SCHOOLS, GARDENS AND THOSE PESKY 67 MILLION BIRDS

There is something just right about organic and gardening. Organic and gardening seem to go together like crackers and cheese, or laurel and hardy.

Add school children into the mix, and organic almost becomes de rigeur. This probably says a lot about societies' impression of children as innocent little bundles of delicate joy, as well as the very real physiological developmental differences between children and adults.

For example, it is easier now to get organic babyfood than conventional, and even conventional babyfood has severe ingredient restrictions which make it closer to organic anyway.

On the home page of Bord Bia's website, there is a link to an organic gardening for primary schools initiative. This features a complimentary DVD available to primary schools to equip them with the knowledge and ability to build, develop and maintain an organic garden within existing school grounds.

Students can learn how to grow healthy foods, understand plant life and the importance of seasonality. The garden can also be used to explain concepts such as water cycle, biodiversity, composting and other related areas.

This initiative began in February 2008, when four different schools had their progress recorded over an 18 month period. The schools, two in Dublin, one in Kildare and one in Louth, were assisted by a team of organic experts.

Children from all classes were involved in the project and the DVD demonstrates the children�s involvement in creating a garden. The focus was different in the different schools � for example very little development of a school garden had taken place in the Holy Trinity School in Donaghmede, Dublin, while the school in Prosperous, Kildare had a well developed garden in place and the focus here was in enhancing it. This involved an insect hotel and improving their composting facilities.

While this is impressive enough, the fact is that for the last two years, about 2000 schools have, to varying degrees, been involved in mostly organic gardening anyway.

Both agri-aware's meet the spuds and incredible edibles involved schoolchildren planting and maintaining school gardens. None of the instructions involved any agri-chemicals. Schools I visited over those two years certainly developed their gardens organically.

Over in the White House, Michelle Obama has had school children gardening organically too. Her aim is educational: �My hope is that through children, they will begin to educate their families and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities� according to Obama.

Sniffing a PR disaster, The MidAmerica CropLife Asociaton wrote a slightly bizarre letter to the First Lady, outlining the importance of conventional agriculture.

Some of the claims are entertaining. The letter implies that organic garden is a rejection of the kind of farming that has help the US lead the world in �the advancement of science, communication, education, medicine, transportation and the arts�.

Interesting too is the claim that �sophisticated Global Positioning Systems can be specifically designed for spraying pesticides. A weed detector equipped with infrared light identifies specific plants by the different rates of light they reflect and then sends a signal to a pump to spray a preset amount of herbicide onto the weed.�

Less militaristically, the letter also claims that �agricultural land provides habitat for 75% of the nation's wildlife.�

Yet somehow at least 67 million birds die immediately as a direct result of pesticide applications in farming in the US every year.

In fact, this figure is considered conservative, as it does not include indirect bird deaths: �birds that perish after a period of illness, that die after feeding on poisoned insects, rodents, or other prey, or losses due to failed reproduction� according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Hardly the most precise use of biocides, or the most benign way to provide a habitat.

From Pennsylvania Avenue to Prosperous County Kildare, in the battle between holistic nature studies and scientific surgical strikes, it seems that the former is winning out.

After all, 67 million dead birds can't be wrong.

300 plants in an organic garden: Lissadell

I've been away for a while guys...back once again....

�The staff tell me there�s over 300 plant varieties here, but I haven�t had time to count� laughs Dermot Carey, head gardener in Lissadell House, Sligo.

Dermot is busy but happy. He comes from a growing background, and has grown all over the world. But here, in the walled 2 � acre Victorian walled garden in Lissadel, he�s in his element.

Walking around the garden, it would be suprising if I wasn�t surprised by some of the things I encounter. First up, 29 varieties of lettuce. Not herbs and lettuce, just lettuce. 9 different types of Basil. I sampled the Lemon Basil, and it�s extraordinarily flavoursome.

Black peppers � not pepper as in salt and pepper, but peppers; heritage potatoes sourced from David Langford, who grows 160 varieties in his garden, and once had a man drive from Belgium to deliver a single spud variety to him in Mayo. Dermot and David were both out in the Organic Centre for a Slow Food event recently, tasting native black bee wild flower honey. These people know and grow good food.

Back to Lissadell. Dermot comes from a large scale conventional vegetable growing background. His father grew 100 acres of vegetables in north county Dublin. His mother worked in the Dublin vegetable market, the wholesalers in Smithfield in the north inner city, which is where they met.

Perhaps because of this large scale vegetable growing background in county Dublin Dermot is also convinced of the benefits of technology in organic farming: �organic farmers, to supply more people with a consistent supply of vegetables, need to embrace technology, in the way people like Philip Drapier does�.

Philip Drapier is a field-scale organic vegetable grower in Offaly.

The aforementioned Organic Centre has sent its students out to Dermot to see how it should be done. Dermot is also converting the garden to organic.

Dermot has grown vegetables all over the world. And everywhere he�s grown, things have worked out well.

He�s grown in the US, on the Aran Islands, and in an T�irseach. In an T�irseach he established the Dominican nun�s gardens in Wicklow town, who supply a range of regional farmers� markets, who grow biodynamically and hold seminars on spirituality.

�The garden is divided into four sections, each of which is further subdivided into four sections. That�s how the Victorians would have done it. Except for this bit; this section is fairly wild, more like nature�, he says, pointed to a spectacular, sunflower- laden section.

Everything looks and tastes fantastic. Even the weather this summer didn�t destroy the garden: �some of the crops are wet weather crops�, according to Dermot.

But how does this 300 plant garden make money? �It�s a demonstration garden, so people do tours, and Lissadel is a major Tourist attraction. It�s also a kitchen garden for the restaurant here�.

Lissadell House is one of the north west�s biggest tourist attractions: the house itself, the restaurant and the 400 acre grounds all draw in an array of visitors.

Along with this, Dermot has let his products speak for themselves. �I�ve brought chefs from local hotels and restaurants out here, like Brid Torrades from Osta wine bar and the Atrium cafe, walked them around and given them a box of vegetables to take home with them, They�ve become my biggest customers.�

�I�ve also gone to my customers in January with a seed catalogue, and asked them what they wanted me to grow. It�s a buyer�s market.�

So how does your garden grow? By knowing your market, selling directly, combining demonstration and retailing, having a lineage and a vision, and, perhaps most of all, having 300 varieties of expertly-grown plants. At least, that�s how Dermot�s garden grows.