October Plants, Seeds and Bread
Turning inwards, letting go.
Samhain greetings to you all! Our Celtic ancestors believed that this is the time when the veil between this world and the next is thinner. That can be scary, but not necessarily. I attended a lovely Yoga Nidra class with Colette Charles last Friday, and we meditated on accessing the support of our ancestors - I have keenly felt the support and love of my parents - especially my father - since that.
October was not as busy as previous months - I’m starting to see the winter wind down begin, but there’s still lots to talk about.
Seasonal Activities:
I work with Brigids Academy of Healing Arts - and this month I was invited to the third year Medicine day, where the students showed what they have learned. Very inspirational! So inspirational, that I went out and foraged for haws and made some fruit leather with haws, apples and honey. Haws support heart health, so chewing a bit of this fruit leather every day is a delicious and healthy treat.
I have also been drinking herbal teas - I saved lots of meadowsweet, lemon balm and nettles earlier in the year- I’m sure thats what people drank before the coming of China (Black) tea. There was still lots to pick in the garden in October - the tomatoes kept going well - I have only just brought all the remaining ones in to ripen inside, and am getting that space in the tunnel bed ready to plant Ranunculus for next spring
There have been apples aplenty, and chillies. Loads of pears were picked, and still more to come in the back garden. Pears are one of the first to blossom and the last to ripen - we go out and give them a gentle twist on the branch regularly, and if they are ready they come off in your hand. I have made some pear pectin, which I’ll use for a chilli jam - as an alternative to the apple pectin that I normally use. I might try adding a few blackcurrants too - a dark and spooky chilli jam for the season thats in it.
I have not kept up with raspberry picking at all, but the birds and the bugs will enjoy them anyhow, so I don’t feel too guilty. Speaking of leaving things for the birds and bugs - it’s time for me to exhort you not to be too tidy at this time of the year. By all means, clear leaves and other organic matter from the paths. But leave fallen leaves where they land - they are wonderful mulch and an important food source for worms and other living beings in your soil. All the beneficial insects that you work hard to encourage in the summer need a place to overwinter, and a messy corner is perfect for that. Also leave dead plants with hollow stems standing - think teasel or cardoon - their hollow stems will provide a safe overwintering spot for insects. They will look amazing when the frost hits too. I loved this post on the same topic.
I recorded a little segment for Radio Nova for sustainability considerations at Halloween - you can listen here.
From now till February or so, there isn’t a lot that you can do in terms of planting - unless you are planning a native hedge or to plant some trees - always a good thing to do. Bare root trees and shrubs are cheaper and grow better in the long term. So definitely start thinking about that if you have the space - and then get your order in to Future Forests.
If you are planning on some new veg or flower beds, make your life easy next year by covering the area in cardboard (tape removed) over the next few months. The more the better, worms will eat the cardboard happily. You may need to weigh down the cardboard with rocks or pots initially, but after it gets a bit wet it will stay put.
And finally some sweet chestnut collecting on a lovely visit to Carlow, followed by roasting and eating.
Workshops:
The month kicked off with a house plant swap on October 3rd, in The Refill Mill. A nice intimate gathering of plant aficionados, with plant-related knowledge freely exchanged over tea and cake. I learned a lot! The people who came were amazingly generous with their plants as well as their knowledge, and there are still lots of houseplants available in the Refill Mill if you’d like to drop in and take one. No charge for the plants but if you’d like to make a donation to LARCC, we have a box there so that you can. The plants are thriving in the lovely sunny front window, but the shop will be filling up with Christmas stock soon, so that space will be needed.
(Speaking of Christmas, be sure to support local businesses like The Refill Mill and Handmade Design Studio. These (women owned and run) businesses are part of what makes Mullingar a lovely place to live, but if we don’t support them, they will not be able to continue to do business)
Following on from the Plant swap event, we had a Seed Saving workshop - the final one funded by Creative Westmeath as part of the Lake County Learnings project. Participants went home with 10 or more types of seeds - flowers, herbs, vegetables - and clear instructions of how to grow those plants. Seed saving is always a lovely mindful class, and a celebration of the abundance of nature.
Mid month I ran a Sourdough Bread making course - we’d been requests to run one getting since the previous course in May. We had a full house, and lots of craic learning about the simple process that I use. Everyone had a chance to practice ‘stretch and fold’ on some dough I had made earlier that day. As an experiment I put that heavily worked dough it into the oven when I came home without a huge expectations, as the dough would not normally be worked that much. and it came out amazingly! It just goes to show how forgiving the process is.
Participants all went home with mixed dough and a jar of starter - and the next day I was getting some great pics of their creations - see below. Seems like I maybe should run another one in January - what do you think?
It was all about the bread this month - I also ran a Soup and Bread making workshop in Women’s Community Projects-as part of the Family Wellness series. We made and devoured Soda bread and a lovely veg soup with ginger, smoked paprika and turmeric. I think that I converted some people who don’t normally like or make soup, so result!
I can run any of my workshops as a corporate or group event, so if you’d like to work with me in that context, please get in touch! (annambrowne@gmail.com)
Learning:
Our wonderful Botanic Gardens were celebrating Moss week, so I managed to attend one talk there. Ireland it seems has the perfect climate for growing moss. As a flower farmer I’m mystified as to why florists need to buy imported moss for their floral creations, seems like we should be able to grow it here. I’m going to keep asking that question until I get a good answer. If you have a clue, please tell me!
Coole Meadow:
The scything project continues, we had a meitheal earlier in the month, and some great help with ‘saving the hay’ - all the material that we mowed has been put into big bins for composting.
I have been planting all my excess plants in the gravel area along the front wall - earlier this year there was some Irish Water-realated digging, and I threw some seeds on the bare ground. That’s looking good now, so I have high hopes for the rest - the ground is poor - mostly gravel, so ideal for flowers. The wall will provide shelter, and the road will radiate heat, so it’s going to be interesting to see what thrives there. And if someone drives over them, no big deal.
Upcoming events:
I’m running a Kombucha and other natural beverages course on November 8th - click here for details.
I have Wreath making classes coming up in late November/early December - these are getting booked already, so if you’d like a place, don’t delay. A lovely event to bring a friend to, gets you into a very relaxed holiday mindset.
2 interesting online courses coming up - run by Belvedere school of horticulture - they are free, and its a great time of the year to be learning more
Here are the links to register:
Landscaping and Horticulture Course
Cathy from Haumea is running some interesting courses that I have mentioned before - I’ll be starting the Earth Charter course in January and have already completed her EcoLiteracy course - I’d recommend both highly.
So finally, just wanted to briefly refer to the strife going on beyond our peaceful and water-rich isle. I’m not an expert, so I’m not going to give an opinion. But I’m all for taking some action in response to suffering of living beings, so I have made a donation here.
I’ve been spending time looking at old photos this month, so also spending time with my young self.
Leaving you with some music from my youth from the guy who made bottle end glasses cool: