MCNALLY FAMILY FARM
Balrickard, Ring Commons, Co. Dublin
Social: @McNallyFamilyFarm.
Grower:
McNally Family Farm
FARM VISIT:
August 2020
LOCAL AREA:
Balrickard, Ring Commons, Co. Dublin
PORTFOLIO:
Seasonal Organic Salads, Vegetables and Herbs
PACKAGING:
Compostable Bags
THE MCNALLY FAMILY STORY:
We are a family run farm, certified organic for over 20 years since 1998. We specialise in growing a large variety of vegetables, herbs, salads, roots and fruits. We challenge ourselves to grow something new every year, and with the help of customers we find more and more interesting vegetables.
We have a 77 acre farm with 10 acres dedicated to growing anything hardy enough to grow outside, rotating the ground every few years – Brassicas, Root veg, potatoes etc. We have, at the moment, around 50 PolyTunnels covering 2/3 acres for everything else – Salads, Spinach, Herbs – and in the summer Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Beans, Gherkins, Peppers etc.
Working with the seasons means constantly adapting and changing. A slightly mild winter can have a big effect on early Spring. A cold Spring can have the same effect on Summer. A tomato crop that came in in May of one year can come in Late July of the next. Saying that a particular veg is “in season” in Ireland is difficult to do. When nature decides it’s ready, or not, that’s when it’s in season. In 2010 we were still harvesting & selling tomatoes at Christmas, whereas a few years previous there was none after August.