In Ireland we are completely over-reliant on food imported from abroad. Around 90-95% of the fruit we eat is imported. As an historian of the Emergency period (1939-45) I am familiar with the perilous situation that such over-reliance on outside trade can cause, particularly during periods of crisis. Back then, Dubliners had many more plots available to them - allotments containing beds for vegetables, south-facing fruit trees , herb beds and flowers.
These days, soil fertility relies on chemicals instead of long term care with manure and rotation. People are not aware of how to goabout growing their own vegetables. I am pushing for the council to make more land available for allotments in the area and to start an education scheme for interested children and adults that will not only provide practical gardening skills but demonstrate why self-sufficiency in food is suitable for a lower carbon, more resource-scarce future.
I am also in support of the growing Guerrilla Gardening Movement. There’s plenty of land earmarked for development lying idle and some of it is the sort of scrubby land ideal for growing beans and other crops.
A recent article by Mark McKeever in Town and Village Newspaper showed the satisfaction in growing one’s own vegetables in this part of Dublin – mange tout in stir-frys, beetroot with goat’s cheese, french beans in salads. Let’s get digging! And let’s get the council to actively support this drive!
