Rural community gardening
23 January 2010 23:24:09
I had to go to Cork for work today so I went by train. Coming back, I was reading the Grow Your Own magazine - a UK publication. I am only new to this magazine and from what I have read so far, it is an excellent magazine for fruit and vegetable growers.
Anyway, there was a 2 page spread on rural community gardening. I read down through them and there, the last one was about Castlefarm, Co. Kildare. As you can imagine, I was surprised that someplace in Ireland would feature in a UK publication. The article was the height of praise for the owners - Peter & Jenny Young.
They are organic dairy farmers but noticed the demand for growing space so they set up 30 allotments as well as a community plot in Dec 2008. The plots are 6m by 5m, and supplied with manure, water, sheds and picnic benches. They also organise courses for new gardeners on topics such as choosing crops and sowing techniques, thought by organic experts Grace Maher and Paula Pender.
Isn't that just excellent? What a great way to start growing fruit and vegetables.