More Northern Ireland people growing their own food

Ireland has a ‘growing’ band of vegetable growers.  And since 2009 the ‘Grow It Yourself’ organisation has been ‘propagating’ so that there are now 100 groups with over 30,000 members.

Founder Michael Kelly started the group in Waterford, Ireland in 2009 and since then people who have never grown a bean have been turning to gardening, transforming their patches of land into productive sites.  There are now GIY groups in every county throughout Ireland, meeting monthly or seasonally to share tips and offer support.

Nigel McKinney of Kilcoo, County Down turned a piece of rough land behind his house into a fruit and vegetable garden that now supports 10 raised beds brimming with produce. He grows rhubarb, celery, onions, parsley, runner beans and much more besides.  With the comment “I like food and you can’t eat anything else” we can’t really disagree with Nigel.  He added that a key benefit of gardening is that it clears the head.

Nigel successfully organised a public meeting with guest speaker, GIY Ulster Champion, Michael McEvoy that attracted over 20 people.

Read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-20856601

Author: Robert Smith