Rich 2.0's Page

i really want to end up with an organic fruit and veg and wild herb farm, but have also realized that the veg on its own, in the quantities that i am able to grow, is really time demanding and doesnt really  bring that much profit in, from what ive observed... people at the markets in dingle are really more interested in prepared foods and value-added products and are willing to pay a bit more for them than for the straight veg.  so i dont know if the farm would be profitable, but id be thrilled to be able to mostly feed myself off of it.  i still think fruit is going to be tricky though.  there was a guy on a gardening forum that grew a TON of goji berry plants from a pack of dried berries from the shop. not sure how he made out with them, but goji will grow in a wide range of climates.  not a fruit, but jerusalem artichoke will grow well too.

fruit you cant do all year probably, but greens you can.  there are particular greens that grow ok in cold weather or even prefer it, and alot of things will keep over the winter with some protection if they are already grown. but alot of these are things like kale, broccoli, etc which wouldnt be that helpful to you if you avoid these types of greens/veg like a lot of 811ers do... ive heard you can grow melons in tunnels and stuff by using compost trenches that provide heat from the rotting compost right below the melons. dunno.

aw, SO JEALOUS that you have land in cork ;p . ive been trying to buy land in dingle for a year or two now, but they still think they are gonna get a billion dollars an acre (ok exaggerating, but yanno), for holiday homes to be built on it like they were doing in the holiday housing boom.  SO frustrating as i feel like i would love any patch of land i could get my hands on better than someone who would sell it off to a holiday homebuilder...

i have SOME experience in ireland, but only a few years and a lot was trial and error.  growing up, my parents had about 4 acres in Massachusetts that they grew on to sell at farmers markets.  So i have a bit of a clue, but dingle is different and the lack of heat there means so many things you cant grow outside, tomatoes basil peppers, aubergine, melons etc, all of which thrived back in massachusetts.  there is a lady in dingle who says she has a lemon tree that she wraps in bubble wrap in the winter though or something...and that it produces fruit..so thats promising.  ive focused a lot on the wild plants available there like nettle, chickweed, sea beet etc.  the lack of fruit really saddens me though :(  i know you can do strawberries but ive seen those even be hard to do. im wondering about blueberries...i know there are wild ones growing in the dublin mountains...

i spent a few days down in sneem with this guy who does alot of wild edibles and foraging as well as growing, and lives in a bus... it was cool and i learned alot...he wants to put up one of those domes but they are about 50,000.  theres alot on the pfaf.org website too. checkit out if  you havent yet.

anyhow, i have to do a year of study in rome to do my phd work... dying to get back to ireland but really need the land to come through and now the money i had save is gone to pay for school :(  so back to square 1.

hey--was just reading your comments in the "conspiracy" thread about hoping on day to be able to grow your own food.... im curious if you think thats possible in ireland... ? although with the earthship homes and stuff it looks like you can grow even bananas in them and stuff... anyhow, im hoping to do something similar, in dingle, when i return from my studies in rome.   i can see how some of it would be possible for me--but im just vegan and high raw, not 811...