The farm: ”I’m running the farm and there are four people working with me, between full- and part-time staff, on 18ac. By 2021, we’ll have another nine acres of certified organic land as well.”
Converting to veg: ”I moved home in 2010 and we began the process then of switching to vegetables and we got organic certification in 2013. I was always interesting in vegetable growing and just got sucked into it.”
Types of vegetables: “We are growing a mixture of organic vegetables, mostly aimed at the restaurant and catering trade and we now do a local veg box scheme and local shops. We have mixed bags and the produce changes depending on the season, from salads, spinach, tomatoes and basil in summer to carrots, cabbage and kale in autumn.”
Peat: “If you’re starting off with a bad plant you’re asking for trouble. At the minute, we are using a peat-based substrate for sowing seeds and anything else that we’ve trialled hasn’t been as good. That’s not to say that we won’t find something in the future but it is a major issue at the moment, given the ban on peat harvesting.”
COVID-19: ”At the start of COVID-19, the whole business was rattled but then quite quickly we moved into different areas. We were involved in a European project with 10 other growers in Ireland called Maximising Organic Production Systems (MOPS) and filtered into other farms who had veg box schemes and sold produce that would have been going to restaurants before they closed due to COVID-19. In that way, we did OK during COVID-19. It is actually getting more difficult now because people are drifting back to the bigger shops.”
Brexit: “A lot of seeds or items would be coming from the UK and Brexit did impact getting certain things that we just couldn’t get in the end. Even things like crop nets were suddenly double the price.”
Quotable quote: “You have to keep a keen eye on the business side of things and manage learning your trade in terms of growing vegetables and keeping an eye on the business, especially if you’re like me and didn’t come from a business background.”
The farm: ”I’m running the farm and there are four people working with me, between full- and part-time staff, on 18ac. By 2021, we’ll have another nine acres of certified organic land as well.”
Converting to veg: ”I moved home in 2010 and we began the process then of switching to vegetables and we got organic certification in 2013. I was always interesting in vegetable growing and just got sucked into it.”
Types of vegetables: “We are growing a mixture of organic vegetables, mostly aimed at the restaurant and catering trade and we now do a local veg box scheme and local shops. We have mixed bags and the produce changes depending on the season, from salads, spinach, tomatoes and basil in summer to carrots, cabbage and kale in autumn.”
Peat: “If you’re starting off with a bad plant you’re asking for trouble. At the minute, we are using a peat-based substrate for sowing seeds and anything else that we’ve trialled hasn’t been as good. That’s not to say that we won’t find something in the future but it is a major issue at the moment, given the ban on peat harvesting.”
COVID-19: ”At the start of COVID-19, the whole business was rattled but then quite quickly we moved into different areas. We were involved in a European project with 10 other growers in Ireland called Maximising Organic Production Systems (MOPS) and filtered into other farms who had veg box schemes and sold produce that would have been going to restaurants before they closed due to COVID-19. In that way, we did OK during COVID-19. It is actually getting more difficult now because people are drifting back to the bigger shops.”
Brexit: “A lot of seeds or items would be coming from the UK and Brexit did impact getting certain things that we just couldn’t get in the end. Even things like crop nets were suddenly double the price.”
Quotable quote: “You have to keep a keen eye on the business side of things and manage learning your trade in terms of growing vegetables and keeping an eye on the business, especially if you’re like me and didn’t come from a business background.”
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