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Husband and wife Joe and Aoife Reilly run Glasraí, a successful horticultural business, in Hollymount, Co Mayo. They have been producing fresh fruit and vegetables and selling to local markets for three years now. The couple run the business across three acres.
They are currently on the road to becoming fully certified organic producers. The business uses no chemical pesticides and place a big emphasis on producing food in an environmentally sustainable way.
Mayo native Joe and Kildare-born Aoife met on a horticultural course in Mayo Abbey in 2012, and married in 2014. Originally a carpenter, having been raised on his family’s beef and dairy farm, farming was always in Joe’s blood. After completing the course, Joe took up a tutoring position in 2015, and also ran community gardens, where he worked closely with growers and chefs.
Aoife, who studied commerce, travelled around Australia under the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) organisation where she worked on multiple organic horticultural farms, before returning home to Ireland. When Joe’s tutoring course was discontinued in 2016, the couple knew that developing and growing their own horticultural enterprise was the right thing to do.
Organic
“We never thought about not going organic, it was never really on the cards for us” explains Joe. They are farming on clay loam soils in Mayo with P and K indices of 3. However, the ground is slightly deficient in boron, a crucial element for brassicas, swedes and turnips.
The field vegetable cropping area is generally divided into three 0.75acre plots which rotate between crops. Field vegetable crops grown on the farm include potatoes, carrots, parsnips, celery, onions, garlic, beetroot, cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, swedes and turnips, to name but a few.
Growing a diverse portfolio of vegetables in Mayo has its own unique set of challenges, mainly due to weather where the average annual rainfall is in excess of 1,200mm. However, when conventional plant protection products are removed from the toolbox, as is the case with organic production, the level of skill, manpower and innovation required to grow these crops is that much higher. The couple also have three 30ft by 70ft poly tunnels where a variety of fruit and vegetables are grown indoors. These converted mushroom tunnels support the production of strawberries, salads, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, herbs, radish, kales, coriander and much more.
Growing with nature
Organic horticultural production essentially involves farming closely with nature, both above and below the ground. Healthy soils promote the growth of healthy crops.
Healthy crops are much more capable of fending off pest and disease attacks with their natural immune systems, they explain.
Careful attention is given to the varieties of crops grown on the farm, and only those with high disease resistance are planted. For example, a potato variety called Setanta is grown by the Reillys and has a tuber blight resistance of eight out of nine. The crops are also sown on wider drills and further apart to promote airflow through the canopy, making it more difficult for disease infection.
The same principle applies for pest control, with variety choice, netting and fleecing and the reliance on natural predation being key control strategies. Weeds can be controlled with a tine harrow or hoeing between plants to a certain extent, but they must be controlled at an early stage, Joe explains.
Fertilisation is largely supplied through farmyard manure and seaweed dust and they produce their own compost for bedding on site. Trace elements and nitrogen are also supplied through homemade herbal teas produced from nettles, docks, horse tail and many others, which also helps to boost the plants’ immune system.
Joe explains that there is a great culture of knowledge sharing among organic horticultural producers, both locally and nationally. As members of the Organic Growers of Ireland organisation, they have a wide network of growers to exchange knowledge with.
Local produce
Glasraí serve a number of local markets with fresh produce on a weekly basis including two cafes, a hotel, SuperValu and a food store. Joe explains that salads are particularly sought after, as the crops won’t travel well.
However, every Friday and Saturday, the Reillys can be found at the Castlebar and Westport farmers market. Here, customers can view first-hand the fresh produce on offer. They also sell other locally produced honey and eggs.
Arguably one of the most novel offerings from Glasraí is the veggie box scheme, which 35 customers are signed up to. The scheme started in 2015 with the aim of developing a means of getting fresh produce from the farm to customers’ kitchens, without the customer having to leave their homes. While labour intensive, the box scheme has proved a hit with their customers.
Glasraí is a family run business but given the extremely labour intensive nature of the work, the farm takes on two seasonal workers through the Organic Growers of Ireland. In addition to this, the farm hosts a number of WOOFERS throughout the year who volunteer on the farm. They also employ two part-time staff.
The farm is also involved with social farming. For one day each week over a 10-week block, they allow individuals to come to the farm and experience farming first hand. “This could be someone with a mental disability, a refugee, someone in rehab or any number of things,” explains Joe. This experience can mean a lot, he explains.
Grow better not bigger
Joe and Aoife are hoping to expand into the leaf market and possibly develop new markets. At current staffing levels, they are virtually at full capacity.
Therefore, Joe explains that the main aim for the short-to-medium term is to improve the efficiency of the business and they intend on exploring increasing mechanisation and investing in technology in order to do this.
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