Introduction to Food Forest Design - Síolta Chroí, Carrickmacross

What to Expect

Matthew and Ni Ibu lead a one-day intensive on designing and planting food forests at Síolta Chroí outside Carrickmacross on Saturday 7 November 2026, from 10am to 4pm. A food forest is a layered, largely self-sustaining edible planting that mimics how a woodland assembles itself, and the day is about how you actually get from a bare field or a back garden to one.

The workshop combines classroom teaching with hands-on exercises. It covers the permaculture principles behind the approach, how to read and assess a site before planting anything, the layers of a food forest from canopy through shrubs and herbaceous planting to ground cover and roots, choosing species that will cope with an Irish climate and Monaghan’s heavy drumlin soil, and managing soil so the system feeds itself over time. Early November is when bare-root trees go in, so the timing puts the theory directly in front of the planting season. Pricing is Síolta Chroí’s three-tier model, €90 subsidised, €120 standard and €150 contributive, all buying the same full course. The centre states the subsidised rate is available without needing to justify it, and asks anyone facing a financial barrier to email gareth@sioltachroi.ie.

Good to Know

• Date and time: Saturday 7 November 2026, 10am to 4pm
• Venue: Síolta Chroí, Áth an Chlocháin, Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan
• Price: €90 subsidised, €120 standard, €150 contributive
• Facilitators: Matthew and Ni Ibu
• Format: classroom instruction plus practical exercises
• Booking: through Eventbrite. Contact gareth@sioltachroi.ie if cost is a barrier
• Dress for November weather, as part of the day is spent outside on the site

Getting There

Síolta Chroí is at Áth an Chlocháin in the countryside outside Carrickmacross in south Monaghan. Carrickmacross is on the N2, about 90 minutes from Dublin and a little over an hour from Belfast, and also reachable from the M1 via Ardee. The centre is a short drive from the town on local roads and there is no bus to it, so drive or arrange a lift or taxi from Carrickmacross. Parking is on site. Use the Eircode issued with your booking rather than the townland name. In November allow extra time, as these roads can be greasy and the light goes early.