I HAVE AVOIDED talking about the weather in this column so far on the basis that I really just don’t want to be that guy – but it’s the elephant in the room and with summer now slipping away, it’s time for a right old rant.
So let’s be honest – it’s been an absolutely miserable summer thus far. Unremitting runs of Atlantic Westerlies have been rolling over like a relentless wave of dive-bombers dumping their misery on us – storms, rain, cold, more rain, more cold and then some rain.
Watching the forecast on RTÉ is becoming a nightly exercise in unrequited expectations. Each night I tune in in the hope that there might be some portends of good news on the horizon. Some vague hope of a change coming that I can hang my hat on.
Slow progress on my veg patch
The impact of all this cold, wet weather has been considerable. The new garden furniture I bought for the deck back in May seems to mock me, the cushions remain stacked almost unused under the stairs. Last weekend I actually lit the bloody stove. In July.
In the veg patch, pretty much everything is on a go-slow and it feels like the season hasn’t really begun yet even though we’ve only four weeks of summer left. We are still only getting a slow trickle of ripened tomatoes, and as a result are still having to buy tomatoes for salads (imagine that?).
Last year, we were dealing with gluts of tomatoes from June on. This year’s most abundant crops are slugs and weeds.
We’re GIYers – so we remain optimistic. I met someone earlier this week who said that Donegal postman guy who predicts the weather (and who, bizarrely, we seem to give some credence to) has said we’re going to have a great August. I don’t care that there’s not a jot of science behind it – like a one-armed man hanging on to a cliff, this is something I can cling to.
So it’s official – we’re going to have an Indian summer for August and September which will get us back on track. We’ll be enjoying our salad crops right up to November and the cushions will finally make their debut on the deck. You heard it here first.
Recipe of the week – beet burgers
One of our board members in GIY, Suzie Cahn, runs the remarkable Carraig Dulra education centre in the wild hills of county Wicklow. On a recent visit, Suzie cooked us delicious beetroot burgers.
When I asked her for the recipe she said “it’s just grated raw beetroot, bread crumbs and feta cheese”. I put together this recipe which has a few more ingredients but is equally delicious.
Dare I say it, it’s almost meaty in texture. I served these in a fresh blaa with a yoghurt and dill dressing and a seasonal salad. This makes six large burgers.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Peel and grate the beetroot and put it in a large bowl. Add the bread crumbs, porridge oats, beaten eggs, onions and herbs, and season well. Mix it all together well with your hands. Season well.
Shape it in to six or seven burger-sized patties and then put them on a plate in the fridge for an hour or so. This will help ensure that the burgers don’t fall apart in cooking. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
Heat some oil in a pan and fry the burgers briefly on each side to seal them. Then put them on a baking tray and bake them in the oven for 20 minutes and serve immediately. They are even better on day two if you have any left!
Things to do this month – August
To do
Green manures (mustard, buckwheat, radish, rye, alfalfa, clover and vetches) are plants which are grown specifically to improve soil fertility and useful at times when beds are empty (as is often the case in August). Grow directly in the bed and then cut down and dig in to the soil.
Give pumpkins plenty of water and apply a high-potash liquid feed. Nip out the growing points to encourage the fruits to swell.
Net brassicas to keep butterflies and the cabbage moth away (and check undersides of leaves regularly for caterpillars). Keep watering in the polytunnel – mulch around plants to retain moisture.
Sow
Continue succession sowing. Sow spring cabbage, red cabbage, winter spinach, salad onions (in polytunnel for spring crop), autumn salad mix, endive, parsley, onion seed, Chinese vegetables.
Harvest
Pick beetroot regularly as they reach the size you require – if left to grow too large they will loose their tenderness. Continue to harvest tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, peas, broad beans, french and runner beans, salad leaves, radish, turnip, potato, onions, peppers and chilli-peppers, aubergine, globe artichoke, courgettes, cucumber, gooseberries, raspberries and currants.
Tip of the week – sow turnips
Turnips are very easy to grow and because they produce a crop so quickly, they are an ideal candidate for late summer sowing. Note that we are talking about turnips here (with the white flesh) as opposed to swedes (yellow flesh) which take longer to mature (it’s too late now to sow swedes this year).
The green leaves that grow on top of the turnip can also be eaten. Water well in dry spells to prevent cracking. Harvest when small and don’t leave them in the ground too late in the winter – they will be a target for mice and slugs. At home I grow the milan purple top variety.
Want to buy your own seeds? You can do so here.
Michael Kelly is a freelance journalist, author of GROW COOK EAT and founder of GIY.
GIY’s vision is for a healthier, more connected and more sustainable world where people grow some of their own food. Each year, it supports over 65,000 people and 1,500 community food-growing groups and projects around Ireland, and runs food-growing campaigns, events and publications. www.giyireland.com
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say