Category: Gardening

  • The Good Life Bandwagon

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    jacqueline
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    Recently, I sent my partner on a course at Ballymaloe Cookery School, as a birthday gift. The course was called ‘How to Keep Chickens in your Garden’. Result? We now have three baby hens pottering around our back garden, soon to be producing lovely eggs for our family. Darina Allen has plenty of courses like this, like…

  • Growing your own is easier than you think

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    rercy
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    I moved to the country three years ago and I have been growing my own vegetables and herbs each year. It is so satisfying and you don’t need to live in the country, have a big garden or even have a garden at all. When we lived in Dublin we had cabbage, mint and broccoli…

  • Free Food: Grow Your Own

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    rercy
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    When I moved to the countryside a couple of years ago it was assumed that I would be baking tarts, making doilies, and hand-rearing lamb in the living room – or at the very least cultivating my own vegetable patch. I can’t say I have done all of the above but I did have great…

  • Free Rosemary

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    peter
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    We all know that blackberries grow freely throughout Ireland in late summer and early autumn, but some other foods also cost nothing. I got the LUAS to Kilmacud Road last week and walked up towards the Beacon Hotel in Sandyford Industrial Estate. It was impossible not to notice: the side of the public footpath was…

  • Forest Gardens: the Future?

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    peter
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    Today, most of us are fed by large-scale industrial agriculture. I buy the bulk of my groceries in supermarkets, and so count myself among this number. But an interesting article in yesterday’s Irish Times, written by climatechange.ie‘s John Gibbons, introduced my rather ignorant self to the idea of permaculture. Most farming is energy intensive, using…

  • Win a Garden Party. Bring Your Friends!

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    peter
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    COMPETITION CLOSED: THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED. CHECK BACK TOMORROW TO SEE IF YOU’VE WON! Win gardening lessons for you and your friends in your own home. More competitions. We’ve a really interesting and innovative prize to give away this week. My neighbour Huub, a gardener with 35 years experience in organic fruit and vegetable…

  • Food Education in Schools: The Organic Centre

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    peter
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    Leitrim has become a mecca for people looking to live a more sustainable life, and The Organic Centre has played a huge part. Situated at Rossinver, Co. Leitrim, it provides information, education and training about organic growing and sustainable living. The Organic Centre also runs courses in counties Wicklow and Clare. The centre runs a…

  • Positive Nutrition on the Cheap

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    peter
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    When it comes to food, it can be hard to figure out a balance between nutrition, seasonality, and cost. So, we’re delighted to be joined by the nutritional therapy team from Positive Nutrition, an intriguing and relatively new company with a simple and uncomplicated approach to healthy eating. Every month, they’ll be contributing a column…

  • Food Education Resources

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    peter
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    A few weeks ago, we started a list of resources for children, parents, teachers, and anybody who wants to learn a bit more about healthy eating and growing your own food. Food doesn’t get much cheaper – or better for you – than that. Teaching Resource #2: Irish Seedsavers Irish Seedsavers is an absolutely essential…

  • Food Resources for Teachers

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    by

    peter
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    The problem of obesity has been overshadowed by the economic collapse. But it hasn’t gone away. One way of tackling both problems is to encourage children to learn about food. After all, recessions don’t hit as hard if you’re able to grow some of your own. Luckily, teachers who want to bring food and nutrition…