The first Fetac 3 Outdoor Crop Production horticulture course comes to an end this week at the School of Food in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny so it seems a good time to give you a peep into the vegetable garden.
This course is an absolute joy to teach and thanks to funding and support from Kilkenny Education Training Board, 16 adults have learned about growing food and creating a vegetable garden at the school. In the months to come chefs and cooks will be able to see the many different varieties of fruit and vegetables we’ve planted there, helping them to recognise some of their ingredients in their raw form, helping them to understand the seasonality of food, as well as appreciate the sublime flavours that can be experienced from food that’s picked fresh from a kitchen garden. As well as the regular varieties, lots of unusual, Andalusian vegetables have been planted in the garden thanks to Fitzgerald Nurseries who’ve supplied Yacon, Oca, Quinoa, Popcorn Fiesta corn and Sweet Potatoes to name a few.
I’ve been invited to facilitate more gardening courses at the School of Food over the coming months. If you’re interested in joining us and learning how to grow food in a practical environment but mixed with a touch of theory, contact the School of Food and register your interest or sign up for the Greenside Up newsletter and I’ll keep you posted about this and other courses and workshops coming up.
Dee Sewell – a horticulturalist and certified trainer who started Greenside Up in 2009 and teaches people how to grow vegetables. Dee specialises in working with community gardens but also offers workshops, allotment visits, consultations, horticultural therapy, afterschools clubs as well as local talks – she tailors her services to meet clients needs. In 2012 Dee launched a Seed Gift Collection containing varieties of vegetable and insect friendly flowers with the aim of getting more people growing. Dee’s blog was a finalist in the 2012 Ireland Blog Awards in the Eco/Green and Lifestyle Categories.
Source: GreenSideUp – Creating A Vegetable Garden at the School of Food, Thomastown – Dee Sewell
