New Leaf Urban Farmers

New Leaf Urban Farmers Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from New Leaf Urban Farmers, ballinagarde, Ballyneety.

Two days left to sign up to our box scheme.Email: box scheme @gmail.com.More information? Link in bio ...
30/01/2025

Two days left to sign up to our box scheme.
Email: box scheme @gmail.com.
More information? Link in bio

5 days left to sign up. Link in bio.Or email us "box scheme": newleafurbanfarmers@gmail.com
27/01/2025

5 days left to sign up. Link in bio.
Or email us "box scheme": [email protected]

Agretti or Monk's Beard. A classic Italian green. Trialling later this year to see yields and overall growing habits. ...
21/01/2025

Agretti or Monk's Beard. A classic Italian green.
Trialling later this year to see yields and overall growing habits.

So, only 60 growers are left in Ireland (I think this may refer to larger-scale growers). There are a few market gardene...
19/01/2025

So, only 60 growers are left in Ireland (I think this may refer to larger-scale growers). There are a few market gardeners per county in Ireland.

However, what's most worrying is that we're not self-sufficient. A country that can't even feed its own people is not something to be taken lightly.
Wars, climate-change, man-made ecological degradation, etc, are changing how we grow food, and there is a certain over-reliance on countries like Spain, the Netherlands and Morocco to supply Europe with veg all year round.

What's even more worrying is our lack of foresight, an over-hedging of bets on dairy and beef exports. This has caused land to increase to bubble-like prices, allowing greater consolidation of enormous farms from only the wealthiest farmers.
It's a threat to our rural life and the country as a whole.

Change can only happen when people want change.

Ireland is blessed with a temperate climate. We can grow everything we need here. With changes in technology, fossil fuel is no longer needed in protected spaces unless one is operating at an industrial scale. Ground to air technology is fast becoming a more ecological and sustainable way to grow crops in protected spaces.

Small-scale agriculture should be the national mantra. It means people living in communities feeding those communities.

Please, when at a restaurant, cafe or hotel, be a pain and ask for local. Often, cafes and restaurants say they support local, but that usually means the local distributor who imports 99%. A small way to get the ball rolling. In supermarkets, as for local producers, if there are none there, ask why?

That's a small but effective way to make change and support local small-scale products.

New collection point update! Thanks a million to Dalton for the very generous gift of allowing us to use his place for ...
18/01/2025

New collection point update!

Thanks a million to Dalton for the very generous gift of allowing us to use his place for a collection points in the city centre. Dalton has been a great supporter of all things local and our business for a long time now!
So many thanks again, Dalton & Co.

Thanks, everyone. đź‘Ť

.ie

Had the pleasure of being invited down to GROW HQ to chat to Mick Kelly on their podcast to discuss growing food and, ...
17/01/2025

Had the pleasure of being invited down to GROW HQ to chat to Mick Kelly on their podcast to discuss growing food and, more importantly, Korean Natural Farming.
Had a lovely lunch in their no-waste cafe. If you haven't been, it's a great place for kids!
A big thank you to Caroline Hennessy for the invite and research!
Thanks, folks!

Delighted to have been given the opportunity by the University of Limerick's: Fields of Change Podcast: Cultivating Tom...
14/01/2025

Delighted to have been given the opportunity by the University of Limerick's: Fields of Change Podcast: Cultivating Tomorrow's Farm, to discuss all things Korean Natural Farming. If you are unfamiliar with Korean natural farming, this is a snapshot of what it entails and the rationale behind it. The cultivation of soil microbes is at the forefront of science and regenerative farming. It is a proven, worldwide methodology that encapsulates all what farmers should be striving for, independence, and significant input reductions. It covers the farming sectors: poultry, pig, dairy, beef, cereal, vegetable, fruit, and nut production. The beauty of KNF is that the microbes and their cultivation are about 80% of the methodology. Learn this, and your fields will change dramatically.

So we are halfway there. Thanks very much to everybody who has subscribed. With little to no food miles, super fresh and...
14/01/2025

So we are halfway there. Thanks very much to everybody who has subscribed.

With little to no food miles, super fresh and nutrient dense food produced ethically and, more importantly, locally, we are producing high-quality food that is safe and free from chemicals. Good for you and your family!

We need to start in the first week of February. So if you are thinking about joining but are unsure, drop us a line at: [email protected]

Thanks to Joanne Hunt from the Irish Times for the write-up. Most appreciated!It's nice for people to see what we do and...
04/01/2025

Thanks to Joanne Hunt from the Irish Times for the write-up. Most appreciated!
It's nice for people to see what we do and how we do it. How much work goes into our labour of love and how our new space is taking shape.
This is regenerative agriculture at its apex. There is a lot of discussion of what constitutes regenerative agriculture, but natural farming is a leading component of the movement. Poultry, pig, vegetable, fruit, nut, and berry production can be based upon it.
Even better, it can be scaled up from the home gardener to larger-scale operations.
Closed loop farming systems are the farms of the future, as costs of inputs and energy keep rising in an uncertain geopolitical world. We need to be mindful of these conditions and plan farming systems that are more robust and sustainable both in terms of ecology but also financially.
The general public also needs to be mindful of this. We need to support farmers directly. Ask your local farmer for produce. Buy as much as you can locally. That's the most concrete way to make change.

It's a new year, and new opportunities are arising. Really excited to bring new projects forward and finish the walled garden.

Seeding tunnel is almost complete. Have to install crop bars, misters, lights and possibly fans. All of which we already...
17/12/2024

Seeding tunnel is almost complete. Have to install crop bars, misters, lights and possibly fans. All of which we already have. Benches made from recycled beds plus two old benches we made back in 2017, I'd say.
The benches hold about 90 paperpot trays in total. That's about 270 standard sized trays' worth. That's the beauty of the paperpot system. You save so much space, compost, seed, vermiculite, and time transplanting.
Underneath, we can store pots, trays, seawater, Jadam Sulphur, and Jadam Wetting Agent.
The raised beds are 71cm wide and 50cm high. Filled with spil and topped off with compost and IMO4. Watered quite heavily to activate the microbes. Raised beds are 5.4m in length.

Top left corner is the seeding station and the opposite corner is the germination station. Dialling it in presently for each crop. But lettuce took 60 hours to germinate.i feel we can get it lower, but we'll see. But it's not bad for mid-winter. Evaporation rate is low with little pooling inside.

Seeding tunnel is almost done. Some crop bars, misters, and lights to install. I may add some fans that I have left over...
17/12/2024

Seeding tunnel is almost done. Some crop bars, misters, and lights to install. I may add some fans that I have left over from the old farm.
The benches are old bed frames and two benches we've had for years. They'll take around 90 paperpot trays in total, which is plenty for our needs right now.

Lots of pots and trays underneath as well as containers for seawater.
At the top end of the tunnel, we have the germination chamber to the right and the seeding station to the left. The raised beds are from the seeding station down to the other end of the tunnel. It measures 71cm wide and 50cm deep. 5.4m in length.

limerick

With a few more projects under our belt, we decided to think carefully about the use of space in the seeding tunnel. We ...
13/12/2024

With a few more projects under our belt, we decided to think carefully about the use of space in the seeding tunnel. We decided that 70cm either side will not be used to any great degree. So we decided to cut up a few pallets, use old nails we saved from old pallets we used at the former farm, and build this raised bed. The plastic floor was cut and allied.to the back wall to stop the soil from spreading everywhere. The front has landscape fabric (mypex).
Then added soil, compost, and a generous application of IMO4. Watered quite heavily and the covere with compost again.
We then added pallet to the tops to make the walls more sturdy. We can also use these as benches. Of we just cut up some ply or OSB.
This is for our melons for next year. They'll like the heat and humidity in here. We'll probably get 50 or so melon plants from an inefficient space. No cost. All recycled materials.

So we were given a mobile home bed last year. The moment I saw it, I thought of a project for it. That was a produce car...
04/12/2024

So we were given a mobile home bed last year. The moment I saw it, I thought of a project for it. That was a produce cart. Well, we'll make two, but that will come later. So we didn't spend a penny on this cart (it looks like it, too), but it can hold two very wet concrete blocks. Which is well over the 30kg required. It straddles a 1m bed.
This is enough to allow us to bring the cart as we harvest. So, a little time motion study (which is fascinating, I know), so let's say it takes 30 cuts with the greens harvester over a 1m x 30m bed. 6 beds per tunnel. That's approximately 5.5km, walking up and down per tunnel per person. That's nearly two hours of walking. But if you were to have the cart beside you, then the only walking would be to remove the totes when refilling. Multiply this on a weekly basis over the course of a season. It adds up.
Anyway, back to the cart, so we decided to add a few ribs made from pallets, as well as a central support, 3 x 2, for the wheels. The wheels need tyres. We'll, buy those.
The metal brackets were taken from a door frame (cast iron) on the old glass house we found buried in the soil. The other 2 x 1s were from the grow room, which in turn date back to 2016 when we used them as supports for outdoor tomatoes (never throw anything away).
We still have a lot of work to do on it, such as putting a waterproof floor and then painting it. All in good time. This has been a great time to do all these projects, which incrementally have knock-on effects in terms of creating efficiencies within the business while not spending a fortune. A smaller type cart goes for €700 approx. WE should have enough materials to build another one. But next on the list is making wooden produce crates from pallet wood.
I'll post more on that when it happens.

We're in discussions with retailers across Limerick City and county to establish drop-off points for our weekly veg boxe...
30/11/2024

We're in discussions with retailers across Limerick City and county to establish drop-off points for our weekly veg boxes. Not everyone can drive to Bruff, so we'll endeavour to find places to make it more accessible for people. Further updates in the following weeks.

At last... A dedicated workshop. No longer spending 20 or 30 minutes a day looking for tools, etc. It will house our han...
29/11/2024

At last... A dedicated workshop. No longer spending 20 or 30 minutes a day looking for tools, etc. It will house our hand tools. Plus, give us the space to be able to build things under cover in the warmth, with no rain or wind howling down on us.
The construction, again, is made from things we repurposed from materials previously used from other projects. The OSB board came from the walls of my grow room in Tunnel 1 from the last farm.
The frame is constructed from 6 x 3s (failed water tower project) and some 4 x 2s as ribs and corner braces. It is heavy....But it's very sturdy and should last a while.
It's taken a few days to sort the place out. A friend of mine gives me 5L white square tubs (scavenged from a local deli), and they'll be used for storing everything from irrigation parts to filters and bits and bobs.
Should be finished by early next week.

We have a few weeks left to clean the site and prepare the last few projects, which will give us a great start to next season.

The snow has turned the skies to winter. New signs are needed for the new season, but this slate was sawn and gauged by ...
21/11/2024

The snow has turned the skies to winter.
New signs are needed for the new season, but this slate was sawn and gauged by hand approximately 300 years ago. Makes you think of the craftsmen who quarried and finished them, and the skills honed over centuries.

#

New CSA veg box scheme for 2025. We're excited to announce a new CSA veg box scheme for 2025. It will run for 22 weeks (...
17/11/2024

New CSA veg box scheme for 2025.

We're excited to announce a new CSA veg box scheme for 2025. It will run for 22 weeks (JUNE-OCT)

Full details on website (link in bio).

Three different box sizes:

1. For people who just like salads and summer veg like cherry tomatoes, cucumbers etc.
2. For households between 2-4 people
3. For larger households of 5+ people

Fresh, super healthy, and nutrient dense seasonal veg that holds well and tastes above and beyond what large-scale supermarkets provide.

Meet and support local Irish farmers.

Community Supported Agriculture is just that. It helps small-scale farmers front load their season, helping with seeds costs, tools, and infrastructural projects to help improve our farm.
In return, you'll receive a veg box with weekly recipes from chef Keith Pigott ().

Limited to 50 places.

Collect either from our farm in Bruff or at one of our pick-up points in Limerick City. Pick-up points will be determined by location.

Address

Ballinagarde
Ballyneety
V94Y793

Telephone

+353868786047

Website

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Videos

Getting a lot of questions regarding my usage of woodchips. So to answer everybody as a collective here is a little clip of me discussing its usage on the farm... Finally, another reason to use woodchips is that you are covering the soil so nothing is left in the open. #marketgardening #gardening #naturalfarming #woodchips #soilhealth #knf #jadam #koreannaturalfarming #limerick #ballyneety

Water Soluble Calcium (WCA) interacting woth the vinegar. Free range eggs shells used. Will add to maintenance solution in a week or so. #koreannaturalfarmingireland #thisisirishfood #bialuimnĂ­ #marketgardening #limerick #bootatrapfarming #growyourown #naturalfarming #beyondorganic

#greens bubbler. First trial complete. Worked like a charm. Delighted. Will shave hours of work each week by freeing up two people to do other things while the mixed leaves are being washed and spun dry. Will show the complete setup soon. #thisisirishfood #marketgardeningtools #buildityourself #bialuimnĂ­ #eurotoquesireland #marketgardening #paperpot #irishfood #localproduce #limerickcity

#cucumbers, I purposely delayed plantings by a month to allow for the corona virus. Probably not the best idea but I'm happy they're healthy and beginning to produce. #thisisirishfood #bialuimnĂ­ #marketgardening #chemicalfree #cucumbers #limerick

@angarraiglas lads here isbthe video. Flat out busy so didn't edit. Have a look and see. It takes a bit of time to get used to it but it's a worthwhile purchase. Available from @elmerkoo at fruithill farm in cork. I'd get the semi automatic version. Not much in the price difference. #marketgardening #terrateck #bunchingtool #marketgardeningtools #eurotoques #thisisirishfood #irishfood #localfood

Heard about music in C minor helping grapes so why not tomatoes? Who doesn't love Mozart kid? Only the best for my tomatoes. Will be an interesting project. #thisisirishfood #classicalmusic #marketgardening #bialuimni #limerickfood #cherrytomatoes

#wirehoe in action. Really saw the engineering and practicality of this tool the moment I saw it. Does between the rows and in-row at the same time. Cutting the hoeing time in half. Three passes for a three row bed, four for a four row bed etc. Built by #Terrateck in France. I have a range of their tools and this one stands out as among their best. It's light and any one can use it once you get the hang of it. #thisisirishfood #bialuimni #terrateck #marketgardening #limerick #instagarden #weeding #hoeing #organicmethods #chemicalfreefarming #neighbourfoodlimerick

New irrigation system. I was impressed with my overhead sprinklers that I decided to buy the proper ones from fruithillfarm in county cork. It's probably the best in the country for market gardening supplies although it is a poorly served market in general. It's a sad reflection on how many people are in this sector in general. Big Ag, no financial grants or supports, cheap, below cost veg in lidl and aldi all contribute to making this a hard sector to survive in. But there a few of us around the country who beginning to change things around. We're demonstrating there is no comparison between veg grown #locally and cheap imported food that is full of chemicals and practically a week old. Moreover, we're using modern hand tools and innovations mixed with old knowledge to be streamline our businesses to make them more financially sustainable while not at the expense of the soil and ecology. In fact, we're doing the opposite. #thisisirishfood #bialuimni #limerickfood #atlanticedge #marketgardening #paperpot #instafood #instaveg #chemicalfree #limerick #neighbourfoodlimerick #giy

#graftedcherrytomatoes. Readying the bed for them. Have intercropped with dwarf French beans.I have changed the drip irrigation configuration. Outside line for the tomatoes are 13" or 33cm. The inside for the beans are 4"or 10cm. Each line has a shut off value, meaning you can accurately control the watering. Trying to transplant everything at the moment so it is difficult to for the time in the day to do everything. #thisisirishfood #bialuimni #limerickfood #neighbourfoodlimerick #atlanticedge #instaveg #chemicalfree #marketgardening #paperpot #instafood #growyourownfood #justgetonwithit

#paperpot transplanted spinach in my tunnel. I defy anyone who doesn't think this is a beautiful crop. The fantastic aspect to the paperpot is that this is three rows. I used to seed 5 rows then 4. But now using the paperpot system, my seed costs has dramatically reduced for spinach. I use 4 seeds per cell. Before using the heartbeat I was literally pouring seed in to the bed. The density was wrong which caused disease issues. Then I used the jang but with a short season here in spring and none in summer it gives me that 3 to 4 week head start every succession. Accurately spaced and proper seeding density results in fantastic, healthy and delicious spinach. All ready for #neighbourfoodlimerick #marketgardening #paperpot #thisisirishfood #limerick #atlanticedge #neighbourfood #spinach #growyourownfood #bialuimni #supportlocal #keepirishjobs

Has these overhead irrigation lines in my tunnels. Don't really use them so I did an experiment with reversing them and using a few bbq sticks to prop them up. Worked like a charm. Will refine tomorrow. #loveitwhenaplancomestogether #thisisirishfood #bialuimni #limerickfood #atlanticedge #marketgardening #neighbourfoodlimerick #growyourown

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