‘It’s a magical feeling to harvest food for the family’

DEE SEWELL isa grow-your-own enthusiast and author of the blog Greenside Up. She lives in rural Carlow surrounded by farmland and forestry. She says: “I’ve had an interest in edibles for over 30 years, when I began growing herbs in containers outside the kitchen door. It wasn’t until my husband and I moved to Ireland 20 years ago that we began growing food in earnest, because we wanted to give our children the best start in life and feed them chemical-free food.

“We’re just over 300m above sea level here and our vegetable garden is

450 sq m laid out with a series of 10 beds, all 1.2m wide but of varying lengths. We also have a 4 x 8m polytunnel and fruit-bush area.

“I can’t imagine our garden without the different varieties of kale. Red Russian and Siberian are particular favourites, as they grow really well in our clay soil. Rainbow chard is a big success too. Purple sprouting broccoli barely leaves the garden as it’s so tasty to snack on while we’re out there. I don’t know where we’d be without our Cambridge variety strawberries every year.

“We also grow lots of flowers to attract pollinators, which makes the garden a joy to be in during summer, when the limnanthes and phacelia are in flower and swarming with honey bees, busy in their work.

“It’s such a magical feeling being able to harvest, cook and provide food for the family.

“Knowing we’re not reliant on supermarkets to produce a fundamental of life is incredibly rewarding, and the vegetable garden is a fabulous place to go to clear the head.”