Exciting times in schools gardens throughout Derry-Londonderry this week as the first harvests of Lumper potatoes started as part of the Living Heritage Project which was launched in April with Chef Emmett McCourt of Irish Food Heritage Project and Glens of Antrim Potatoes
This project saw 12 schools throughout the Maiden City grow a bed of these heritage potatoes, this will be followed with some heritage cookery from Chef Emmett.
Harvesting in St Pauls Primary, Slievemore some of the gardeners from St Pauls
showing off their ‘lumpy’ potatoes
harvesting and picking lumper some of the gardeners from St Therese
potatoes in St Therese Primary Lenamore showing off their mad looking spuds!
The kids so far have been amazed at the shape of the Lumper potatoes….they just can’t get over how crazy they look…and I know the’re lookign forward to the cooking part of the project with chef Emmett. We have more harvesting take place throughout the city over the next week so lots of pics will be added as we go.
For more on the planting of the Lumper Potatoes throughout the city see here.
Gareth Austin is a Community focused Horticulturist based in Derry-Londonderry and voice of Gardening on the Mark Patterson Show on BBC Radio Foyle. Gareth specialises in Community horticulture, offering a wide range of events, programmes and acitivity on engaging people in the exciting world of Horticulture. Gareth lectures in Horticulture in the North West Regional College and offers school horticulture programs through the Western Education + Library Board. Gareth is passionate about changing land-use to a more positive use, urban food production and showcasing the flora of county Derry through the City of Horti-Culture programme of events.
