Permaculture Orchard and Spring Well

New mulched permaculture orchardAn update on the new orchard…the mulching continues as the blossom breaks on the little trees.

Permaculture Orchard at Bealtaine CottageLots of nettles have been chopped and layered on the mulch!

mulching the orchardThe path is being extended, as I find time to do a little more and a little more!

Look who has made a little bed for himself on the weed suppressing mat…

New apple trees in the permaculture orchardThis project will continue into the autumn as I have several other projects on the go, including the new kitchen floor.

Herbs in tyres at Bealtaine CottageHerbs are lovely flowers to grow and these are growing just outside the Lodge.

Chives, Feverfew, Comfrey, Clary Sage and Ox-Eye Daisies all happily growing together!

Hen House at Bealtaine Cottage Permaculture GardensThe hen house this morning…I leave the girls in long enough for them to lay.

This is the entrance from the new orchard.

I have just returned from cleaning out the well up on the hill.

The water tank had stopped filling and had, in fact dried out.

A visit to the well confirmed my suspicion that the pipe had clogged up with plant life!

I can hear the water filling in the tank in the loft as I type.

The hens at Bealtaine CottageThe hens are all in good shape now and are the most passive and calm little creatures I have ever encountered.

Hens at Bealtaine CottageJust adorable!

Lime tree walk at Bealtaine CottageThe Lime trees are now in leaf.

I have discovered that these trees grow very well from cuttings!

Pollarded Willow at Bealtaine CottageWillow is growing thick and fast on the pollarded trees.

This will grow up to 15 feet high, making great fedging lengths this autumn.

8 comments

  1. Hurrah!! CNN in America has reported on the march. This will have annoyed Monsanto no end. Well worth watching the report. Still waiting for an explanation from the BBC though.

  2. Hi Colette — just wondering what you use to chop up things like nettles or small branches. Do you have a piece of equipment to do this like a mulcher? I’ve been thinking about getting one as my garden is producing more and more material that I could be using for mulching. It’s becoming a bit more than I can manage to chop up by hand.

    • Awoken to a beautiful morning here in the west of Ireland!
      Yes, indeed, I have an electric shredder, plugged into the barn. I got it from a friend who had originally bought it in Lidl, for around 100euros. It is perfect and chops and shreds fantastically well! I use it every day, as part of the benefit of permaculture planting is the great amount of stuff for shredding and mulching!

    • Your garden is looking beautiful and it is such a joy to have chickens. I only have 2 but they are great company when I’m gardening but not very helpful if I’m planting.
      I am coming to Ireland with my family for a holiday on Saturday and we’re going to be in County Clare (near to New Quay). We are really looking forward to it now and hope I might get the chance to visit Glenamaddy where the ancestors are from.
      Best wishes to you all at Bealtaine
      xx

  3. In answer to Skybridges, no the media has not reported it in Britain apart from the Guardian newspaper who did at least mention it. I have complained to the BBC, who are publicly funded and are supposed to be unbiased, ha ha! There has obviously been a blackout on the march. I believe that most of the news media in America has reported except CNN.

Your comments are welcome!