Features
Organic Growers of Ireland farm walks
Kearns Organic Growers, Rooskey, Co. Roscommon
Walks held by the Organic Growers of Ireland (OGI) have built up momentum this summer and over eighty people attended a walk at Kearns Organic Growers near Rooskey, Co. Roscommon on 21st July last.
Sisters Rosaleen Lynch and Catherine Maguire were well prepared for the onslaught and guided the large crowd around their low lying farm which is subject to occasional flooding from the Shannon. They have six large polytunnels and just under two acres of field crops.
The sisters cope well with difficult wet conditions on their peat based soil and crops looked good and were cropping well. They use a raised bed system of six foot wide beds to produce most outdoor crops. Nearly all crops are grown through polythene mulch which cuts down on the labour element of weeding. In fact, those present commented on how tidy and weed free all of the holding looked. Rosaleen and Catherine were struck by the level of interest from small scale growers particularly. “When we started out we wanted to see a place this size but couldn’t find one,” Catherine says. “Walks on larger farms are very interesting but people starting off can’t relate that well to them. People want to know that they can make a living on a small holding and it is important for people to see that our farm can support us – in fact, it supports two households.”
The Kearns’ large fruit cage attracted much attention. Simply and cost effectively built, it is likely that many copies will be erected throughout the country this year.
The evening finished with a welcome cup of tea, home made scones and much exchange of chat and grower news. Events like this are the life blood of the organic movement providing a social occasion as well as a forum for exchange of knowledge and ideas.
Jonathan Doig, Roscarberry, Co. Cork
The second farm walk in the series organized by the Organic Growers of Ireland took place in late June at Johnathan Doig’s near Roscarberry. On a wet Sunday afternoon there was a good turnout of over fifty people who were treated to a very interesting walk. The holding is predominantly under plastic and Jonathan is growing courgettes, lettuce, herbs, tomatoes, aubergines, peppers and leeks for the local market. Issues covered during the walk included marketing, transplants, growing techniques and the supply of local supermarkets, which have been the mainstay of this business for many years.
Jonathan was one of the very first growers producing ‘organic’ vegetables in Ireland even before the term was legally defined or standards set. It is a tribute to him that he is still so enthusiastic and generous with his time and of course very knowledgeable on the subject of growing. The OGI would like to thank him for his time and the effort he went to to make everyone welcome; the cakes were lovely!
Gillian Westbrook has been appointed to the new position of
General Manager with IOFGA. Coming from a background in the regulatory area...
