No gobbledegook in the garden

Newly elected Westmeath County Councillor, Peter Burke, is already showing an attribute not always evident in politicians - the ability to talk common sense.I read where Burke would like to see the Council engage itself in offloading some of its bits of land by way of allotments. Councillor Burke envisages the formation of an Allotment Committee to oversee the provision of a pilot scheme for socially disadvantaged families. I understand that such projects have been successfully undertaken in Cork and other places. As a social exercise, not costing much money, it is certainly something which should be tried in Westmeath.Apart from the practical value of a family growing their own vegetables, the therapeutic benefit of observing seeds turning into food, as well as the skills learned in the process, can totally transform the life of the grower. Earlier this year I talked to a gentleman from the Killucan area that was endeavouring to initiate a project whereby a school would have its own half acre garden for the pupils to grow stuff. I hope it gets off the ground.The English are great ones for their allotments. This probably dates back to the last war and Britain's "Dig for victory" campaign, where every inch of ground was meant to grow something. Today the authorities over there continue to make it easy for people to grow their own by providing allotments for as little as £20, while Irish enthusiasts can be asked for as much as €300 for a similar patch by private land owners.The one thing for sure is that the vegetable garden is back in favour. It just seemed to drift back in vogue without any great fuss or fanfare. Luckily most people in Ireland have a bit of ground, or access to a patch suitable for growing vegetables. This year we see more and more houses with tilled gardens. It is great to see and taking account of the wider picture by way of the environment, it is good for planet earth. Plants cleanse the air through utilising the carbon dioxide and produce more oxygen.Nothing ever tastes as good as what you grow yourself and of course you can never buy anything as fresh as what you pull, cut or dig from your own ground. It is not really about saving money because realistically, anybody having to pay for the ground will find it a dear head of cabbage. Food prices may seem high in the shops but in fairness, if you have to pay the prices asked here for an allotment, you will realise you are working solely to enjoy the pleasure and satisfaction of eating the fruits of your own labour. It's something similar to cutting and saving your own turf on the bog; no great savings, no little hardship - but immense satisfaction with the end result.Anyone can grow their own and learn as you go. Start with something easy like lettuce and scallions. When I was going to national school, two things I planted which never let me down were lettuce and marigold flowers - but I digress. When you grow your own you know what you are eating - you know you are going to eat quality. Vegetables stored on supermarket shelves lose many essential qualities quickly. Martin Fox won't like to hear all this promotion for growing your own - but we won't grow bananas or oranges, Martin! When you plant your own you can choose a variety perhaps with greater flavour, but not available in the shops because of its shorter shelf life. Another thing is that often when we go to the shop we may finish up buying frozen vegetables just for handiness sake.I would suggest "think small" if you are doing a garden for the first time. There is nothing fit to sour us faster than biting off more than we can chew. We have seen gardens "dug up" and then abandoned because the digging used up all the energy and enthusiasm. You can easily tend a small patch and add to it the second year if you so desire. Protect your vegetables from slugs without resorting to chemicals if you can.There are lots of tips out there for trapping slugs. Pull the weeds instead of spraying. Learn how to make a compost heap - or if you know a friendly farmer, ask him for a jog of well-rotted farmyard manure. Peas are easy to grow and have the added advantage of adding nitrogen to the soil.When we grow our own we control what we eat. I was worried in recent years that my favourite food, the flowery potato was losing in the popularity stakes.Now it dawns on me that if I want Kerr's Pink, Arran Banners, British Queens or Golden Wonders, all I have to do is to grow them myselfAs your garden grows you can become more adventurous and progressive. Fruit bushes, herbs...and of course just because you grow vegetables doesn't mean you can't grow flowers as well.You will find yourself watching gardening programmes on TV and reading anything to do with plants in magazines. John Smyth's gardening page in this newspaper is an excellent source of information for all grades of growers. Even if you have no garden or no allotment, it is amazing what some people manage to grow on roof-tops, in pots and window-boxes. It is all about the satisfaction of growing something of your own. Oh, by the way, if you are Stateside, be careful where you mention "growing your own" as that term has come to mean having marijuana plants over there!!With regard to allotments, the one fear I have is of vandalism. We live in one of the worst countries for mindless, heedless, destructive, wanton vandalism.Mind you, I do remember reading of the problem of theft from allotments in England during the war. One gentleman was losing the odd head of his prized cabbage. Angry and frustrated he put up a sign stating; "One of these cabbages is injected with poison." When he returned next day he found "one" crossed out and replaced by "two"!!Gardening is close to nature. Apart from all the advantages listed above, it also will give you as much exercise as going to the gym and alleviate stress as well.No matter what way you look at it you are "digging for victory"!Don't ForgetToo many people itch for what they want, but won't scratch for it.