Organic College Limerick

tsuzmir

just wondering if anyone has any experience dealing with Organic College in Co. Limerick?
thinking of doing one of their courses. any info would be appreciated
thanks
T.

GardeningGirl

Hey there, I am in e process of applying too, to begin in Sept.
Have you gotten any more info or been to visit the College?
Hope to hear from you soon

tsuzmir

i'm strongly considering the distance learning course. due to full time job and living in dublin i cant commit to traditional course and this seems to be the only option in Ireland. they are recommended by dept of agriculture and organic trust so that gives some level of confidence that this would be money well spent. however i have no other info on the college nor have i visited the college. please let me know if you get any more info.

GardeningGirl

Ah, I see your situation. I'm looking at the traditional course which is, quite bizarrely, much cheaper than the Distance course it seems !?

I've been in touch by email and they seem very helpful at least.

Would you be able to take a break from your job to do the course onsite and relocate temporarily? Looks like it is 400 euro total from Sept to May to take the regular course. The money you would save on fees could contribute to accommodation expenses and, if you want to take horticulture as a career path, the amount of hands on experience would be great for future job ops I'm sure.

tsuzmir

GardeningGirl wrote: »

Ah, I see your situation. I'm looking at the traditional course which is, quite bizarrely, much cheaper than the Distance course it seems !?

I've been in touch by email and they seem very helpful at least.

Would you be able to take a break from your job to do the course onsite and relocate temporarily? Looks like it is 400 euro total from Sept to May to take the regular course. The money you would save on fees could contribute to accommodation expenses and, if you want to take horticulture as a career path, the amount of hands on experience would be great for future job ops I'm sure.

unfortunately, it's out of question. if i was to find something local, that would be ideal, but if someone could share their experience with this course that would help me made up my mind. or perhaps i should try to get a job localy as a farm help in a small holding/ family farm type of place??? on the other hand a bit of theory would serve me well... there so much info on the internet but i struggle to separate bullsh*t from true. i think i should lay the foundations before i build a house...

GardeningGirl

Hey, just came across someone (small world!) who's cousin did online course last year. Said everyone passes, very easy. Double check if you actually get a cert after it though he said as he couldn't remember rightly if you do or not. Also said the people there are very knowledgable and kind.
Yep, Internet is a mind killer, hard to tell what's what!!
Good idea to get some hands on experience, I'd say a garden centre, independent ideally, would take you on and you'd learn a lot.
Also try workaway.info and wwoof.ie for host farms that would have you help out for maybe a week at a time or so if you get holidays/time off?
I find books better than Internet for proper fact finding. Especially older ones, they knew what they were doing back in the day, without all these chemicals and whatnot like now!!

Best of luck, will let you know if I hear any more

tsuzmir

GardeningGirl wrote: »

Hey, just came across someone (small world!) who's cousin did online course last year. Said everyone passes, very easy. Double check if you actually get a cert after it though he said as he couldn't remember rightly if you do or not. Also said the people there are very knowledgable and kind.
Yep, Internet is a mind killer, hard to tell what's what!!
Good idea to get some hands on experience, I'd say a garden centre, independent ideally, would take you on and you'd learn a lot.
Also try workaway.info and wwoof.ie for host farms that would have you help out for maybe a week at a time or so if you get holidays/time off?
I find books better than Internet for proper fact finding. Especially older ones, they knew what they were doing back in the day, without all these chemicals and whatnot like now!!

Best of luck, will let you know if I hear any more

wow, that really is a small world. i dont mind certs, diplomas, etc. i want to get learn and that all that matters. but, yes - you do get a fetac 5 when you finish the course. could you ask your cousin if he would recommend it? or was it a waste of money for him? cheers!

Cumin

Hello there! I did the course in Dromcollogher about 10 years ago and learned a lot! I found that the balance between theory and practical work was quite good.
Work experience is part of the course.
They are offering a one year (cert) and a two year (diploma) course. I recommend the first year. I did the full diploma course but thought that the second year was a little bit of a waste of time. You get all the basics in the first year. After that you're better off just starting your own plot and take a book.
One problem of the course is that it starts in September and finishes the following year in the middle of the growing season. Theoretically a gardening course should start in January and finish in December so you get the full experience of the growing year season by season.
Nevertheless I enjoyed the course very much and made some great friends, which I'm still in contact with today.
That's right - easy exams - everyone passes.

Dromcollogher is not the only place that offers an organic gardening course.
There is the Organic Centre in Leitrim which offers gardening courses, there is a Permaculture course in Kinsale and an Organic Horticulture course in the Adult Education Centre in Kenmare.

Let me know if you have any specific questions. I'll be glad to help. ☺️

Cumin

... and by the way... I got the PLC grant to do the course

GardeningGirl

Hi peeps,

Went down for interview last week.
It's nice and everyone is lovely but didn't think it's quite what I'm looking for.

I've been to Leitrim too and am going to focus on getting a place there.
It's brilliant!
Course runs from Feb to Feb there as well, really good point Cumin about the growing season being missed - at least someone's awake

Will continue to keep an eye and ear out for things that might help ya, Tsuzmir, and will post up any more info I come across

Cheers!