Peas in the Pod

Kitchen garden at Grange Primary School in Sligo - on the go for 2 years now. Called by briefly to take pics of their summer harvest for a short article I'm writing. Ended up standing behind their stall at the North Sligo Agricultural Show (after a quick break harvesting chickweed, kale, and other assorted greens from friend P's garden, which she whizzed up in her Vitamix with alaria seaweed into a fabulous green smoothie...we are all moving towards raw here, slowly but surely). It was a surreal day, and a 30 min job turned into 8 hours, but huge fun.

The pupils won Best Tray of Organic Veg and also won the '3 Peas in a Pod' comp. Such a cute name for a competition. Great to see the kids getting their hands in the soil. Sad to see all the white flour victoria sponges and sugary jams though.

Agricultural shows are an utterly bizarre but strangely wonderful part of Irish life.

Horses for courses

A demonstration of farrowing with the finest French horses, Leitrim style. It is many years since equine power on the farm was dislodged by the tractor, and whilst working the land with horses may be seen as the domain of the eccentric, organic farming is no stranger to being ahead of the times in reintroducing traditional techniques with a contemporary twist. Rising oil costs and the desire to return to more sustainable farming methods may see horses back in vogue.

Mr Cronin and his son got stuck into the main field at the Organic Centre with their Percheron mares.The full story behind the Percheron breed is unknown, only that the horses from Le Perche in France were bred with Arab stallions to create a horse of fierce reputation in the 17th Century. They became the most popular farm horse in the US in 19th C. In Ireland of course, it's always been the Irish Cob traditionally used.

Apparently in the UK and US a new rehab therapy for young offenders uses horses on the land. These bold ones learn to build up a trusting relationship with the animals; they cannot be rushed and simply will not respond to violence or inconsistent treatment. A mutually respectful bond emerges.

Tractors are often massively overpowered for smaller farming jobs – cracking the nut with the proverbial sledgehammer – particularly secondary horticulture tasks. Horses can be brought in to plough even when the ground is wet and they offer a more shallow plough so it is better for the soil. A combination of horse and tiller can also be used to prepare beds. 'Fuel' costs per horse per year consist of around 3 acres of rough ground and an acre of hay.