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. In 2014 when the Department of Agriculture drastically reduced funding, their vital work was left hanging by a thread. With the help of a crowd funding…
So many apples. A mountain of tomatoes and a daily collection of raspberries. Despite not planting too many vegetables this year the garden is treating us to a bountiful harvest. There’s a lot to be said for perennial food plants. If you miss your sowing and planting slots in spring then the opportunity for a…
Strawberries are in full swing! It’s mid way through the year and there is so much to choose from when shopping for local, fresh fruit and veggies. See our helpful, but by no means definitive, list below. We do hope you will find it useful. There’s no missing the roadside vendors of new potatoes and…
Festivals to look out for during June : Bloom 30 May to 3 June 2019 / The Phoenix Park, Dublin / www.bloominthepark.com The last days of May see the return of the hugely popular Bloom in the park. Bloom was launched by Bord Bia in 2007 to promote horticulture and all things garden related. The event has since…
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…
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…