Muintir na Tire School Garden Competition

  Potatoes Where would the GIYer be without the humble spud? Spuds can be grown pretty much anywhere, produce a high yield from a relatively small space and store well. No wonder they have been a staple diet for Irish families for centuries. Digging for your first new potatoes will be like Christmas morning – we promise! SOWING Potatoes thrive in a good fertile soil to grow well. For best results add compost and a general fertiliser a week or two before planting. Potato leaves are frost sensitive, so if you intend to grow an early crop we suggest buying some fleece to protect your plants. Potatoes are grown from last year’s potatoes, known as seed potatoes. These can be potatoes you save yourself or purchased certified seed potatoes. Buying certified seed potatoes guarantees the potatoes are virus free – these can be found in garden centres and hardware shops from January-April. There are two types of potato variety: earlies and maincrop. Earlies are for harvesting in the summer an...

  Kohlrabi Kohlrabi is gaining in popularity and little wonder – it’s quick-growing, relatively easy to grow and tastes great (like a very mild turnip), cooked or raw. Not to mention they are beautiful looking plants. Available as green, white or purple varieties, kohlrabi stems grow above the ground. It’s a brassica, so include it in your crop rotation. SOWING Kohlrabi will grow in most reasonably fertile soil, but grows best in a fertile soil with compost and a general fertiliser added. Try adding some a week or two before sowing/transplanting. Do not grow kohlrabi anywhere that you have grown any member of the cabbage family the previous year (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, collards and kale). The best way to manage all these veg is to create a crop rotation scheme prior to growing. Find out how to create your own plan here. Kohlrabi can be sown in modules at 1cm depth for later transplanting. But the easiest way to grow them is directly into the soi...

  Leeks Leeks are quite easy to grow and will withstand even the harshest winter. For many GIYers they are the only crop left in the soil during the winter months. They are another of the classic ‘stockpot’ vegetables. We eat the white part or stem of leeks – it is more accurately a rolled leaf rather than a stem (if you want to be pedantic about it). SOWING Leeks are heavy feeders so it’s best to grow them in fertile soil that has been enriched with plenty of farmyard manure or compost. Spread a general purpose organic fertiliser before planting out. Leeks can be grown in modules before being transplanted, but are probably easiest to grow in a seedbed outside. For early leeks, sow in March. For maincrop leeks, sow April. If sowing outside, sow thinly, 1cm deep in rows 15cm apart. If sowing in modules, sow one or two seeds per module, 1cm deep. GROWING Leeks will be ready to plant out about two months after sowing when they are about 1cm thick and 20cm long. To transplant, mak...

 Cork County Muintir na Tíre is recruiting a Part ‑ Time Community Development Worker / Office Administrator. If you’re passionate about community work, have strong organisational and bookkeeping skills, and enjoy supporting local groups across Cork City & County — we’d love to hear from you. 📍  Based in Cork City 🚗  Travel across Cork City & County required 📅  Closing Date: March 25th, 2026 📨  Apply by sending your Cover Letter & CV to: deniskelly@muintircork.com Help us strengthen and support communities across Cork! For full details of vacancy please click here  ActiveLink