Knockmealdown

Looking south across Co. Waterford, the coast, and out to the Celtic Sea







Michael and his daughter Shan invited us to climb the peaks. He was last up here when he was 17.














A close-up look at the Golden Vale, a series of valleys beneath several peaks, and some of the most fertile land in the country. The Vale is centered in Co. Tipperary and spills down into Co. Limerick.

At a pass in the Knockmealdowns known as "the Gap" stands this shrine to Mary. Ireland, which is half the size of Washington State, has hundreds of these shrines, usually beside well-travelled roads. Most were built in or just after 1954, the year the Vatican named a Marion Year, or year to celebrate Mary. Parents named their newborn daughters Mary and Ireland issued a stamp. Many of the shrines are built near holy wells, and one located about four miles from Kinsale made the news in 1985 when observers noticed a slight movement. Similar movements were seen at shrines across the country: usually at dusk, after the spot lights are lit.


When Michael was last here, none of this was. This is one species of rhodendron, common rhododendron (rhododendron ponticum). The mountainside up to the right is covered in it. I can't think of an infestation this large that I've ever seen. Today, it is "native" in SE Europe (SE Bulgaria through Turkey into the Caucasus) and the Iberian Peninsula. But it grew here in the Tertiary period and then much more recently in one of the most recent inter-glacial periods, both times receeding due to changes in climate. It was (re)introduced to Ireland in the 1700's and has since then exploded. It is shade tolerant but thrives in full sun as well. A prolific seed producer, it will just as likely spread vegetatively. Unfortunately for native oaks, it hosts the fungal pathogen that causes 'sudden oak death.' Ponticum has invaded has invaded three habitats of international importance under the EC Habitats Directive: upland oak woods, bogs and heath.

Sport plowing

A few weeks ago we had the fortune to see something we never knew existed, the traditional sport of Plowing. Plowers are given a set time to plow a number of rows as straight and cleanly as possible. There were four divisions - basically the four generations of tractors (if you include the horse as a generation of tractor), another thing we did not yet know.








Competitive plowers take their task seriously, frequently jumping out of the cabin to inspect the plow, especially near the start. A good furrow depends on minute adjustments to the plow, and these are based on soil type, current moisture conditions, and probably a few other factors this forest-phyte cannot yet grasp. Our guide referred to these manual adjustments (above) as 'cheating,' but as long as the plower gets the mandated rows completed in time I don't think it matters. The judges, at least, didn't appear to care.

A day in the hazel coppice

Back in November we travelled to a woodland owned by Saul Mossbacher where we learned first-hand about coppicing by harvesting a crop of hazel.

Coppicing is the oldest form of woodland management. It essentially involves cutting the stems of the tree down to the stump. They then re-grow producing multiple stems, or poles.





Typically a coppiced woodland is harvested in sections or on a rotation. In this way, a crop is available each year somewhere in the woodland. Coppicing has the effect of providing a rich variety of habitats, as the woodland always has a range of different-aged coppice growing in it, which is beneficial for biodiversity. The cycle length (7-20 years) depends upon the species cut, the local custom, and the use to which the product is put. Not all tree species can be coppiced, only those that tend to sucker when cut.





In the case of hazel the poles are harvested approximately every 7 years and converted into a wide range of products including woven hazel fencing, rustic furniture, and poles for building things such as yurt frames.











Coppicing has the effect of maintaining trees at a juvenile stage, and a regularly coppiced tree will never die of old age. The age of a stool may be estimated from its diameter, and some are so large (perhaps as much as 9 m or 30 ft across) that they are thought to have been continuously coppiced for many centuries. There is a growing movement in Ireland and Brittain to return abandoned coppices to rotation. Word travels among the 'interested' of a disused coppice that has been rediscovered, eyes widen and palms are rubbed together in hopes that a way can be found to remind folks of the forgotten value of a sustainably-managed woodland.













During harvest we sorted the poles according to size and straightness and bundled them for easier transport and sale.

Ponds and polytunnels

(The presentation room)




Another trip to West Cork, and outside the town of Ballingeary we found John Dolan's site. John specializes in designing and building ponds and constructed wetlands for domestic sewage treatment, aquaculture, frog production (read below), recreation, irrigation, and interestingly - as a frost deterrent. The picture above is of his yet to be completed house and the main pond on it's south side. He has just increased his solar uptake by almost 2x's. Below is his current quarters.





Here is John's polytunnel. Yes he does grow vegetables, but he also has a crash pad-loft, a functioning kitchen, and a meeting space. It's warm through the winter and the air is alive with flavor.





In a fit of creative thought, he increased the height of the structure by taking advantage of the rock outcrop behind the tunnel. If you look closely, you'll notice that the polytunnel is propped up and rotatated (circles don't lean?) towards the south.








This is John. Over the past ten years, he has been gardening on this naturally wet site and, as with many gardeners, he had a slug problem. They thrived in the wet environment and feasted on his young transplants. He pondered... and in time began noticing a few things: a predator-prey relationship, slug feeding behavior...He surmised that there was little chance of happening upon a single slug eliminating trick, he didn't feel that lucky. So he began to apply several tricks. He built raised beds and constructed ponds, together lowering the effective water table thus drying out the garden a little. He knew that frogs prey on slugs, and there were a few frogs on the land. So he set about about creating a tadpole-boom by mimicking and multiplying their floating spawning mats. He grew raptor-protection cover plants at pond's edge, and built pond edges that allowed frogs to escape if necessary. And for the slugs that escaped the frogs, just before and during the transplanting of his young food plants, he feeds the slugs what he calls "junk food balls," crumpled up balls of semi-decomposed kale and comfrey. The slugs turn out for the event and feast. It makes slugging easier, and importantly, they leave the young plants alone. Finally, for those slugs that have weaved their way though the hurdles, John probably offers a hearty congratulations, and let's them be, adopting the theory that plants when nibbled upon produce antioxidants, which makes them healthier to him and his friends.

Kinsale Community Garden

This is Kinsale's community garden. Established in front of a row of former barracks a few years ago, it has been managed by a rotating group of energized folks. Locals from the neighborhood and around Kinsale congregate every Sunday to dig, plant, mulch, weed, and socialize. Today there is a soup and planning session. The garden is affiliated with Kinsale's Transition Town.







Several weeks back, a few of us got together to haul straw and manure to the garden. Our friend, classmate, and local farmer-accountant, Michael Barry supplied the the raw materials, hydraulic power, and 1/3 of the muscle to get the stuff across town.











Michael, Ollie, and Ollie's son Dylan, after the morning flurry of work.

Smoking fish and tasting honey

Tim Rowe came from West Cork arrived to talk about smoking fish and beekeeping. He showed us how to build a smoker quickly with materials around the college (blocks, sand, wood chips...). Once the burning wood turned to coals, we applied doug fir chips and began to damper down the fire - making sure to plug up the leaks with sand. The fire was positioned lateral to the fish so that only the smoke and not heat would cook the meat.











We used Whiting, not because it was the best fish but because it was what was available. Typically you would want to use a more oily fish like mackeral or herring in Ireland.







A bit too salty but still good!







Tim runs his own bee farm in Ballylickey, where he gathers and produces absolutely delicious honey! He is also very involved in conducting surveys on the loss of bee populations in West Cork due to Colony Collapse Syndrome. A great book recommended by Tim that outlines the current plight of the honeybee is "A World Without Bees" by Alison Benjamin and Brian McCallum.