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If you’ve nothing major planned for Good Friday, why not consider planting a few spuds? It’s tradition in many parts of Ireland to sow them on this day, and whether you’ve never grown anything edible, or you stopped years ago when family and time commitments took over, this could be the year you give it a go.
I can still remember the first time I harvested lettuce I had grown. I was like a big child bringing home a painting from school - I was that proud. Honestly, I’m still a bit like that and I get a big old smug look on my face when I bring in fresh carrots, tomatoes or a few scallions for tea.
Does picking your own fresh vegetables appeal to you? What’s stopping you?
Start small
If you feel like you don’t have the time, I suggest you start small and literally let it grow. So many start with great gusto in spring and dig five or six big beds; intending to grow enough to keep the village well-fed.
I don’t want to dampen your enthusiasm, but come summertime do you want to spend a half hour per week weeding the garden before retiring with a burnt sausage and beer on the deck, or spend every evening weeding? You can always increase the size or number of vegetable beds over the years, until maybe a day comes when you are sitting on that deck eating a meal made almost entirely from salads and grilled veggies from the garden. You’d have some smug look on your face then!
If you don’t know where to begin, there are stacks of books, features in papers, magazines and thousands of websites just waiting to help you. I’ll just add in a note of caution to check where in the world the person you are following for advice is gardening. Many are based in the United States, and while we have the ‘sunny south east’ here, it’s not sunny Florida.
Information
Other gardeners are a great source of information and support. I love talking to new growers and as well as giving tips, I invariably pick up a tip myself. GIY (Grow It Yourself) has some great resources and there are GIY groups all over the country where growers come together to share and support each other. None in your area? Why not start one and maybe together you will grow enough food to feed the village!
‘What about slugs?” You might ask. Ah, slugs! I try to love all nature and animals, but slugs push me to the limit. The hungry, slimy ****ers can eat their way through your lovely heads of lettuce or devour your tiny seedlings overnight. But there are a few ways of looking at them. You can put down various barriers to stop them, go out at night and pick them up (yes, some of us do that) or accept that, for every few plants you put down, some will be eaten.
By the way, please don’t use regular slug pellets. Yes, they will kill slugs but they will also kill the birds and hedgehogs who eat them - and the dead slugs. Slugs are probably the most common topic of discussion among gardeners (which makes them a great conversation starter).
Space
Finally, the one I hear a lot is: “I’ve no space.”
It is possible to grow food on windowsills, on patios and even in buckets. If we go back to the start of this column and talk about spuds, you can grow them in anything from a bucket to an old manure bag. Honestly, I have put a few holes in the bottom of old fertilizer bags and grown them full of potatoes. Imagine sitting down in the summer to a bowl of boiled new potatoes with lashings of butter and a bit of salt. What are you waiting for? Give it a go and let us here at Irish Country Living know how you’re doing. Happy growing!
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