URBAN FARMER:The badger has failed to dig up the seeds in the walled garden, and now it faces the challenge of the bees, writes FIONNUALA FALLON

SPLISH SPLASH SPLOSH – when the heavy rain finally arrived in Phoenix Park late last week few people could have been happier than Office of Public Works (OPW) gardeners Meeda Downey and Brian Quinn.

“It was very badly needed,” says Brian with obvious relief, pointing to the now nicely damp soil in the walled Victorian kitchen garden. “We’d had no significant rainfall for weeks, and the ground was in desperate need of a good soaking. When we decided to transplant things like the pear trees, the asparagus and the herbs back at the beginning of March, we weren’t expecting it to be one of the driest months on record.”

But with rainfall amounts for March at just over one-third of what could normally be expected for the time of year (19.4mm instead of 53.5mm) the OPW gardeners were forced to get out the hose earlier than expected.

“We’ve spent the last few weeks constantly watering. Along with all of the recently transplanted crops there were also all of the young strawberry plants and the bare-root apple trees in the newly planted orchard to keep an eye on,” says Meeda. “They haven’t had a chance to develop proper root systems yet, and so theyre very vulnerable. We also noticed the rhubarb trying to produce flowerheads much earlier than it normally would, probably a sign of lack of water.”

The plus side to the recent dry spell was the lack of weed growth. “That was a bonus all right,” says Brian. “Although now that the rain has finally arrived we expect to see a flush of weed seeds germinating over the next few weeks.”

Whatever about weeds, the just visible line of fragile green seedlings in one corner of the walled garden is welcome proof that the recently sown carrot seed (a variety called ‘Major’) has successfully germinated. Sown back in mid-March, the delicate fringe of baby leaves heralds the beginning of the growing season proper.

“That’s only as long as the bloody badger doesn’t uproot them,” says Brian, sighing with irritation, explaining that the walled garden’s nocturnal visitor has returned once again, probably by slipping under a gap beneath a little-used side entrance. “He’s been rooting around for earthworms and beetles to eat. Luckily we hadn’t sown or planted anything where he was digging, or there would have been a lot more damage. But if he’d dug up the beds where the carrot and parsnip seed have been sown, it would have been awful.”

So what’s to be done?

“We’ve blocked him off,” Brian says, pointing to a fresh ridge of tarmac laid down by his OPW workmates.

“You mean we hope we’ve blocked him off,” says Meeda, who strongly suspects that the hungry badger may still discover an alternative route.

If the nocturnal visitor does happen to gain entry into the walled garden again, he may soon be surprised to discover that he is no longer its sole occupant. A couple of weeks ago the OPW gardeners took possession of two spanking new beehives, and its many residents-in-waiting will be arriving very soon.

Beehives in the walled garden – aren’t Meeda and Brian just the smallest bit nervous? Not in the least, apparently, as Meeda is already quite an experienced apiarist. Her father, Austin Downey, has kept bees for years and was a founder member of Meath beekeepers’ club, “so I grew up with them”, she says. Along with my sister I’ve also been keeping my own hive for the last few years, and I’ve only been stung once in all that time. So I’m not too worried.”

What about Brian? “He’s terrified,” says Meeda solemnly, before grinning and admitting that this isn’t in fact entirely true. “I’ve been a member of the Royal County Beekeepers’ Association (royalcountybeekeepers.com) for a few years, so I invited Brian to come along to one of our meetings last year. He was quite brave for someone who’d never handled bees before.”

“‘Quite brave’?”, says Brian, mock-indignantly. “I let them crawl all over my hands and face. I’d say that’s more than quite brave.”

But Meeda refuses to be too impressed. “You were good for a first-timer,” she acknowledges with a laugh.

In the walled garden the two beehives will be kept in what’s known as the slip or cutting garden, a small annexe to the far end of the main walled garden that was once home to the Victorian pineapple beds and is presently out of bounds to visitors. According to Meeda, it’s an ideal spot.

“They need to be somewhere sunny and sheltered, and away from overhanging branches that might fall or drip rain,” she says. “They should love it here.”

As it turns out, the Victorian walled garden’s new beehives aren’t the only ones in Phoenix Park that Meeda will soon be looking after.

“Along with these two hives I’ll be minding another three hives that have just arrived in the gardens at Áras an Uachtaráin,” she says, adding that she holds a certificate in beekeeping.

She has also attended various courses and workshops over the last few years, including last month’s launch party for the Year of the Honey Bee, held in the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin (check out irishbeekeeping.ie for details).

“In the wild the honey bee is under threat from garden chemicals and diseases or parasites, such as the varroa mite, so keeping a few hives is a way of both helping their survival and increasing pollination rates,” Meeda says.

“But, even more than that, I think that keeping a few hives in the walled garden will really bring it to life. I can’t wait for them to arrive.”

But what, it occurs to me later, about the walled garden’s badger? Fingers crossed that he doesn’t develop a taste for honey as well as earthworms and beetles.

My research revealed the following information on the website askaboutireland.com: “The badger is an omnivore and eats small mammals, birds, eggs and vegetable food. Earthworms are a favourite part of its diet. They will raid bees’ hives for the honey they contain.”

Uh-oh . . .

** The OPW’s Victorian walled kitchen garden is in the grounds of Phoenix Park Visitor Centre, beside the Phoenix Park Cafe and Ashtown Castle. The gardens are open daily from 10am to 4pm.

** Next week Urban Farmer will cover sowing seed in the walled garden.

** Fionnuala Fallon is a garden designer and writer

WHAT TO: sow, plant and do now

SOW(in a heated propagator for greenhouse or tunnel cropping): Aubergines (still just worth a try early in the month – Bonica is the most reliable), French beans, peppers, tomatoes, sweet corn, cucumbers, early courgettes and melons, basil, early calabrese, Alpine strawberries (Reugen best) and tender single flowers such as tagetes, French marigolds, nicotiana, etc for attracting beneficial insects to help with pest control and pollination both under cover and out in the garden.

SOW(in gentle warmth for planting outside later): celery, celeriac, coriander, dill, Greek oregano and Florence fennel.

SOW(in modules, in a seedbed for transplanting, or in situ where they are to crop): Asparagus, globe artichokes, beetroot, broad beans, carrots, endive, all varieties of peas, parsnips, summer and autumn cabbages, red cabbage, savoy cabbage, Brussels sprouts, all varieties of sprouting broccoli including calabrese, cauliflowers, onions leeks, salad onions, shallots, pak choi, Hamburg parsley, landcress, lettuces, kohl rabi, kales, radishes, rocket, salsify, swiss chards, spinach, seakale, white turnips and swedes, claytonia, lamb's lettuce, salad mixes and hardy herbs. Rhubarb (Unwins early red and Glaskin's perpetual are both good varieties).

PLANT(outside): Seed potatoes, onions, shallots

All sowing details courtesy of Nicky Kyle at nickykylegardening.com