Muintir na Tire School Garden Competition

Leave No Trace Ireland are delighted to team up with  The National Biodiversity Data Centre  to co-brand three of their identification posters; butterflies, bumblebees and shield bugs. The stunning posters can be used to identify the exact species of Irish insect you find in your garden. We are really looking forward to using these resources in our Leave No Trace education programmes in schools across the country, on our Trainer and Awareness Courses, and to share them with our community. You can view and download the  butterflies ,  bumblebees , and  shield bugs  posters on our  website . -  https://www.leavenotraceireland.org/identification-posters-nbdc/

Celeriac Why Grow It? If you like the taste of celery, but find it a little cumbersome, then celeriac is the vegetable for you.  Celeriac has a similar flavour to celery, but is grown for its knobbly, turnip-shaped swollen stem.  As vegetables go, it’s ugly as sin, but don’t let that fool you – it tastes delicious. It’s very hardy and (unlike celery) stores extremely well.  A decent crop of celeriac can see you right through the winter months to late March.  Celeriac is also referred to as knob celery or turnip rooted celery. Sowing Grow celeriac as you would with celery, but because it stores well, there’s no need for succession sowing.  A single sowing in late March or early April is all that’s required.  Broadcast (sprinkle liberally) the seed in to a pot filled with compost.  As is the case with celery, celeriac seeds need light to germinate so do not cover the seed with compost. Place the pot somewhere warm (a sunny windowsill or a heating mat) – it’s slow to germinate so

  Plant Flowers & the Bees will Follow. We all know that the bees are so important and without them, we would starve. But do we really know how amazing they are. Check out these quick fun facts about the bees and see how smart they really are. This is why we need to protect our bees and other pollinators. What can your school do this year and every year to ensure that our bees live a healthy life and have lots of food all year round. If you would like this information in a PowerPoint presentation, email Miriam at info@griffinsgardencentre.ie and she will forward it straight away. Happy Gardening

Where have all the Birds Gone from our Garden We can send an invitation out to the birds by planting food for them. There are Many Plants we know of like crab apple or holly but here are a few more that might help. Plant in hedgerows or as ornamental plants in the school garden beds Why not put a sign beside it with name of tree or shrub and Which birds likes to visit      • Vibiurnum Opulus This native deciduous Shrub, Viburnum Opulus , bears heavy clusters of glossy berries from November through to March. These are loved by  Thrushes and Bullfinches , in particular. It makes an excellent hedging plant too. • Hawthorn : Paul Scarlet The shiny clusters of haws can stay on hawthorn trees until February or March. They’re the favourite berry of blackbirds, redwings and fieldfares and are enjoyed by many other species too, including chaffinches, starlings and greenfinches. The leaves are the foodplant for caterpillars of many specie

  Cork School Garden 2023 focus on  Beaumount Girl's School This week we focus on Beaumount Girls School who were the Overall Cork City Winners.  The judges were very impressed with the  garden which is developing and maturing well. "Great use of the Irish language . The knowledge and enthusiasm impressed us. Plenty colour and art and upcycling. The choice of and vegetable quality was excellent. Thanks for the brown bread which was lovely and we loved the old fire pot and old range on display in a link to bygone days.      Keep up the great work."     Congratulations to all involved at  Beaumount Girls School For more Information on the School Gardens Competition  Click Here   Enter for 2024 here    https://forms.gle/ eniRw7MbRoUdmjYe7

  Press Release Gaelscoil Charraig Uí Leighin  wins Cork County & Beaumont Girls' School wins Cork City Muintir na Tire Schools Garden Competition 2023   The staff and Pupils of Gaelscoil Charraig Uí Leighin are thrilled to be Cork County Overall Winners with Beaumont Girls’ School winning the Cork City Overall Winners at the Cork County Federation Muintir ná Tíre School Garden Awards 2023 which were held in County Hall on Wednesday June 21st 2023.   The Competition is in its eleventh year after a brief halt during covid and this year saw a record amount of entries. The enthusiasm and high standard and quality shown from all the schools proved to the Judges that the project continues to be a huge success. The competition involves each school developing/planning a garden in their own way.    Both adults and students work together to decide what type of garden they want to create. The competition encourages all students to get involved in working in the garden and the competition

Cauliflower Why Grow It?   Home-grown cauliflower is definitely tastier than the mass-produced alternative. Sowing A foolproof way to grow healthy cauliflower seedlings is to sow them in module seed trays – sow one or two seeds in each module 1.5cm deep.  Thin out the weaker seedling.  They will germinate in about a week and will be ready for planting about three weeks later (when 5cm tall).  Make sure to harden off early sowings carefully.  For a steady supply of cauliflower, sow a few plants in March, May and June.  Spacing will determine the size of the curds - between 60-70cm is about right.  The more space you can give them, the healthier the plants will be.   As with cabbages, cauliflowers should be planted in to firm, fertile, free-draining ground – the root and stem will eventually have to support a very heavy head! Water plants well before sowing – create a hole with a dibber, pop the seedling in and then firm in very well.  Growing Keep plants free of weeds a

  Closing Date Extended Last Chance to Enter Closing Soon The Annual Cork Schools Garden competition is now open to all primary schools in Cork City and County who have a school garden or are in the process of developing one. The pupils can be members of one class or representatives from a few classes. The adults may be teachers, school gardener or parents). The entry must be approved by the school principal. All schools must complete an entry form After entering the school submit a short MP4 Video before 5pm May 1st This short video should give us an idea about what have done in their garden. Please note Videos must be not longer than 2 minutes. Closing Date for submission of Video is 5pm May 1st Enter Here before submitting video (see example below) Curraglass Video 2023