPLE JAM- A DELICIOUS TASTE OF SUMMER”
Facebook friend offers free weedkiller for my talk
Tonight I am doing a talk for the Oranmore GIY (Grow Your Own) Group. The title of the talk is “Top Fruit, Soft Fruit and Strange Fruit”. I announced the talk on my Facebook page and then I got an email from a Facebook friend who I have never met, Oisin from Irish Organic Weedkiller.Continue reading “Facebook friend offers free weedkiller for my talk”
Saturday at Cashel House Gardening Course
The sun has been shining all day. The weather has been great for us at Cashel House, as usual. There has been days here in the past where we have had coffee and scones laden with home made jam and whipped cream while sitting on the front lawn and basking in sunshine while the restContinue reading “Saturday at Cashel House Gardening Course”
Parsnips – sowing and harvesting in spring
Oh how I remember the fights, the complaints, there were even tears. A mushy mashed pulp, often served with potatoes, sometimes blended with carrot, always boiled. There was cajoling, efforts of convincing, extolling of their health benefits and even threats. None of it worked. I always left it on my plate, I hated parsnips. ButContinue reading “Parsnips – sowing and harvesting in spring”
Ciaran The Gardener 