Editor’s Note: These pieces are intended to offer a deeper look into each episode of surfer Fergal Smith‘s Line9 series, Growing, a new clip published every two weeks. The series is a year in the life of Smith and his brother. With a new clip published every two weeks, the series follows them as they take a step back from the rat race while spending days tending to a sustainable garden and surfing the readily available Irish slab.
Author’s Note: My main reason for doing this series is for showing the what else I’m passionate about — aside from surfing — and to try to promote all the good, positive things that people are doing.
Wow, we are flying through episodes. This one is from way back last autumn. If anyone is wondering why the clips are mainly from back footage, it’s because my brother Kevin — who is filming and editing everything — has broken his leg. He broke it back in May out surfing, and it was really gnarly. It’s the most pain I think I have seen anyone; it was up there with Tom Lowe’s shoulder dislocation.
So Kev has been very house bound over summer, the unlucky guy. He has been using his stock pile of footage to edit away and make all the recent clips since then. We wanted to do a clip on wild food at some stage and maybe when Kev is back up on his feet we will do another one as I think it’s a really important topic that we should be exploring.
Wild food has become a bit trendy but it’s way more than just free food. It’s totally natural organic food for a start, the food that grows in your surroundings naturally is the food we are meant to be eating. (Not tropical food from the other side of the world.) The amount of cures for so many aliments from wild plants and herbs is what we should be learning. I am a total novice when it comes to it really — I’ve been on a few wild food walks and they were amazing, but I don’t live it yet. I sometimes feel like bit of an idiot going into the field and growing vegetables where wild food is already growing, pulling up wild sorrel to replace with what I want to grow. If we were truly in tune with nature we would know what is growing around us and not even have to do any digging, etc. But it’s all about learning. I feel we are a long way from being totally in tune, but if we start learning now we will get there in the end.
This to me is the important stuff we need to be learning in school and in life in general. Being able to feed and cure yourself are such important skills that are being taught wildly enough. There are so many great people out there that do know, and these to me are our most valuable teachers that we should all be listening to. I hope to film a wild food demo from an expert before the series finished. Oonagh O’Dwyer at Wildkitchen.ie is one great local women, and another knowledgeable women is Vivien Campbell at Herbalhub.com. I would recommend anyone to see these women or anyone who is into there wild food. Its so interesting whats growing under our noses and what it can be used for.
As for this clip we just went for a nice walk in the Burren with a few mates and picked a load of hazelnuts. It was nothing too technical — just went for a walk and picked some tasty food. The surf was just a mellow little wave at Spanish Point with a few mates. The wind was nice and light Kev brought the drone out. Kev is on the mend and he will be back filming new stuff soon. I’ts all go at the moment in the garden and I can’t wait to show everyone how well everything is growing.
I hope everyone is enjoying the summer.
