Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
‘Loss of momentum’: Target of 41,000 homes built this year looks set to be missed by 6,000
EPA says there was a 'welcome reduction' in nitrogen levels last year
'Bodies and limbs on the ground' after Israeli strikes kill more than 400 people in Gaza
Karen Massier
column
A Dublin dad was growing 'hipster' veg in his garden back in 1955
So many people in my generation remember their fathers toiling away in the garden, we’re only one generation removed from the soil, writes Michael Kelly.
PRETTY MUCH EVERY taxi journey I’ve ever been on has resulted in the driver telling me how his Dad or Grandad grew all their own food.
It’s a common theme whenever I tell people what I work at. It always strikes me just how many people in my generation remember their fathers toiling away in the garden and that we’re only just that one generation removed from the soil.
For some reason I always find that comforting.
So I wasn’t surprised when Declan, a consultant we’re working with in HQ, told me how his father Patrick Finn grew loads of his own food in a house he bought in Walkinstown in Dublin in 1949.
Working as a civil engineer at the time, he also worked hard to transform the back garden in to a veg plot, enjoying the fruits of his labour for around six years. Sadly, he contracted TB shortly after which cut his veg growing exploits short.
A few days after we first spoke, Declan brought in a real treasure to show us – an old journal belonging to his father in which he catalogued his growing adventures, dated back to 1955.
Although it’s nearly 65 years old, it all looked so familiar. I can’t comment on Patrick’s growing abilities, but his need to get organised is something I can both admire and empathise with.
In my first years of growing I was so daunted by the extent of things I had to learn, that I put together a spreadsheet with all the veg I wanted to grow down one side, and the months across the top. I then looked up the growing info for each vegetable in books, trying to make sense of all the differing advice and put it all in to the spreadsheet so I would know when to sow, grow and harvest each of them.
To figure out what I had to do in any given month, all I had to do was scan down the column for that month and I would have a list of growing tasks for all the veg. That was the theory anyway. It would take a few years before I would realise how the weather and other factors could play havoc with these best laid plans.
That spreadsheet served me well for the first years of my growing until my experience caught up with my enthusiasm. The technology may have been different to Patrick’s time, but the idea was the same – trying to condense the complicated and nigh-on unfathomable in to an at-a-glance guide. In college I used to do the same, condensing 12 weeks of lecture notes, usually someone else’s I hasten to add, in to one page of micro-notes.
Anyway, there was a surprise to be had in scanning down through the list of veg that Patrick grew in 1955.
I wasn’t surprised to see that he was growing way more traditional veg like turnips and cabbage than I do.
But I also came across 3 more hipster veg that I assumed our generation of GIYers were leading the charge on somewhat – kale, kohlrabi and celeriac.
OK so kale is common enough but who knew people were growing kohlrabi and celeriac 65 years ago?
We can’t learn from his journal how well everything grew that year, but it does tell us he sowed the celeriac in March, transplanted them in May and spaced them 6 inches apart. The kohlrabi he was succession sowing every month from March to July.
Advertisement
Let’s hope his organisational skills paid off and he had a good year.
The Basics – Last of the Summer Wine
I did some clearing in the big tunnel last weekend, clearing out the last of the cucumbers and courgette plants. Both still have plenty of fruit on them, and though it’s not of brilliant quality at this stage, it’s all edible.
The courgettes were a bit odd in the tunnel this year. They turned in to truly massive plants with huge leaves that produced masses of courgettes that never really grew beyond 10cm or so. I think it’s because I over-fertilised the soil, adding too much nutrition a mix of compost, dried seaweed and poultry manure pellets.
I had a great season with cucumbers on the other hand, thanks to a tip from Richard about watering them from above as they love a wet, humid environment, as opposed to ground watering preferred by tomatoes.
Before clearing the plants I harvested around 20-30 each of cucumbers and courgettes and I am hoping these will store in the fridge for about 3 weeks.
We also harvested the last of the red tomatoes. Now there are just a few sungold tomatoes left – always a fantastic late cropper and some green ones which we will make a green tomato chutney or sour from. This weekend I am hoping to clear the tomato plants, remove the mypex cover and barrow in some compost on to the beds – that should finish off the tunnel for the winter.
Recipe of the Week – Brussels Sprouts Salad
You’d never really consider eating brussels sprouts raw would you? But this River Cottage recipe proposes exactly that, and I was surprised at how delicious it is. The lemon juice gives a lovely fresh citrus kick. When you think about it, it’s not so odd to eat brassicas raw. Sure isn’t that what coleslaw is?
Raw brussels sprouts have such terrific flavour and crunch, it’s surprising that we don’t enjoy them raw more often. These quantities serve one to two
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Scatter the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until fragrant and browned – about nine to 11 minutes. Remove from the oven, wrap in a clean tea towel and leave for a minute. Rub vigorously in the tea towel – this will remove the browned skins.
Cut the prepared brussels sprouts from top to root into very thin slices. Put these into a bowl and toss with the lemon zest and juice, thyme leaves, chilli flakes, and a tablespoon of oil, and season with salt and pepper. Taste and add more olive oil, lemon juice and/or chilli flakes as desired.
Arrange on a plate, scatter the hazelnuts over and around and crumble on the goat’s cheese. Trickle over a little more olive oil and serve immediately.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
6 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Celeriac is brilliant root veg, so tasty in with mashed spuds! Can be difficult to get her germination right & slug’s are terrorist’s but well worth it very frost hardy too
@Noel Doherty: Ya see ! Told yis I was right … its too much trouble ! Fighting wars against frost and slugs and then calling the vegetable “her” because you become attached to them… even though you might never have heard of them before and can’t give them away when the grow up and want to leave home ! My frozen peas grow in the freezer… cos I forget about them and they are there for years !
Interesting piece. I spent most of my youth in Sussex when there were a lot of fruit growers with large orchards in the 60s where we worked as kids. They made cider and vinegar and in those days they knew the unfiltered vinegar was good for you if taken every day. I also worked on a smallholders production of prize winning squashes. One day he gave me a handful of squash seeds, mainly pumpkin, and told me to eat them with my lunch. I could go on and on but all these things are not new, just found by the modern industry and their marketing machines.
Everyone grew veg in their back garden back then. Usually spuds and cabbage broad beans, peas runnerbeans and soft fruit. Tho Kohl rabi. Celeriac. lablab, courgettes pumpkins were not unknown.
Used to grow veggies until the kids got to the ball kicking stage – then laid a back lawn with a side flower border which I have kept ever since.
Still have rhubarb though and two apple trees.
Grew a lot of ‘novelty’ varieties back then for amusement – purple beans, yellow beets etc. All very tasty but no matter how well you plan there are always ‘gluts’ and you are desperately trying to give the stuff away!
‘Loss of momentum’: Target of 41,000 homes built this year looks set to be missed by 6,000
Diarmuid Pepper
10 hrs ago
7.3k
57
Water quality
EPA says there was a 'welcome reduction' in nitrogen levels last year
26 mins ago
394
3
Ceasefire violation
'Bodies and limbs on the ground' after Israeli strikes kill more than 400 people in Gaza
Updated
14 hrs ago
41.6k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 157 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 109 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 141 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 111 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 38 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 34 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 132 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 60 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 74 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 38 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 46 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 27 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 90 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 97 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 72 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 53 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 86 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 68 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say