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IN YEARS GONE by, I always sowed tomatoes, peppers and aubergines on a heated mat in the potting shed in February.
I am gradually learning some patience from Richard Mee (head grower at HQ) and this year, I am holding off on sowing them until early March.
Though the logic for sowing them in February is that they benefit from a long growing season, he has taught me that it’s more efficient to wait so that the tomato plants can be transplanted straight from the module trays to the ground in the polytunnel in late May or June.
A few years ago, I got caught out on this front – the plants had outgrown the module trays they were in, but it was too cold to plant them out so I had to transplant them – nearly 70 plants in total – into big pots.
This was both time-consuming and expensive (it used lots of pots and lots of compost).
There are thankfully, other things to be getting on with to scratch the sowing itch.
I have turned on the heated bench in the potting shed, to speed up germination and give the emerging seedlings a little boost.
The heated bench is a relatively straightforward affair. It’s a simple wooden frame about 15cm deep, filled with sand and then a heated element is laid in the sand.
Once the element is plugged in, the sand heats up. Pots and trays are placed on top of the sand and it gives the seedlings some nice heat from beneath. You can buy plug-in heated propagators that do the same job, but the DIY approach gets you more propagation space for less money.
This week, I sowed some lettuce, broad beans, beetroot and kohlrabi in module trays that are now sitting on the sand. All of these will be planted out in the polytunnel in about a month’s time.
Broad beans can be sown directly in the soil in March, but I am trying them out this way to see if I get an earlier crop. The kohlrabi will be tender young roots in 10-12 weeks and I generally sow about a dozen at a time.
The beetroot should give a late-May crop of young roots. I also sowed some peas in a length of old gutter (see below) for sliding out into the soil in the polytunnel in a few weeks.
Last weekend I sowed some spinach, oriental greens and rocket direct in the soil in the polytunnel and am hoping that the longer days and somewhat improved temperatures by day, will help them to germinate and grow.
In theory, this is a good time of the year to sow spinach and rocket undercover, since the plants are less inclined to bolt in the offseason.
Things to Do This Week: Sow Peas in Gutters
Peas can be sown effectively in lengths of old rain-guttering. A length of about 1 to 2m is perfect.
Fill the gutter with potting compost and sow the pea seeds 5cm apart running in a zigzag from one side to the other.
When the seedlings are 8cm tall dig a trench in the soil about the same depth as the compost in the gutter and simply slide out the contents of the gutter into the trench.
Many GIYers grow peas just to eat the growing tips of the young plants which are a delicacy and look great in salads.
You can do this pretty much all year round for a consistent supply.
Recipe of the week: Gnocchi with Jerusalem artichoke and pickled mushroom
We were thrilled to welcome Derry Clarke from the renowned restaurant, L’Ecrivain to GROW HQ last weekend as the latest visiting chef in our Homegrown series of long table dinners.
Derry very much shares HQ’s homegrown, seasonal ethos and talked about his Michelin star more as an exercise in bringing food back to its basic flavours, rather than poshing it up.
I like that idea. My favourite course on Sunday night was his second starter which was a celeriac and wild mushroom terrine – it was spectacularly good.
His recipe below featured in the GIY book GROW COOK EAT and in his own book Keeping It Simple, and features wild mushrooms and another seasonal favourite, Jerusalem artichoke.
This recipe uses wild pickled mushrooms, packed full of strong flavours and serves 8 as a starter.
Ingredients
Artichokes:
1kg Jerusalem artichokes
2 litres milk
2 sprigs thyme
2 cloves garlic
For the Gnocchi:
400g flour
400g warm baked-potato flesh, mashed
3 large eggs
100g Parmesan cheese, grated
4 tbsp parsley, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mushrooms:
100g each of girolle mushrooms, trompette mushrooms, ceps and portobello mushrooms
5 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Chardonnay vinegar
2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
Directions:
To prepare the artichokes, peel them and put them in a saucepan with the milk, the thyme and the garlic.
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and simmer until tender, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from the milk and keep warm until you are ready to serve. To make the gnocchi, sift the flour into a large bowl.
Add the warm mashed potato, then the eggs, the grated Parmesan and the chopped parsley. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and form into a soft dough.
Divide the mixture into quarters and roll each quarter into a cylindrical shape.
Divide each cylinder into six pieces. Lightly press a fork into the top of each piece. Cook the gnocchi in batches in salted boiling water for 5 minutes. They are cooked when they rise to the top.
They are now ready to serve, or you could brown them on a pan in a little oil for a different texture. Keep them in a warm oven until you are ready to use them.
To cook the mushrooms, clean and trim them and sauté them in a pan with the olive oil, chardonnay vinegar and chopped tarragon. Keep warm.
To assemble, divide the gnocchi, the artichokes and the mushrooms between eight starter plates and serve.
Michael Kelly is an author, broadcaster and founder of GIY.
© GIY Ireland 2019 – all rights reserved.
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Wouldnt want it near me or my kids
@Mark Dawson: where would you want it? Would you change your tune if you or one of your kids ever needed it?
@Mark Dawson: Should be located in an area that already has high amount of users, they are there already so might as well have the injection center located there also. Plus it s better than having needles discarded all over the place……some visible police presence also in the location would also help.
@GrahamMManning: Tgen apply to have it in your area .
@GrahamMManning: where there’s a high concentration of users. Save them the journey!
@Mark Dawson: so you’d prefer they inject in every door and alleyway close to your kids as is currently happening???
Anyone is fooling themselves if they think otherwise.
These centers are proven to have been of huge benefit in cites where they are in operation today.
Drug problems exist worldwide but if We pretend it doesn’t maybe it’ll go away, only in Ireland reject everything & agree to nothing…
This is a massive backwards step…
@GrahamMManning: no
@Peter Hughes: high amount of tourists
@Paul Whelan: seems somewhat of a random way to select locations????
@Sandra Fogarty Tormey: so where should it be?
@Keith Richardson: such as?
@GrahamMManning: beside you so
@GrahamMManning: This country has prisons for a reason, does it not?
@Mark Dawson: it’s already beside those of us who live in the area. It’s not right for either addicts or my children that we’re passing by people as they shoot up in our lane way.
@Dave O’Neill: yeah let’s jail everyone who takes drugs cos that’s worked so much in countries such as…..numpty
@GrahamMManning: so well
@Mark Dawson: if that’s where it would do the most good then yeah ok. But your nimbyism isn’t what decides these things or hopefully anything else
@Dave O’Neill: and seriously doubt you know an arm bar from your elbow
They really are moaners aren’t they? The residents don’t want it, the local businesses don’t want it, the people of Dublin don’t want it.
Also, the cheek to say that Barcelona’s drug problem hasn’t influenced its tourist numbers, it’s almost as bad of Dublin for the walking dead.
@Darren B: Every single person I know that lives in Dublin wants this, you’re talking out of your hole
@Darren B: Every single person I know that lives in Dublin wants this, you’re talking out of your h*le
@Darren B: Every single person I know that lives in Dublin wants this
@mm yum yums: Looks like the vibe is triangulating.
@mm yum yums: I don’t
@Darren B: all dubs elected you as their collective speaker? When did this happen? You’d have thought the journal would’ve covered it
@mm yum yums: you should expand your circle of friends to extend outside druggies
@GrahamMManning: Did you want to see methadone users or heroin users? One is part of a treatment program, the other is not.
One gets dispensed methadone doses, the other has to buy heroin.
I’ll let you work out the logistics but one results in less negative outcomes. Noone is pawning gear to buy methadone. Noone is robbing people to pay for a fix.
Understandably people will falter but the overall result is less needles in parks and less crime.
@Michael Fehily: Or me. Put it on n island off the west coast where no one lives. Let them take all the drugs they want there, supply them with needles and they can scream, fight and shout at each other the way they do in Abbey Street or O’Connell Street to their heart’s content without upsetting anyone. Human waste.
@mm yum yums: no, I don’t
@Fergus: eh I’m in favour of injection centres, you seem to be assuming the opposite.
@GrahamMManning: Thats my bad sorry, replied to the wrong un!
@Fergus: Koolio. I’m one of dem alrite
@Darren B: ya I’m with you on not wanting an injection center in Dublin. But no, Barcelona is nowhere near as bad for heroin users as Dublin is. Last time I was in Dublin I felt it was getting better though, so hopefully that trend will continue
@Cian Buckley: I was on the luas, not too busy. Some guy strung out on drugs out if his face, sat down opposite two tourists. I was across the aisle. He was trying to string a sentence together to ask them.the time or something. It was horrible, it was intimidating. …and last week hanging outside the Gaiety. They should be moved on like in other cities.
@wacker macker: “human waste”? Disgusting comment. Shame on you.
@Darren B: yeah but if something isn’t done soon this problem is just going to get worse,all these people saying not near them sure for all you no there kids could be dabbling in it and are future addicts
To be fair, would you want this type of centre beside your house or place of work? It’s a proposal to build a facility that will help people break the law….. you can’t simply call this “nimby-ism”.
@Dec: literally it’s sole purpose is to prevent crime and death. You can absolutely call it nimby-ism. I’d quite happily have it round my gaff or in my office building
@Daniel Wilson: how can an injection prevent crime? Most of the addicts rob for to get their next fix.
@Dec: unless you’re against the idea entirely, anywhere then its the literal definition of nimbyism
@GrahamMManning: I’m against anything that facilities people who want to break the law. Argue the case for and against drug laws but don’t force people to live beside something that will attract drug addicts to the general vicinity of their homes or businesses. This centre is nowhere near where I live or work but I still do not support it. The problem needs to be addressed but I don’t see this as being the solution.
@Daniel Wilson: Then apply get a petition together.
@Dec: there are 18,000 opiod users in Ireland and 140 beds. This is about growing the market for synthetic heroin. And hiding ill people out of sight. What we need is huge investment in rehab beds. Also there is already semi legal blind eye vide in the area, so it doesn’t need to be formalised. People need 1/rehab,2/housing,3/medical support in maintaining pain killer dosage so they can work, function parent 4/mental health counselling for childhood trauma like sexual abuse, sexual assault, bullying, social exclusion, severe poverty….
@Dave Barrett: exactly
@Dec: so the status quo then? Seems to be working great.
@GrahamMManning: i didn’t say that. I want to see the drug problem resolved. What’s proposed here is not better than the status quo though. The problem is the relative ease by which drugs can be obtained. Cut off the supply.
Arrest the drug users. They are breaking the law. Then put them in state sponsored rehab. Don’t help them get high and walk the streets of the city like zombies.
@Bob Murphy: If its a matter of breaking laws, it’s illegal to be intoxicated in public. If you started actually enforcing this and prescribing rehab, then you might as well roof over Meath for the size of facility required…
@Bob Murphy: unfortunately that’s the biggest problem there are very few proper medically supervised rehabilitation beds in this country and addicts are left on a ridiculously long waiting list or they go to one of the religious rehabilitation centres where u are up at 5 in the morning for bible study and are not allowed to even have a cigarette which leads to a lot of people leaving these places and relapses happening and the cycle starts all over again
@George Salter: maybe we should.
@George Salter: how many drunken meathmen break into houses , mug old people to get their next pint
@Darren Callaghan: wasn’t aware of that but spending the money put aside for this on existing rehab might help
@George Salter: addiction is related to beliefs and mental illness. RTT can cure addiction very quickly.
@Darren Callaghan: 18,000 addicts, 140 rehab beds. RTT is a secular therapy for addiction. Rapid results
@Zoe Obeimhen: what beliefs?
No one wants this type of disgusting facility near them, and rightly so.
@Mike Conway: much better to have them dying on the streets or violently attacking people like you and your family for a few euro for the next hit instead
@Daniel Wilson: I think that many people are saying the robbing will still happen anyway. Those centers don’t give out free heroin so people still need money to feed the habit.
I’m on the fence on this one, I take the point about the fact that addicts are going to do it anyway so why not try and give them somewhere safe.
That said, I absolutely would not want to live near MQI today let alone if they get a MSIF – I walk past it every morning.
@Mike Conway: so just forget about those who need it or the benefit it’ll have on society? Nimbyism nonsense
@Daniel Wilson: that’s what jail is for numbnuts, just lock them up
@Daniel Wilson: unless these facilities are handing out free heroin that problem will remain.
@Mike Conway: too right Mike, much rather them go around the corner of the facility they already use to bang up
@Daniel Wilson: Eh the facility doesnt buy them the drugs, so they may have to go robbing first before they get their drugs to bring to the facility. This doesnt control the problem at all. It just gives them a roof under which to do it, and to properly dispose of the needles
@Bertie O’Riordan: cos jailing everyone on drugs has worked so well everywhere else?
@GrahamMManning: Youre a teacher. Youre also a terrible example to children. You are actually supporting heroin addicts. HOW does that benefit society? Benefiting society would be supporting addicts going straight, not facilitating their selfish need to get high. Only a small percentage of addicts want to get clean. This facility does nothing to encourage that.
Here we go again! Ship the drug dependant zombies off to somewhere very remote and have done with them!
@liam whelan: Exactly
@liam whelan: out of sight out of mind? You should be Taoiseach:’)
“However, leading legal authority on planning in Ireland, Eamon Galligan SC argued in a nine-page legal opinion that the council was going beyond its powers in requiring a policing plan.”
I’m sure they could just do what they’ve done with the treatment centre in my town. Put it in a residential area with no extra protection. Houses get robbed, people are afraid to leave their houses because of large groups of junkies, vandalism, rubbish, faeces on the street. Garda station 200yards away but before you ask ‘no, they don’t bother’.
Who needs a policing plan? Bet there’ll never be a centre near Eamon Galligan’s road.
Brock McClure state that the refusal is “unwarranted and does not stand up to scrutiny”.
I can imagine going by the amount of objections lodged that it’s warranted and stands up to scrutiny from a planning perspective…..what would be the point of having a planning process if they could just slap these center’s wherever the drug charities wanted?
Dublin City is like the walking dead with drug addicts, the council is correct, Merchants Quay openly support these people, instead of giving them a needle give them a rehab place, gosh these idiots at Merchants Quay behave like their Gods, looking after their own jobs,expecting people to donate to a service that should be shut. Give them a chance at rehab not a free needle. Are they encouraging suicide by overdose.
@Aine Power: Merchants Quay already offer residential rehabilitation services and addiction counseling as well as a range of other services for drug users. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
@Aine Power: exactly why the actual fook should we supporting heroin dealers this is a small island heroin can not be produced here . NO . Injection sites are a new business profiteering neoliberal nonsense idea .
Instead of building injection rooms why not build cold turkey cells to get them off drugs; lock them up until they’re clean. It would be a better way of helping them.
@Henry Gaynor: I take it youve never read up on drug problems. It’s not just the physical addiction. It’s the life cycle these people find themselves in
@thomas patrick: At some stage in their life, a drug user made a decision to use drugs. They didn’t catch a drug problem in the same way a person gets a cold or the flu. They should be held responsible for the decision they made; exonerating them isn’t going to help. Why should people who choose not to use drugs be held accountable for the mess drug users get themselves into.
@Henry Gaynor: exactly… They made a decision because of their life situations. Read up on Switzerland and Portugal and how they dealt with it. Zurich specifically.
It has to start happening somewhere!
Not to be having a go at anyone who live in the general area of Merchants Quay.
Fact is. It’s one of many areas in Dublin’s inner city where the issue is more obvious.
We need to at least try to help these people!
It’s got to start somewhere!
@Linus Robin: yes but it has to be more coordinated than other attempts. These kips are a disaster and the locals are the ones that need to pick up ALL the pieces, whilst living in the unknown. Right now these centres attract dealing, are a designated place to “hang out” and destroy, have no extra policing and are a place for singular drug users to meet up (and all the fun that comes with it) with other similarly vulnerable people.
Opening a centre is one thing, running it a different beast altogether.
@Artugal:
Fair point. But it has to start somewhere!
If not.
It’s just constantly kicking the problem down the road!
The Nimbyism that is so strong in Irish people will always prevent this from happening
We have collected data on over 60-needles in 1-day just casually walking around Dublin. Is this not a risk to public health that could be avoided with this facility?
This is essential to help what people have been branding “the walking dead”. Can people really be so cruel and unforgiving to condemn these people for eternity!? We need these facilities for a progressive Ireland. Love thy neighbour, especially if they don’t have a roof over their head.
@Gareth Forde: do you still love thy neighbor when thy neighbor robs your grandmothers purse containing her pension so thy neighbor can buy drugs to take in a safe environment where they can’t be arrested, where if they overdose your tax pays for them to be brought to hospital and treatment while you’re grandmother sits in A&E for 16 hours waiting to see a doctor that’s treating thy neighbor????? If that’s the case let them take drugs in your house
Read up about the positive strides Portugal and Switzerland took regarding their addiction problems before telling me it’s a bad idea to have places like this. Very few “new” addicts reported in Zurich since they’ve adopted these stances
I’d love to know how many users would avail of this . Walk down any Main Street where they have been in door way previous night . Most of them do not have the decency to pick up the blankets that good people donated to them . Can’t see how a person under influence of whatever they pumped into their veins walking anywhere to do anything in a controlled environment. Be more prudent to put the money into programs that educates young people to the dangers of drugs
Well xan we just legalise drugs Portugal style which has a proven track record. Rather than this neoliberal bull .we all know now .
@Asha Allen: because legalising drugs sends a terrible message to our young people.
@Asha Allen: Where do the drugs come from?, because when people talk about legalisation they seem to forget that we don’t produce heroin and coke domestically so we would either have to produce them ourselves or source them ethically…that might be difficult and prohibitively expensive if you don’t want to fund cartels and terrorist organizations.
Decriminalization is one thing, legalisation is a completely different matter
Good
Any chance of a cull every few years. 20 years ago it would have taken a handful of bullets. Now you’d need a bloody army to get rid of them
Addicts in prison should be detoxed, as part of their sentence.
Currently addicts in prisons are provided with methadone, and remain addicted to opiates.
Drugs are also smuggled into prisons, and available to buy.
Mandatory rehab. programme could be considered.
Please consider the long term savings to the HSE, including a significant decrease in the number of overdoses. I would rather have a safe injection site in my neighborhood than addicts shooting up on the street.
I have great admiration for the work carried out by the people at MQI. However, like many people, I might have a different opinion if such a centre was to open next door to me; looking out my window daily and watching long lines of desperate people queuing for a meal, shelter, health support etc. or, in the case of this proposed injection centre, heading in for a fix. You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have some concerns. And lets face, it’s disingenuous to speak of the need to have these MSIFs within the city centre, they’re hardly ever likely to place one on Harcourt Street or anywhere around Merrion Sq., MQI has hugely expanded it’s services over the years, from basically a soup kitchen to what it is today, a major NGO, which many people have benefited from. I wonder though about how much engagement to date the MQI has had with the local community of residents and businesses about the ongoing expansion of its services? They are entitled to know. Is the Merchants Quay location now fit for purpose? Is a basement an appropriate place for an MSIF? Has the MQI out-grown its location?
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