This Farming Life - July on Castlefarm

What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce

Summer is finally here. Everything is in bloom, lots of plants need watering and of course we are busy tackling the weeds that seem to be able to grow everywhere and anywhere.This year I didn’t plant too much in the Castlefarm vegetable plot, but leeks, shallots, onions, salad crops and turnips are all growing well.

In the polytunnel we have lots of cucumbers and courgettes. The tomato plants are flowering and have small tomatoes on their vines. There are also bunches of grapes swelling up on the vine.

We are enjoying the last of our rhubarb and the first of our raspberries. Later in the month our gooseberries should be ripe, although they are scarce enough this year. There was also a scarcity of blossoms on the apple trees in our orchard so we are not expecting a big crop this autumn.

On the farm our spring calves have all been weaned off milk. They are thriving on a grass diet and we have moved them to one of our fields a mile away. We need all the pasture around the main farm for the milking cows.

The Angus bull is enjoying life with our dairy herd. He seems quiet, although we always have a stick in our hand now when herding the cows, and we never turn our back on him or stand between him and the cows. Never trust a bull.

Baled silage was cut at the end of June and later this month we will make our second cut of pit silage. A son of a friend and our nephew spent the last week in June pulling and disposing the yellow flowering ragwort before it went to seed.

The grass in some of our grass paddocks has become stemmy and less palatable for the cows so we are pre mowing this. The cows graze this pre cut grass and then there is more sunlight and room for clover to grow in the sward and the pasture is in better condition for the rest of the year.

Over the past 2 months I have made a few batches of cheese. Our gouda will be ready to eat 6 weeks after it is made, although it is tastier if we let it mature. This month we are enjoying lots of barbeques and I will share one of the easiest recipes a New Zealand friend taught me:

Cut a v shape wedge out of a courgette. Stuff the wedge with goats cheese (I use Elizabeth Bradley’s Carlow goats or sheep cheese), and fresh mint. Season, wrap in tin foil and bake or barbeque for 45 minutes. Yum.

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Castlefarm Shop, Narraghmore, Athy, Co Kildare, Email jenny@castlefarmshop.ie, log onto www.castlefarmshop.ie or telephone 087 678 5269 Follow us on facebook or on twitter @castlefarmjenny