FULLY BOOKED
Finally, a more relaxed week after spending months writing a guide about how to grow fruit and vegetables in a small garden and in containers. Trevor’s Kitchen Garden, it’ll be called, and my book is to be launched by my friend, the celebrated chef Neven Maguire.
Naturally I spent weeks in the garden and in the kitchen, but also at the desk doing pen-and-ink drawings for each chapter. There will be more than 60 such illustrations, as well as photographs of other keen kitchen gardeners, such as the former president Mary McAleese, the campaigner Erin Brockovich, and the celebrated chefs Richard Corrigan and Darina Allen. All told I’ve got 24 guest writers who grow food contributing their wisdom, including musicians, poets and horticultural experts such as Gerry Daly.
GONE TO SEED
Darina rings on Monday to discuss my evening talk to the East Cork Slow Food group in Ballymaloe. We agree on the importance of submitting objections to the Environmental Protection Agency over a Teagasc plan that risks undermining Ireland’s GM-free wholesome food-producing status. Teagasc is applying to grow GM potatoes in Co Carlow. The deadline for objections to the EPA in Wexford is March 27 (same day as my book launch).
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Since losing my seat in last year’s election, I’ve continued working to make Ireland more resilient in the face of international volatility by improving food security.
So for example I attend a meeting of the charity Schools Environmental Education Development (Seed) on Monday in Dublin. This is a network of organic centres which provide practical help for schools to establish gardens and grow healthy food. All the royalties from my book will be going to help Seed centres.
GROWING STRONG
I meet Grow-It-Yourself (GIY) Balbriggan to organise a float, or rather a hand-cart, of home-grown fruit and veg to push in the St Patrick’s Day parade. We also agree to produce flyers to advertise our event, What Grows Well in Balbriggan?, a free talk and demo in the town hall this week.
On Thursday afternoon I walk the parade route through Balbriggan with town council cathaoirleach Gráinne Maguire, and I judge the bedecked festive shop windows on which has the best displays using the Irish language. The winner, Wishes Gift Shop, was presented with Corn Shéamuis Ennis yesterday after the parade. The large trophy will look well in their bilingual shop-window display.
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The monthly meeting of the Fingal Greens is on Thursday in the Lord Mayor’s pub in Swords. Always a lively, sociable evening, we agree a calendar of guest speakers for the year ahead. Here in Dublin North, we envy Green party groups that still have councillors, such as Kilkenny, Louth, Clare and Wexford.
The Greens began as a campaigning party and there is still much campaigning to be done. We get stuck in when river clean-ups and tree-planting events are organised by Tidy Town groups. Members are involved in fighting against a plan for a monster sewage-treatment plant in Fingal, and we lobby for more localised, low energy, ecological and cheaper options, such as reed-bed sewage treatment plants.
GREEN DAY
As it’s a holiday weekend, like many others I’m taking the opportunity to prepare the garden for the growing season ahead. After teaching Sunday School and serving refreshments after church, the Mother’s Day dinner will be the high point. However, for the rest of Sunday and holiday Monday, my GIY champion girlfriend Aine and I will tackle outstanding jobs in the garden, where the “green shoots of recovery” are certainly more tangible than in the global economy.
After that, we look forward to relaxing over a meal using some ingredients from the garden, especially salads, garlic, purple sprouting broccoli and beetroot. I’ve been growing my own food for years now and find it a great source of pleasure — nourishing for body, mind and spirit.
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Trevor’s Kitchen Garden, published by Orpen Press, will be launched at Hodges Figgis on Dawson Street, Dublin on March 27 at 7.15pm. See trevorskitchengarden.ie.