This week Highland Radio looked at the importance of growing your own local produce
Background into community gardens
- Community Gardens Ireland (CG Ireland), an organisation that was created in 2011 as an online support network.
- Currently in Donegal there are over 20 community gardens
- The community gardens aim to promote nature and the environment, sustainability, food education and food health.
- One of their values is to encourage all member community gardens to follow organic principles and protect biodiversity, promoting good environmental practice and awareness.
The importance of local produce for the environment
- Local food doesn’t have to travel as far, this will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and plays a part in improving our carbon footprint.
- Supporting local means this will benefit the local economy, including supporting local farmers and other producers.
- It encourages sustainable agriculture, and facilitates tracking the supply chain back to the point of origin to evaluate ecological practices.
Tips for starting your own garden
- Start small, whether it’s a container or a raised bed; give yourself and your garden time to grow.
- Plant what you would like to eat, this saves waste and also plant what is easily maintained.
- Make sure you have a water source as near as possible to your vegetable plants.
- Start a compost heap and make sure your compost bin or heap is easily accessible to both your garden and kitchen.
Here’s a few websites if you want to know more!
- https://donegalcgnblog.wordpress.com/ – Donegal Community Gardens
- https://giy.ie/ – Get Ireland Growing
- https://www.quickcrop.ie/ – Quick Crop – Garden Experts
https://cgireland.org/ – Community Gardens Ireland
