Presented by advocates Kitty Scully and Colm O'Driscoll, Home Grown is a brand new seven-part series that celebrates the Irish Horticulture industry.
Across the series, the duo will travel all over Ireland in search of stories that celebrate Irish Horticulture and deliver some fun trivia facts along the way. For example, did you know that Ireland is a world leader in mushroom production? Have you heard that the GAA has its own farm where turf is grown for the pitch? And would you believe that cut foliage grown in Tralee is used by high-end florists in London?
As well as fun facts and stories about the different growers and producers, the show will visit inspirational gardens which are open to the public and delve into the importance of the horticulture industry in Ireland today.
"A career in horticulture is not for the faint-hearted as it embodies so many challenges" says Kitty.
"It was fascinating to hear stories on the ground, and refreshing to meet so many resilient, hard-working, charismatic characters; dedicated to keeping this often overlooked industry alive and embracing old and new innovative technologies in the process".
Horticulture is an important economic sector in Ireland, with an estimated 6,600 people employed full-time in primary production, and a further 11,000 employed in adjacent businesses such as wholesale, retail, distribution, landscape, garden design, and construction.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine's provisional estimates put the Horticulture industry’s farmgate value in 2021 at €521m. This places the industry as the 4th largest sector in terms of gross agriculture commodity output value.
Of the €521m total output, Edible Horticulture production represented €423m and Ornamental Horticulture €98m.
"What excited me most about recording Home Grown was the opportunity to get behind-the-scenes access to many of the leading enterprises in Irish Horticulture", says co-presenter Colm. "The vast range of those we visited is a testament to the vibrancy and diversity of the industry here in Ireland".
This brand new series of Home Grown kicks off at Croke Park, which is the only stadium in the world to have its own farm where turf is grown for the famous pitch.
Colm O'Driscoll visits the farm in North Co Dublin. Kitty Scully meets cut foliage producer James Costelloe of Irish Green Guys, based in Tralee, Co Kerry, whose branches and leaves are used by top florists in the UK and other parts of Europe.
Watch Home Grown on Mondays on RTÉ One at 8pm.
