When Co. Roscommon farmer Tommy Earley recently told Agriland of his allotment plan to earmark 2ac out of his 100ac for vegetable allotments that can be used by Ukrainian refugees, it moved horticulturist Peter Cuthbert to offer support.
“When I saw the article on April 2, 2022 on how Tommy Earley, an organic farmer based in Co. Leitrim, was offering to make available land for Ukrainian refugees to grow vegetables, it immediately resonated with me. I thought, yes, this is something needing support,” said Peter.
He made contact with Tommy who responded with a shopping list of a wide range of needs.
This included lots of vegetable seeds including: Cabbage; kale; kohi rabi; radish; brussels sprouts; onion sets; leeks; potato tubers; peas; beans; carrots; beetroot; squash along with a range of herbs, N-Fix bee mix and 1kg of sunflower seed to bring some sunshine and help to pollinators.
“This was music to my ears as I work in the field of pollination and recognise the value of supporting native species of wild bees in Ireland and the importance of making available flower resources to foster biodiversity,” Peter said.
Allotment plan
“Tommy suggested Fruit Hill Farm, Bantry Co. Cork, as a seed supplier and having purchased from them in the past, I followed his advice,” Peter added.
“They immediately responded and based on supplying the complete list of items, agreed to support this project by giving a very cost effective quotation and also by adding in a number of items free to help with the project,” he said.
Peter’s love for horticulture and nature was fostered by his dad. “I have memories of me at age three, lifting up a bumblebee from a puddle of water and seeing it fly away. Still working on a land-based occupation and nearing 72 has being a privilege which I have enjoyed,” Peter said.
His core expertise is the interaction between insects and flowers. “Being able to interact with the National Biodiversity Data Centre and the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2021—2025 coordinated by Dr. Una Fitzpatrick has being amazing,” he said.
“Hopefully this amazing and generous initiative to support Ukrainian refugees taken by Tommy Earley may form a springboard for other areas in our beautiful green country,” Peter said.