Castlefarm Shop Newsletter
4-May-2009
Castlefarm Newslettter, May 09
Castlefarm diary for May
• Saturday 9th 11-2pm. How to set up allotments. Jenny and Peter will pass on the information and lessons they have learnt through setting up and renting out over 30 allotment plots. This course will give community groups as well as private landowners the tools and advice needed to set up and maintain allotment sites. The cost is €80 per person and places must be booked in advance!
• Sunday 17th 11-2pm. A beginners guide to organic gardening. Jenny will take people through the first stops in starting your own garden plot. This will include a practical walk around the Castlefarm garden and explanation on our growing system. Cost €40 per person. Children under 15 €30.
• Saturday 24th 11-12.30pm Free farm tour – and a chance to collect your own eggs. A walk across our farm to learn more about organic farming, our cows, bees, hens and garden. We will even allow you to collect your own eggs!
• Saturday 24th 1-4pm. An afternoon class in willow weaving. Beth Murphy of Willow Wonder will teach people the art of willow weaving. Each participant will make and bring home their own obelisk (plant climber as below). The cost is €40 per person, material included.
• Saturday 30th 1-4pm A beginners guide to keeping poultry. Jenny will take people through the basics of preparing for and keeping hens for eggs. This will be a relaxed, informal class and will allow you to meet the Castlefarm hens. Cost €40 per person. Children under 15 €30.
Remember all classes must be booked in advance!
That’s happening in the Castlefarm garden?
We have been under pressure with unpredictable weather but things are looking pretty good in the Castlefarm garden. We have been trying to get ahead of the weeds and slugs as they both seem to multiply so rapidly (both a curse of organic gardening). We have also been getting a little bit of help from customers who have been weeding for shop credit – so we hope to have Karen Lees leeks and Eltons onions for sale in the future! Today (1st of May) i picked the first Castlefarm peas in the polytunnel. Our broad beans are full of flowers but we are still awaiting the first pods to form. I have also been thinning out our Swedes and parsnips. Our garden is nearly full now so the next plan is to open up more ground with the help of our new rotovator.
I would like to point out that many Irish vegetables are work in progress at the moment – ie being planted and growing and we are now in the hungry season as we wait for our leef vegetables to appear. The Irish root vegetables of last season are very difficult to find.
On the farm
Our calves are out (from the car park look down the fields to the right) and are now down to once a day feeding. This happens by milk feeder and quad. They are eating more grass which will eventually replace their milk diet when we wean them off later in the summer. Last week we collected ten organic angus heifers from Tipperary. These are now fattening on our farm and will be ready in late autumn. We have a beef list in place...so if you would like to be added to our beef contact list please email me jenny@castlefarmshop.ie requesting me to contact you in advance of our next organic angus beef boxes going on sale.
Castlefarm getting ready to Bloom
For anyone on our email list who is nearer the capital than Narraghmore we will be exhibiting at Bloom in the Phoenix park on the June Bank Holiday weekend! Bloom in the Park will take place from Thursday 28th May until Monday 1st June. We look forward to meeting you there.
Castlefarm school tours bringing classroom lessons to life
We hope that teachers, wanting to give their pupils a real farm experience involveing lots of adventure and learning will consider bringing their class on a trip to Castlefarm organic farm this May. If you would like information about our school tours please contact Michelle Hourihan with details on tours@castlefarmshop.ie,
Castlefarm allotment news
All of our allotment plots are organic and plots are rented on an annual basis from the date of contract. We have 3 more plots available to rent (and even have a rotovator arriving next week to make some of that backbreaking digging easy!) Email jenny@castlefarmshop.ie or call
Recipe for scalloped potatoes
The later in the season it is, the faster potatoes blacken so make sure that peeled potatoes are submerged in water immediately to keep their colour.
Grease a shallow oven proof dish (big enough to serve up to 4 people). Peel 8 large potatoes and slice thinly. Also peel and slice an onion. Layer the potatoes with a couple of layer of onions in between. Shake some salt and pepper into the dish and add a small cup full of milk. Top with grated cheese and bake in a preheated oven gas mark 8 for 40 minutes. Serve immediately.
Stewed apricot and rhubarb
Our organic rhubarb, now firmly ‘in season’ is thriving and loves all this rain. Hence we need to find lots of ways to cook it. So a quick, easy and deee licious idea. Stew 8 clean, chopped stalks of rhubarb with 2 handfuls of dried apricots, a small cup of brown sugar and 4 tablespoons of Grand Marnier (or pretty much any fruit liquer). The secret to stewing (without adding water) is to have the lid firmly on and to cook at a low heat.
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