What a joy it was to work last Saturday in the Ballinfoile Mór Community Organic Garden.
We decided to give this year's Harvest Festival a 'Slow Food' theme and provide an array of dishes made from the
vegetables, fruits and herbs grown in our garden whilst encouraging
people to eat and to chat together.
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| Picking Plums in the garden |
Much work was done in advance by volunteers picking, collecting, cooking and baking the harvest produce.
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| Cepta picking berries from a hedgerow for tarts |
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| Myriam & Sohiela harvesting Sloe Berries |
It was a great success as hundreds
of people turned up!
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| Blackberry & Apple Tart |
The tarts, cakes, salads, jams and soups made in
advance were particularly popular as where the baked potatoes made onsite in our
outdoor oven. Michael Tiernan, Michael McDonnell and Jack O'Connor from Cumann na bhFear (Men's Shed) installed a traditional
open fire hearth complete with vintage black metal kettles and pots as
they brought people back into time to an Ireland of 100 years ago as
they served up mouth-watering bacon and cabbage, bread and tea
(loose tea leaves).
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| Times Past: Boiling Cabbage & Spuds on a traditional open fire |
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| Baking Potatoes in the Garden Oven |
Deasún Ó Seanain and Frances Brady gave us some lovely traditional Irish music seisiún, and Helen Caird had a sample of her lovely art work on display.
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| Mayor Donal Lyons with Anh & Hung from Vietnam |
Mayor Donal Lyons made a
lovely supportive speech and we were visited by other politicians
including councillors Anna Marley, Mairéad Farrell and Terry Flaherty (below).
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| Councillor Terry O'Flaherty has been a regular visitor to the garden over the years |
Community Food Gatherings
Locally grown organic food using old and new recipes to make mouth
watering dishes, salads, soups, desserts, tarts, jams, cakes and breads
that were presented in a communal neighbourhood gathering is a gel that
bring a community together.
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| Wildlife Food: Small Tortoise Butterfly enjoys an Oxide Daisy FLower in the Garden |
The event also allowed attendees to learn
and to appreciate the importance of the importance of biodiversity and of
how we need to nurture wildlife especially in an urbanised environment.
Last Saturday's event will be the first of many.
So thanks to the great team of garden volunteers (below) that made it all happen
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| A group of visitors from Sandyvale Lawn |
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| Visitors from the Insight Research Centre at NUI Galway |
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| Happy Hay Girls! Johanna & Bernie from Crestwood |
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