Planting a Whitethorn Hedge with Jim Cronin
What: The course will cover:
- Sourcing the plants
- Assessing your site
- Soil fertility
- Weed control
- Planting and pruning
- Aftercare of the hedge
When: Wednesday 7th of February 2024, 10 am to 3.30 pm. Includes refreshments but bring your own lunch
Where: Bridgetown, Killaloe, Co. Clare.
Price: €80 (places limited to 20 people, 25% discount for farmers that have been on our Horse’s Mouth mentorship programme or our Ambassadors)
Booking: Click here to book a place on this course.
Details:
On the day we will be planting a hedge so this will be very much a hands-on course. We will also look at and asses whitethorn hedges of various ages on Jim’s farm.
The whitethorn-dominated hedge is an integral part of the Irish landscape, biodiversity-rich at all times of the year and pleasing to the eye, but it also has various traditions attached to it.
About the tutor:
Jim Cronin has a 16-acre organic market garden farm in Co. Clare where he has been applying biological agriculture principles for the last 30 years while maintaining many of the traditional methods of farming. Jim’s entire farming ethos is seamlessly entwined with nature conservation. Not only does he create a habitat for pollinators and wildlife, but also for all the unseen worms and micro-organisms which are fundamental to growing crops and sustaining life above ground.
Jim has a small suckler herd and 2 working horses that help work the land and provide essential manure for soil fertility. Jim is both a teacher and a commercial grower of fruit and vegetables. He combines old traditions with new knowledge and methods, proving that you can generate a good commercial yield from a small area without compromising nature. He has distilled his farm knowledge down to an exact science and created a bank of wisdom which he is skilled in sharing. Everything Jim does as a farmer is a deliberate move to try to harness the resources that nature already offers us in terms of soil health, pest control and crop growth.
