What happened at the last meeting?
For anyone who wasn't able to make the meeting, here's an idea of what went on.
We would encourage anyone attending the meetings in McClure's to buy a drink from the bar during the evening - not because we all want to get drunk, but Mickey very kindly allows us use of the facilities for free (and one orange juice won't hurt!)
We would encourage anyone attending the meetings in McClure's to buy a drink from the bar during the evening - not because we all want to get drunk, but Mickey very kindly allows us use of the facilities for free (and one orange juice won't hurt!)
November 2010 Meeting Report
Present ; Michael, Therese, Mary, John, Jenny, Rick, Noel and Liam.
At the October meeting we had some home grown Halloween food which everyone enjoyed.
There was a discussion on the growing year just past, what was successful and what was not.Everyone agreed it was a good year for soft fruit and tomatoes.
There was a long discussion regarding the possibility of a market in the Colgan Hall which the group would set up and support. There would need to be a committee set up to organise this. Would it be produce only or a mixture of other items?
John will find out from Jeannette at the Colgan Hall about insurance for this. IRDL will fund advertising, stalls and equipment.
Mary is doing some research about food and has traced baked beans from their origins in China.
Noel told us about getting pigs and about the regulations for keeping them
Mary will see if Stan McWilliams will give a talk on wind energy.
We need to change around the jobs in the group. Liam said he is happy to keep on looking after the Library.
We need someone to take a turn at being Chairperson and Sec.
There was a discussion about having a Christmas meeting with some food . Dec 23rd was suggested which may be too near Christmas or it could be the Thurs between Christmas and New Year. An e-mail will be sent to ask people what they prefer.
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April 2010 Meeting Report
This month's meeting consisted of a talk on community gardening by Bev Doherty and a showing of the DVD 'Wild Wellied Women' a documentary on a group of women from Fermanagh and Leitrim who are learning to be self sufficient.
Before the showing there was a discussion on what everyone is doing in the garden now, the highs, the lows, more lows...
Most people reported a huge increase in leatherjackets in their gardens this year. Some have lost whole sections of lawn and young seedlings are being eaten before they get a chance to take root.
There is a nematode available online from the Nemaslug company.
If the problem is really bad, and there are leatherjackets above the ground, Pyrethrum will kill them, although being a contact poison, it will also kill anything else that happens to be there too, including bees and ladybugs which are beneficial.
Bev brought basil seedlings to show the group. Some had done really well and others were very small and yellow. She wondered what was causing this. It's been known to happen in polytunnels as well and may be a very small parasite, invisible to the eye, although no one was completely sure.
The frost has done a lot of damage to everyone's seedlings. The courgettes, cucumbers and tomatoes are worst hit.
Vincent said that his new Chillington Hoe has changed his life!
Mary from Greenhill farm said she would put up a testimonial on the GHF website.
Everyone noticed that there are more dandelions than normal everywhere. Although they look colourful they have very long roots and are almost impossible to get rid of. The cold winter probably suited them, this is why there are so many.
Paddy McCartney's 2 day event takes place this weekend, May 8th & 9th from 2 – 6 pm. It's a fundraiser for the Irish seedsavers and Self Help Africa, admission €5. All welcome.
Noel is promoting a Summer Fair in Greencastle which takes place on May 29th. The organisers are looking for stallholders selling home produce, be it food, art or craft.
For more information see poster on the BLOG page.
As was expected, there was some discussion of the proposed prospecting licences for gold in Inishowen.
From the point of view of anyone who wants to protect Inishowen's environment, this is a bad idea. Once gold or any other gem is discovered, the next step is application for mining licences. At this stage, the prospectors know there's something worth digging for and they will be harder to stop, so hopefully the objections raised now will help to keep them from finding out if there's anything there in the first place. We will know how the department decided shortly.
Bev talked about how community gardening is sweeping the world. In the US and Canada there are now over 18,000 community gardens and this figure is growing fast. A similar growth is being seen in England, and Ireland, as always, is slowly following their lead.
The Green Party have launched a 'get Ireland growing' campaign, although, to be fair, it's more a Trevor Sargent 'get Dublin and the South-East growing' effort. They do include Rossinver on the site.
The DVD was interesting. Based around funded training given to carefully hand-picked women from the South Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo and Fermanagh areas, and featuring interviews with the trainers and trainees on their views and progress, it shows how these women have developed into a sound co-operative group, who come together occasionally to cook and develop new skills to help them be self sufficient. The DVD is available to borrow now from Bev, but there will be a copy available from the IOG library shortly.
Next meeting thurs. May 27th. Speaker to be arranged.
March 2010 Meeting Report
There was a good turnout at the meeting in McClure's bar on Thursday night.
Some of the members brought along bulbs and seedlings to share.
Bev Doherty said she attended a sourdough baking course in the Organic Centre in Rossinver which was very good. While there she picked up an information pack and short DVD about a group of women in the Leitrim area who are learning to grow and cook wholefoods. They call themselves the 'Wild Wellied Women'. We might play the DVD at the next meeting.
John Reilly announced that Greenhill Farm will be taking a stall at the North West Garden Show which takes place in Castlefin on May 29th & 30th 2010.
Paddy McCartney is holding a fundraising event for the Irish Seedsavers Assoc on May 8th & 9th. We will have more information on the blog page later.
Tony Kearney announced that he will be launching his latest book entitled 'Boo' in the Donagh Cafe on April 17th. He also recommends a film called 'Earth Whispers'. We may organise a public showing of this later in the year.
Some of the members brought along bulbs and seedlings to share.
Bev Doherty said she attended a sourdough baking course in the Organic Centre in Rossinver which was very good. While there she picked up an information pack and short DVD about a group of women in the Leitrim area who are learning to grow and cook wholefoods. They call themselves the 'Wild Wellied Women'. We might play the DVD at the next meeting.
John Reilly announced that Greenhill Farm will be taking a stall at the North West Garden Show which takes place in Castlefin on May 29th & 30th 2010.
Paddy McCartney is holding a fundraising event for the Irish Seedsavers Assoc on May 8th & 9th. We will have more information on the blog page later.
Tony Kearney announced that he will be launching his latest book entitled 'Boo' in the Donagh Cafe on April 17th. He also recommends a film called 'Earth Whispers'. We may organise a public showing of this later in the year.
Siobhan demonstrates how to sow wheatgrass
The talk by Darina was very interesting. Having been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2006 and undergone Chemotherapy at the age of 24, Darina was very keen that she should never suffer this again. Her research into alternative treatments brought her to the Hippocrates Institute in Florida where she and her mother Siobhan have done courses and learned all about the benefits of juicing and wholefood consumption.
The theory is simple, we all carry cancer cells in our bodies, but our diet of over-processed foods means that some of us can no longer fight the cells and keep them from taking over.
Eating fresh fruit & veg has been proven to help by introducing more oxygen into the bloodstream and making it difficult for the cancer cells to multiply. A one ounce shot of wheatgrass juice is equivalent in strength to 2.5 lbs of green leafy vegetables, so it makes sense that this should be a great help to anyone with low immunity, but the juice also has other healing properties too.
The downside (yes, there's a downside!) of using wheatgrass is that once the juice is pressed from the grass, it only holds onto it's amazing properties for 15 minutes before the surrounding air begins to break it down. That is why the big multinational chemical companies aren't interested in selling it to you, and people who use wheatgrass must learn to grow it themselves.
Darina has promised to send more information and it will be available online as soon as possible.
