This is a summer plea…

by Kenneth Keavey

In our 18 years of growing food, the last 12 months have presented some of the biggest challenges we have ever faced. We have experienced the most difficult growing period in our history with relentless wet and dark weather.   

Our harvest this year has been delayed, and whilst last year at this stage we were harvesting nearly a quarter of a tonne of cherry tomatoes a week, this year we have plenty of fruits on the plants but no red ones, and we are now heading for a month behind schedule. There is little doubt that the changing climate is making it more and more difficult to produce good quality food consistently in the relatively short season we have.    Adding to the challenges (and this one was of our own creation) was the launch of our new website IT system that brought us to our knees nearly 3 months ago now. We have worked through most of the issues and the experience you as a customer will have now, compared to three months ago, will be much improved.

If you would like to listen to my little story this week from one of our fields CLICK HERE!

The initial start of the growing season costs on our organic farm: seeds, plants, fertiliser (organic), compost, contractors and labour are high, before you harvest even one bean. All of this is necessary to make the food in the fields happen.   All of this can generally keep going once the music doesn’t stop and there is enough money in the pot to pay for all the costs and increases in wages and all the other general business costs we face. In most years our farm spends 6 months accruing debt and the next 6 months paying that debt off through harvest. This harvest although somewhat delayed for certain crops this year begins in July, and this then, becomes our critical month for starting to make some inroads for paying bills and getting our house in order.   It should not be a surprise to us that our sales drop in July as everybody takes a much-needed break from routines and goes on holidays (but for some reason we always think this year will be different!). Unfortunately, this coincides with our farm’s and our other Irish farmers bumper harvests too.    So, we find ourselves with our harvest rolling in from the fields, with gorgeous kales, cabbage, cucumber and courgettes, salad, lettuce and the first broccoli starting next week from our own farm.  Scallions, spinach, fennel (from Enda Hoban), beetroot, and leeks from Beechlawn Organic Farm, ruby chard, parsley and spinach from Millhouse Farm, cucumbers and courgettes from Joe Kelly, the first new season Irish potatoes are arriving from John Larkin this week too and much more.   It is a double downturn for us, as our costs go up and our sales go down. Anybody will tell you this is not a good way to run a business.   So, as we head into the season, I would ask you to please if you have not restarted ordering with us again if you can at all to please do so. Or if there is any way you could tell a friend, or maybe set up a repeat subscription for the weeks you are here, or order a charity box, or bring your order with you if you are holidaying in Ireland then that would and does make a massive difference. 
It keeps us viable; Instead of buying your produce in the supermarket, can you support us instead? It keeps the very best healthiest food on your table. Our team in customer service are on hand to answer all your questions 9am – 3.30pm, 5 days per week and they are more than happy to help in any way they can.   So, this is a plea, a plea to ask you to order next week if you can, if you haven’t come back to us yet and you can now it would make a massive difference.
As always thank you for your support. Kenneth   PS  Check out our IRISH SECTION HERE

And a Garda knocked on our door…

by Kenneth Keavey

Imagine it was less than 20 years ago when somebody erecting a polytunnel in the west of Ireland was looked upon with mild suspicion.

Or so it seemed as we were eating our dinner one night and we had a visit from the local Garda: “what are you growing out there?” “Do you mind if I take a look around?” he was of course referring to the polytunnel. I am sure the pepper and aubergine plants and even the tomatoes would have looked foreign to him, and of course they would have. Where else would you see these plants growing, certainly not in the West of Ireland, not since the supermarkets stepped in and went on a rampage of destroying our industry. Anyway, we showed him around and alleviated whatever concerns he may have had…. If you would like to listen to my little story this week from one of our fields CLICK HERE!
The second interesting occurrence, well to be fair there were many on this journey, but on this instance again it was a recommendation by a well-meaning neighbour. He could not believe, just could not get his head around, why we were not using Roundup and his advice was “just a touch of Roundup, here and there will sort you out”. Well, that was never going to happen, there is little doubt though considering we were fighting with a field covered in “scutch grass” that it would have made our lives so much easier. 
It is hard to fathom how the discovery of Roundup revolutionised farming, it found its way into every aspect of farming, from grass reseeding to tillage to horticulture and to many older farmers it must have seemed like a miracle.   All that hard work of weed control was suddenly controlled out of a can, it was easy and it was safe they were told.  It was like the iphone of weed control, it really did change everything. Or maybe a more likely analogy would be the heroin of the drug world. Because once farmers started using it, there was no going back, and whole systems were established around its use. You had to keep using. And of course, people then forgot that there were once other ways and we were not always reliant on an armoury of chemicals to mark our stamp of control on the natural world to grow our food.
Never mind the bees, or the insects, or the myriads of plants that support life, all of that was cleared away in the name of a new efficient chemical controlled system. So that is where we are today, that is our food system, and the precarious nature of this production is never really revealed. It doesn’t take much to mess up our food supply. Roundup for all its perceived benefits has bred even here in Ireland super weeds that cannot be controlled and are more rampant, they have evolved to not be susceptible to the chemical anymore. 
Anyway, I think of that Garda sometimes, and I think of all the good things, and all the positive change that has occurred and all of the support, and all of the awareness that you good people have and I feel in earnest that things have improved. Nobody looks with suspicion anymore, I think in fact more and more people understand that relationship between our food, our planet and our health. They are all interlinked. Afterall, we have only one life, one body, one planet, one shot at doing things right, and don’t we owe it to our selves to take care of it all, and if we do one thing isn’t it worth leaving the world just a little better each day by the actions we take.
Not saying it’s easy, or we get it right all the time, but that is what we try and put into action every day.
Thank you for your support.
Kenneth PS We are seeing our orders drop as the summer kicks in, if you can at all don’t forget about us, now we are getting right into the the very best Irish product of the season, we will be harvesting broccoli at the end of next week, and hopefully the first of our own tomatoes. Check out our IRISH SECTION HERE

Plant Powered Pasta – One Pot – Vegan

by Lou Robbie

When the veg box is brimming with beautiful colourful veg it’s so great to roast up a pot or tray with diced (veg) plants for a delicious nutritious summer pasta supper.

Our family schedule is jam packed this summer with work and holidays, summer camps and playdates. One pot meals are fantastic. Adding lots of organic vegetables to your meals gives everyone a healthy boost that’s needed to get through the busy day.

Make the most of the plants in your veg box this week.

Lou x

Ps The roast bulb of garlic can be added to the pasta or used to mix into butter for your bread.

Ingredients: serves 4

  • olive oil
  • 12 x cherry tomatoes (250g), quartered
  • ½ courgette, diced 1cm
  • ½ red pepper, diced 1cm
  • 2 small sweet potato, diced 1cm
  • 1 red onion, diced 1cm
  • 1 bulb garlic, top cut off exposing the cloves
  • 300g dried spaghetti or any pasta
  • 750ml hot veg stock
  • 2 tablespoons tomato puree
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • To serve:
  • 3 tablespoons butter, softened (50g)
  • seedy bread toasted
  • basil leaves

Method:

Step 1: Preheat the oven 200ºC. Chop and prepare all the veg. Using a wide pot or deep tray add the diced onions, cherry tomatoes, red pepper, sweet potato, courgette and bulb of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and put it in the oven to roast for 30 minutes. Checking half way through, add more oil to the garlic if needed.

Step 2: Make the hot veg stock in a jug and stir in the tomato puree. When the veg is roasted put the roast garlic to one side. Make a space in the middle of the pot for the pasta then pour over the hot tomato stock. Put a lid on the pot if you have one, or cover with foil and either return the pot to the oven for 30-40 minutes or cook on the hob on a medium heat until the pasta is cooked.

Step 3: Make the roast garlic butter. Wait until the garlic is cool enough to handle then squeeze out the cloves of garlic and mash into the butter.

Step 4: Toast the seedy bread and spread it with the roast garlic butter, serve with a bowl of plant powered pasta and some fresh basil leaves.

This is still happening today, is it not time it stopped?

by Kenneth Keavey

When we started our farm and business it was with the aim of keeping chemicals out of our food chain. Chemicals applied enmasse out in nature destroy biodiversity and hurt our health. 

Many years ago, I had the pleasure of sitting with Darina Allen and directing questions at a Dept of Agriculture official on why the residual level for glyphosate (Roundup)  in oats was much higher than that in wheat. His answer, people eat less oats! Apparently, you can have a higher concentration of this probable carcinogen in oats because people in general eat less oats than wheat. The limit “deemed safe” in wheat is 10mg/kg and in oats it is 20mg/kg, twice that of wheat.

If you would like to listen to my weekly rant in video form CLICK HERE

No herbicide in the history of our planet has been applied so heavily as glyphosate (the active ingredient in the weedkiller ‘Roundup’) it is quite literally everywhere and in everything. 

Virtually all known conventional foodstuffs containing some processed product derived from soya, wheat or corn will have had an application of glyphosate.

The people who watch out for our health set maximum residue levels (MRLs: this is the highest limit of chemical that is allowed in food). These MRLs are supposed to protect the consumer, but they can also be set based on what is required by agriculture to be an effective dose to control a pest or disease. The concentration required to kill a weed can often be much higher than that which is considered “safe” to consume (if consuming toxic chemicals can ever be deemed safe).

These limits are often arrived at *in partnership with the Agri-chemical companies* who manufacture the herbicides and pesticides!

Take the maximum residue level of glyphosate in wheat by country:·        Canada 5 mg/kg·        EU 10 mg/kg·        USA 30 mg/kg 

Apparently, it is safer to eat more glyphosate in the USA than it is in Canada ….!? As the application of glyphosate has grown exponentially the assessment of what is safe in our food has also increased and so MRLs have increased.

The increase of allowable glyphosate residues in crops is directly correlated with the introduction of genetically engineered crops that are resistant to glyphosate. 

In 1990 3.5 million kgs of glyphosate were applied in the USA, in 2014 that number was 113 million kgs. At these rates of application, the total volume of glyphosate applied in 2014 was sufficient to treat 30 % of globally cultivated land. Nearly 9 billion kg have been sprayed since 1974, this is a mind boggling number.

Glyphosate has been labelled as a “probable carcinogen” by the world health Organisation. The state of California labelled glyphosate as “Carcinogenic”.   The conventional agriculture industry, and even the EPA, often claim pesticides are safe right up until the moment they are banned because of overwhelming evidence showing they are toxic to humans.

We are all doing what we can, conventional farmers are stuck in a broken food system, we all are, but eating organic where you can is the very best chance you have of avoiding free helpings of the chemicals like glyphosate. There are some rays of hope breaking through and although the EU granted a further 10 years of use of glyphosate in the EU, the use of this toxin for drying (desiccation) crops before harvest has been prohibited and this is a very positive step.

Through your support we are supporting a system that keeps chemicals out of our food chain.

Thanks as always, here’s to clean healthy food.

Kenneth 

PS We are coming into the season of loveliness now, loads of fresh Irish produce, we are just waiting with bated breath for our own tomatoes, they are much later this year due to the cold spring, and you would be forgiven for thinking it was the middle of November at times during the week, I keep waiting for the “summer” to “start”! Anyway in the meantime you can check out our wonderful farm and farmers produce here:  See our IRISH SECTIOH HERE

Air Fryer Courgettes w/ Garlicky Cashew Cream -Vegan

by Lou Robbie

In the summer months the tunnels are brimming with courgettes. They grow so well and are delicious in so many recipes, and we’ve shared lots. These courgettes can be air fried or oven baked. I like to keep the temperature low so they cook slowly, soften in the middle and turn golden on top.

This easy garlicky cashew cream is full of flavour and deliciously morish topped with nutty breadcrumbs you’ll be coming back for more.

Let us know if you’d like to try it,

Lou x

Ingredients: serves 1 as a starter or 2 as a side

  • 1 or 2 courgettes (use 2 if you can fit them in your air fryer basket)
  • 1 bulb garlic
  • oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • For the cashew cream
  • 1 cup of cashews soaked in boiling water for 1 hour
  • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • small pinch of salt
  • Ground black pepper
  • The roasted bulb of garlic – prepared in step 2
  • Around 60-80ml of water for blending consistency

Nutty breadcrumbs

  • 1 slice of bread
  • 1 handful of whole almonds
    To serve:
  • Fresh basil leaves
    Lemon zest

METHOD
Step 1: Preheat the air fryer or oven to 160ºC fan.

Step 2: Prepare the garlic bulb, cut the top off the bulb exposting the cloves, place on a square of tin foil and drizzle with oil. Close up the tin foil to make a parcel.

Step 3: Slice the courgettes in half lengthways then lightly score the white flesh in a criss cross shape, sprinkle with salt and place upside down on kitchen paper to let some of the moisture drain out. After 10 minutes, cut in half to fit in the basket, drizzle in olive oil and place in a preheated air fryer or oven add the garlic bulb parcel to the basket too. Slow cook for about 20 – 25 minutes, checking half way through.

Step 4: To make the garlicky cashew cream. Discard the water off the cashews, then blend with all the other ingredients as well as the roasted garlic, just squeeze out the soft cloves. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Step 5: To make the nutty breadcrumbs, whizzed up the bread and almonds in a blender. Pour onto a frying pan drizzle in olive oil, salt and pepper then toast until crispy. Let it rest on a plate lined with kitchen roll until ready to use.

Step 6: To serve, spread the cashew cream on a plate top with the golden courgettes, sprinkle with the nutty breadcrumbs, lemon zest and fresh basil.

Enjoy

National radio interview and a few thoughts…

by Kenneth Keavey

During the week I was asked to come on the Sean Moncrieff show to talk about the supermarket practice of loss leading with fresh produce. Only 1% of farms in Ireland now grow veg, there are only 60 commercial growers left in the country down from over 400 in 1998.   

You can listen to the interview here

Not as glamorous as talking from a box in the middle of the field I think, but we gave it a go anyway!  

And if you are inclined to listen to my rant from a box in a polytunnel CLICK HERE

Here’s an example to illustrate exactly why this is happening, a few years ago most of the celery and scallions during the season were grown in Ireland, now that situation has changed dramatically. This year there has been a massive decline in Irish grown celery and scallions on supermarket shelves, and why is this? The bottom-line growers, who are struggling to cover production costs (they have gone up by 43% in the last 3 years!) could not negotiate a very small cost increase, and we are talking cents single digit here, as a result the farmers decided to stop growing the produce.

Two years ago one of the biggest sprout growers in the country closed after three generations due to lack of supermarket support.

The irony of this situation is that as supermarkets continue to practice squeezing the primary producer here in Ireland for short term gain, they must look to source the produce elsewhere.  But there is pressure on growing systems everywhere due to climate change and as a result they can end up paying more for imported produce.

Because after all, with the disastrous growing year we had last year, if you cannot put a little aside in the good years how do you survive the bad years and if your only outlet is the supermarkets, and they won’t help out then there is no other viable choice but to stop growing food.

We, who once were a nation of food producers and vegetable growers have let our primary vegetable growing industry virtually disappear.

I strongly feel that it is a very sad reflection on this retail model and the mindset and expectation it encourages in us as consumers that fresh produce is worthless. Not only does it make the craft of growing food financially unviable, but it is highly demoralising to growers to be told that their produce is essentially worthless.

At the very same time that fresh produce is used to get consumers in supermarket doors by devaluing it to nothing, you have a production and retail industry that thrive on making high margins on junk food. This food, ultra-processed rubbish, is nutritionally worthless and is making us sick and lines most retailers’ shelves.

The solution is simple, primary producers need to be paid more for the produce they grow, this can come about through the celebration of fresh produce, food that will make us well and healthy and in the long run ironically will save us all money and will save an industry.

As always thanks for your support.

Kenneth

PS We have amazing Irish organic produce now, from our own farm, kale Green, Black (Cavolo Nero), Purple, salad, lettuce and courgettes, we have Irish produce from Joe Kelly in Mayo, Padraigh Fahy in Beechlawn, Marc Michel in Wicklow, Enda Hoban in Galway, Mick and Audrey in Millhouse, John Mc Ardle for mushrooms, and so much more.  See our IRISH SECTIOH HERE

Crunchy Wholesome Crackers – GF/Vegan

by Lou Robbie

These are a treat to eat, really crispy and crunchy and deliciously healthy. My kids love savoury crackers and cheese or crackers and dips. We really enjoyed making these and its such a clever use of butter beans!

Will you try them? Let us know if the comments below.

Lou x

Ingredients:

240g tin butter beans – drained and patted dry
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp nutritional yeast – optional
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp baking powder
Salt and pepper to taste

**1 tablespoon chickpea flour or plain flour if needed

Method:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 170C

Step 2: In a food processor, blend the butter beans, chia seeds, olive oil, nutritional yeast, paprika, baking powder, salt and pepper into a smooth paste. If the mix is really dry add a small dash of water, if it’s very wet add some chickpea flour or plain flour. The dough should come together and hold, it shouldn’t be too dry or wet.

Step 3: Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Spread the mixture and use another piece of parchment paper and a rolling pin to flatten to about the thickness of a 1 euro coin. Cut the mixture into cracker-sized pieces with a knife or pizza cutter.

Step 4: Bake for about 30 minutes until golden and crispy at the edges. Increase the temperature to 200°C for an extra 10-15 minutes to get them extra crispy.

Allow them to cool completely. Then break into cracker pieces. Enjoy with creamy hummus or use as a base for summer canapés!

Storage: These will keep for 1 week in an air tight container. A jar works really well.

“Roast and Serve” Butter Bean, Courgette & Feta Salad

by Lou Robbie

Roasting vegetables for salads really intensifies the flavours. Sweet and bitter notes added with salty feta and sour lemon juice make this a really tasty salad.

Summer is all about gathering friends and family and sharing good food. This salad is perfect for a BBQ, a gathering or a picnic. Not to mention a healthy its also a healthy plate of food with organic vegetables, gut friendly beans and protein packed nuts and cheese.

We really hope you try it this summer.

Lou x

Ingredients:

  • 1 courgette- sliced into 2 cm cubes
  • 1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced into cubes
  • 1 red onion, sliced into wedges
  • 1 tin butter beans, drained 240g
  • 1.5 tablespoon cajun spice (or a teaspoon each of paprika, chilli, cumin, coriander mixed)
  • 100g feta cheese
  • a handful of leaves, spinach, rocket or similar
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method:

  • Step 1: Preheat the oven 200ºC fan. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Put the courgette, red peppers, red onion, butter beans on the tray. Generously cover in the cajun spice. Drizzle with salt, pepper and oil, shake or rub to coat everything. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, checking half way through.
  • Step 2: Put the pecans on a separate tray and toast in the oven, along with the veg, for about 5- 10 minutes, check half way through- they may need more or less time.
  • Step 3: Let the veg cool for 20 minutes then crumble over the feta and top with the green leaves, sprinkle with pecans, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice, gently mix everything. Lift the parchment paper and tip into a serving dish.
  • Enjoy!
by Kenneth Keavey

Happy Summer solstice! It is amazing to see the length in the evenings.

I’ve just come back in from the fields, it is Thursday night and I had been attempting to sow our second crop of swede. It is very late in the season for this and as it turns out something went wrong with the seeding unit and I will have to take a closer look at it later, and I am not at all certain even this second sowing was successful.

The reason I was resowing swede was due to a tiny little black insect called a flea beetle. These little creatures’ prey on tender brassica leaves and as the first little swede leaves unfurled, they decimated them. To an extent it is our own fault as we should have covered the beds with netting as soon as we did the first sowing, but I didn’t. It was one little job that got away from us.

Anyway, as I was driving back to the farm shed in the tractor, I was thinking about the fundamental difference between organic and conventional. In the world of conventional production, a farmer can spray his crops with pesticides, these chemicals are not specific to one particular creature and can have devastating effects on biodiversity. The reality of conventional vegetable production is the routine use of herbicides, such as glyphosate, pesticides and fungicides. As organic growers we us no chemicals, and on our farm, I can categorically say we use zero chemicals.

But the burden of responsibility to prove our organic credentials rests with us, it is up to us to pass in our case two annual inspections and to show the paper trail to demonstrate that we are adhering to the rules. There is no question though, organic certification is a good thing, and it clearly shows to you, that producers are indeed growing food safely and chemically free amongst many other things. You should always look or ask to see if food is certified organic.

But back in my grandad’s day all his produce was “organic” he didn’t have to fill out any forms or prove that he was not using chemicals; to be fair this was a time before farmers were routinely using chemicals in food production. But today that has all changed and now there is a massive industry that makes vast profits from selling chemicals that are used in our food that are toxic to us and are destroying biodiversity. Chemicals do not belong in our food system; I should know I spent my life studying and working with them.

How different the supermarket landscape would look, if instead of looking for “certified organic” all produce that had been sprayed had to have a label outlining the chemical treatments it received on its journey from seed to supermarket. How different then would our food system be? Imagine your carrot bag labelled with the following which were the top 10 applied chemicals on carrots grown in Ireland in 2015, the last year where there is data available.

Lambda-cyhalothrin, Linuron , Metribuzin, Azoxystrobin , Difenoconazole, Pendimethalin, Prothioconazole, Boscalid, Pyraclostrobin, Tebuconazole

Or you may remember that our kale was taken to be checked last Nov, and they checked for 870 chemicals. That is 870 chemicals that they thought could possibly be on our kale and as result are or could be used in conventional agriculture! The mind boggles.

For me and our business and farm, the journey for the last 18 years has always been about producing and supporting other organic growers who are doing their very best to grow healthy food whilst protecting biodiversity and never ever using chemicals.

As always thanks for your support.

Kenneth

PS Back by popular demand is the “Fresh Irish category” where you can see straight away all the local organic produce we have.

Smashed Falafel Wrap (Vegan)

by Lou Robbie

The smashed falafel wraps are a big viral hit at the moment! They are very quick and easy to make and taste delicious. The purists use dried chickpeas but I think tinned chickpeas work just fine. Add lots of green fresh herbs like parsley and mint.

This makes a great filling lunch loaded with green lettuce from our tunnels, tomato, pickles and red onions. The tahini dressing is the perfect dressing.

Enjoy,

Lou x

Ingredients: makes 3 wraps approx

  • For the falafel mix:
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/4 red onion, diced
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • handful parsley, chopped
  • 6 x mint leaves, chopped
  • 1-2 tablespoons hot water
  • For the tahini dressing:
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 1 small clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • pinch salt
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • To serve:
  • 3 wraps or flat breads
  • 1 tomato, sliced
  • 1/2 red onion, finely sliced
  • 4 pickles, sliced
  • 1/2 head lettuce, leaves washed

Method:

Step 1: To a food processor add all the falafel ingredients except the water, blend. Then drizzle in the water until the mix comes together to form a paste. Taste it, and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Step 2: make the tahini dressing, whisk all the ingredients together until smooth.

Step 3: Warm a griddle pan or frying pan on a medium to high heat. Spread the falafel paste onto a wrap evenly, use a spatula or the back of a spoon. Oil the pan, carefully place the warp falafel side down on the grill. cook for a couple of minutes to form a crust. Carefully flip over and toast the other side of the wrap.

Step 4: Slide the wrap onto a plate or board, add lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, spoon over the tahini dressing, roll, cut in half and serve!

Enjoy 🙂