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On the show this week, we are joined by Jenny Bay, owner of Jen’s Cafe in lovely Kells, Co. Kilkenny to talk about their delicious food and the 250 year old Mill that houses the cafe.

Mags brings along some Runner Beans and recipes to use for them.

In Food News, we discuss the Kerrygold lawsuit in the US, the passing of the Heritage Bill and a recent Bord Bia survey on Cooking Habits in Ireland.

In Nature Notes we talk about the Otter, present in every river in Kilkenny apparently!

This week also sees a Lunar Eclipse. Will the skies be clear enough to enjoy it?

There are also lots of jobs to be done in the Garden this weekend:

• Stay on top of weeds
• Take soft wood cuttings from thyme. Thyme cuttings take easily, so they can be stuck in the soil or in pots. Remember that thyme likes full sun and hates to be grown in the shade.
• Grass will need less frequent mowing in prolonged dry weather. If very dry, remove the grass collecting box and let the cuttings stay on the ground to conserve soil moisture.
• Continue to collect and store seeds from plants, for sowing next year. Store any collected seed in paper envelopes or bags, then put them in an air-tight container.
• Prune summer flowering jasmine.
• Propagate celamatis, honeysuckle and wisteria plants by layering.
• Collect and dispose of wind-fall fruit. Leaving them on the ground encourages pests and can damage your lawn.
• Take cuttings of shrubs: senecio, lavender, sage, rosemary, fuchsia, hebe, daphne, cistus, choisya and azalea.
• Sink pots of compost among strawberry plants and pin root runners into them.
• Feed container grown fruit trees with a liquid potash fertiliser
• Feed tomato plants fortnightly with a liquid fertiliser (this must be diluted in water to prevent burning the plants)
• Tie tomato stems to canes or stakes to prevent the weight of the fruit breaking the plant.
• Resist the temptation to harvest more rhubarb stems. This allows the plant to build up reserves for next year.
• Pick runner beans regularly to prevent them becoming stringy and to make room for developing pods. Leaving mature pods on the plant can prevent further flowers forming and reduce your crop.
• Harvest beetroot, peas, carrots, chard, potatoes, salad leaves, lettuce and tomatoes this month.

Given the weather forecast, there’s a very appropriate song too from Gene Kelly: Singin’ in the Rain!

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