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Gardening Courses this Autumn 2010

Due to the huge interest in our GYO courses last May/June we have put together the following 3 courses for the Autumn. Full details below.

Accommodation is avaialble for participants who wish to stay for 1 or 2 nights at Kilmaneen Farmhouse..
For those staying over on Saturday night a Make Your Own demonstration can be arranged on Sunday morning. This would include, for example, how to preserve fruit & vegetable, how to make chutneys and your own 'sun dried tomatoes'. Please book in advance.


1)The Vegetable Garden.

Course duration: Full 1-day course from 10am to 4.30pm.

Course date: 25th September, 2010

Topics covered:

• reviewing the growing season that has passed
• planning for the year ahead.
• autumn and winter vegetables
• making the most of the poly-tunnel,
• cleaning tunnels & planning winter use
• constructing raised beds
• soil preparation.

Course Fee: €75 with light lunch and tea/coffee included.

Venue: Kilmaneen Farmhouse, Newcastle, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.

All courses given by horticulturist Michael Murphy.

To book a place or for more information contact:
Kevin O'Donnell @ 052 6136231/086 3541700


2)The Ornamental Garden

Course duration: Full 1-day course from 10am to 4.30pm

Course date: 30th October, 2010

Topics covered:

• getting your garden ready for the winter
• replacing trees and shrubs lost last winter
• seasonal pruning and maintenance work
• adding winter colour
• planning a new area
• planting bulbs.
• practical work in a mature garden.

Course Fee: €75 with light lunch and tea/coffee included.

Venue: Kilmaneen Farmhouse, Newcastle, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary

All courses given by horticulturist Michael Murphy.

To book a place or for more information contact:
Kevin O'Donnell @ 052 6136231/086 3541700


3)The Fruit Garden

Course duration: Full 1-day course from 10am to 4.30pm

Course date: 27th November, 2010.

Topics covered:

• planning and planting a fruit garden
• maintenance of an existing fruit garden
• planting a native hedge for shelter
  

Course Fee: €75 with light lunch and tea/coffee included.

Venue: Kilmaneen Farmhouse, Newcastle, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary

All courses given by horticulturist Michael Murphy

To book a place or for more details contact:
Kevin O'Donnell @ 052 6136231 or 086 3541700

To return to our website click www.kilmaneen.com
To contact us click kilmaneen@eircom.net

Summer pruning & seasonal garden work.

Wednesday, 14th July from 7-9pm.

Important work in the garden takes place at this time of year such as

• how to select the best strawberry runners then pinning & potting on
  
• pruning of plum, pear, cherry and apple trees
• how to deal with pests & diseases in the vegetables
  

Some places are still left on this course.
Extra classes can be arranged for groups.

Call us at 086 3541700 or e-mail us at kilmaneen@eircom.net

To return to our website click www.kilmaneen.comTo contact us click kilmaneen@eircom.net

New GYO course starting on Wednesday 16th June.
We are running another Introduction to GYO course starting on Wednesday 16th June at 7pm.

Hiking vacations in Ireland

To return to our website click www.kilmaneen.comTo contact us click kilmaneen@eircom.net

Hiking vacation in Ireland at Kilmaneen Farmhouse

Newcastle, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary

7th to 15th June 2010

and

30th August to 7th September, 2010

Seven nights B/B, packed lunch and dinner in award winning farmhouse accommodation plus 5 days hiking with trained guide.

Different levels of hiking abilities facilitated.

499 euro per person sharing

Transport to & from airport can be arranged – extra charge will apply.

This offer is based on a minimum of 6 people

Contact us at info@kilmaneen.com

or call us at +353 52 6136231

Rhubarb is growing in abundance.
This photo is our old, established rhubarb bed, We have divided these plants many times to give us other crops and also to share with friends & family. Rhubarb after first planting must be left for 2 years without picking however tempting it may be to have strong, healthy sticks of rhubarb and a longing for rhubarb tart!

Apple trees in full bloom.
Our row of apple trees is in full bloom so looking forward to a good crop in the autumn.
We have 3 eating and 3 cooking apple trees here and my favourite is the one at the end. It gives us huge green cooking apples from mid August onwards. These apples have a delicious bitter sweet flavour that is really unique.

To return to our website click www.kilmaneen.com
To contact us click kilmaneen@eircom.net

South Tipp farm to host national sheepdog trials
The Irish National Sheepdog Trials will be held at the farm of Jim English, Rehill, Ballylooby, from Thursday, 30th July to Saturday, 1st August 2009. This is the premier event in the Irish Sheepdog calendar for 2009 and will see the top 150 sheepdogs and handlers from all over Ireland and The Isle of Man compete for the coveted 15 places on the Irish team to represent Ireland in the International Sheepdog Trials in September.
Approximately 50 Singles competitors will run each day. There will be a Brace (doubles) competition on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with three pairs of dogs and handlers competing daily for two places on the Irish team to join the 15 Singles winners on the team going to the Internationa event which will be held in Lowther, Cumbria.

At the press launch for the Irish event, Jim English welcomed everyone to his farm and said he was delighted that his farm was chosen to host such a prestigious event. He said that not only was it a privilege for him, but a great honour for the area to host such an event.

Jim himself is no stranger to sheepdog trialing, having competed very successfully over a long number of years. He said he was looking forward to seeing all the best dogs in the country working on his farm.

The sheep for the trials will be supplied by Brian Casey, another well known sheepdog enthusiast. Mr. Casey is no stranger to organising and competing in trials and the organisers are looking forward to having very good sheep and very good Trials.

Accommodation for dogs & dog owners available at Kilmaneen Farmhouse

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To contact us click kilmaneen@eircom.net

Comment on the Knockmealdown Crossing 2008

(Accommodation available at Kilmaneen Farmhouse. See www.kilmaneen.com for details)

It would be to a gentle drizzle that I would arrive to Newcastle on the banks of the river Suir for the first annual Knockmealdowns Challenge and yet straight away there was a warm welcome from the organisers – Peaks Mountaineering Club.

Not ten minutes into the proceedings of the challenge and a battering rain shower would lash in from the south. No real grief here I hear you say only that I was insistent on staying in my shorts. “Build it and they will come” would be my theme for the day which loosely translated means “Wear the shorts and the sun would quite simply have to shine!”

Over the course of the day the sun would try its best but for the most part overcast conditions would predominate. This would not deter a handful of “Mad Hatters” though, who being gluttons for punishment would take-in the odd extra summit or two as they saw fit over the route. As such this all too emphatically proved just how welcome this new walk is to the Challenge Walks Calendar.

It only took a little clearance to allow incredible and panoramic views to open up to the delight of all and thus showing just how beautiful the meandering ridge of the Knockmealdown Mountains truly is.

Peaks Mountaineering Club can no doubt be very proud of an excellent job well done. With over seventy walkers on the challenge walk, over forty on the ”B” walk and a good representation on the “C” walk, I can see no reason as to why the challenge will not continue to be the great success it was in its inaugural year.

With a wonderful stew and friendly chat at the finish, all agreed that a return visit to the Knockmealdowns can not come soon enough.

I know I’ll be wearing my shorts next year as well!
J.H.


To return to our website click www.kilmaneen.com
To contact us click kilmaneen@eircom.net