Arigna Natural Gardens

9 meals away from anarchy (3 days food), is a topic first mooted by Lord Cameron of Dillington, a farmer, who was the first head of the Countryside Agency in England.  The theory is that if someone misses 9 meals they will revert to barbaric behaviour to feed themselves and their families. In Ireland  three-quarters of our food is bought from only 4 supermarkets chains. Not a healthy situation. Sad too, for a country that once grew a vast amount of our own food to be now dependant on 90% of  fruit and veg imported. EU policy makers have ensured that our once thriving sugar industry was shut down. The factories were dismantled and are working perfectly well in Israel and Poland. A country that is not in charge of it’s own food supply is a much disempowered nation.

Home-saved bean seeds.

A sudden shutdown in oil supplies would cripple Ireland’s ability to feed it’s people. The Icelandic volcano which stopped flights last year came very near to causing a food crisis here and in England. Oil prices are rising rapidly, this will in turn increase food prices. So, where is the light at the end of this gloomy tunnel? It is in seeds, the land, ourselves. This trinity is the key to claiming back the power over our food. Plant, plant plant. Whether it be in pots, in your garden or even some waste ground, plant the seeds of your liberty. Food security is a big step towards independence. If you are starting from scratch only buy open-pollinated seed varieties. Seeds from these can then by home-saved year on year. Good suppliers of  Irish grown seeds include Irish Seed Savers in Scariff, Co. Clare and Brown Envelope Seeds based in Co. Cork.

Irish Seed Savers parcel.

 A lot of the crops we grow here in Arigna are from seeds we have being saving for 10 years or more. Don’t just plant Summer crops. Crops like Kale, Leeks, Chard, Oriental Salads and Swedes, to name but a few, can be harvested throughout the Winter. Whilst it’s nice to have crops like Lettuce and Tomatoes in the Summer when the growing is easy, we need to take the long view and provide for the Winter table too. Seeds which are home-saved acclimatise to the area they are grown in providing strong plants able to deal with the particular soil and weather conditions. We also have our own milk, from the goats, and last year Andy got 26lbs of honey from the bees. All around us people are saying how they got no honey and that their bees are dying. Thankfully, we have had no such problems, probably because Andy’s beekeeping motto is “least interference, the bees know what they’re doing.”