Olly’s Farm in Glenasmole is bursting with colour this week

Olly’s Farm in Glenasmole is bursting with colour this week

By Mary Dennehy 

HOW amazing does this beautiful rainbow chard look?

This vibrant leafy vegetable is jumping out of the ground up on Olly’s Farm in Glenasmole, where Olly Nolan grows and rears his own food naturally and organically. 

Ollys Farm rainbow chard

 

Olly and his partner Chris bought a house in the Glenasmole Valley in September 2012, and have since been self-sufficient, producing everything they eat - with the couple aiming to be as self sufficient as they can, both from a food and energy point of view.  

Olly is well known locally for his award-winning honey, with his heather honey variety deservedly winning gold at the recent Blas Na hEireann Irish food awards.

 

Alongside honey, Olly produces his own eggs, milk, cheese, yogurts, vegetables, fruit, Dexter beef, pork and lamb – and once they have enough to feed themselves, they sell or barter any excess.

“Our aim is to be totally self-sufficient and we grow everything we eat”, Olly told Echo.ie.

“The only fruit we buy is lemons for our gin and tonics!

“Once we have enough for ourselves we sell or barter the rest. 

“I love bartering, someone could come up here with a jar of jam for me and they’ll head home with some fresh strawberries.”

This week, Olly picked some of this beautiful rainbow chard, which he said is “jumping out of the ground” and will soon be added to a number of tasty dishes.

“This chard is beautiful and its leaves and stalks has a million uses”, Olly said.

“It can be used in stir fries, omelettes, buttered, mashed into potatoes and young leaves are delicious in salads.

“It’s also a lovely plant to grow in your garden due to its colours and you can just rip a few leaves off when you want to use them.”

Olly’s crop of rainbow chard was sown last March and April and grew over the summer and autumn months, with the tough plant continuing to grow over the winter but at a slower pace.

Olly’s Farm is located on eight-and-a-half acres in Allagour in Glenasmole and anybody interested in visiting the farm can do so by messaging  Olly’s Farm Facebook page or by calling 087 77447169.

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