Prepping for Spring : Spring is well and truly here when the days begin to become equal in length to nights, and you begin to really notice how nature responds. All my blackcurrant bushes are almost coming into leaf. Mind you the poor things still have to find their final home but hope springs eternal.…
Spring Equinox : the tipping point toward longer days and shorter nights. The growing season is now well and truly upon us. Check out all the vegetable growers on our directory to see who is growing what in your area. We only list growers that comply with the Simple Food Pledge. This means they are…
Life as a Smallholder What possesses anyone to become a smallholder and what is a smallholder? Why do you want to grow/rear/make your own food? How much land do you need? Is it difficult to look after pigs, poultry, goats, etc. What do you feed them? A few short years ago I couldn’t have answered…
DIY Scrappy Apple Cider Vinegar : Apple cider vinegar is full of beneficial properties. Most significantly if it’s raw, organic, unpasteurised and unfiltered. Unfiltered means it is bottled with the “mother”- a cloudy residue that sits at the bottom of the bottle. Apple cider vinegar, or ACV as it’s commonly referred to, comes packed with…
Homemade rosehip and elderberry cold-bustin’ syrup : Daylight hours are diminishing fast and the garden is giving up the last of its bounty. As an Autumn head cold takes grip, the glossy elderberries and wild rose hips in the boundary hedge and plump, shiny rosa rugosa hips in the garden catch my attention. The time…
Why we need to save our Irish seeds The Irish Seed Savers Association was founded in 1991 by Anita Hayes to preserve the seeds of rare heritage agricultural plants. More than two decades later their funding has been cut leaving their vital work, and potentially our future, now under threat. There was a time, not…
Cloughjordan Ecovillage Visit Several years ago I took a trip to Cloughjordan. Sunday morning – a bus full of keen gardeners and GIYers trundled our way to Co Tipperary. Why, you might ask, (as we all know it’s such a long way to Tipperary…..) Well, because that’s where you will find Ireland’s first Ecovillage. Set…