Who is behind Homegrown?
Brian McCabe is building Homegrown.ie. He comes from a farming background in Leitrim, where he has seen both sides of the problem: people would love a place to grow, while landowners may have a suitable corner but understandably worry about access, upkeep and what happens if something goes wrong.
Homegrown sits somewhere between a community growing project and a simple marketplace for spare land. The aim is to help the right people find one another and give both sides a straightforward way to agree the basics.
What we want to try first
- One clearly marked patch, often around 20-50 m².
- One named adult grower to begin with.
- A trial lasting up to six months, with no automatic renewal.
- The land can be free, paid for, or shared in return for some produce.
- The exact address stays private until both sides want to meet.
What could work
- A sunny garden corner, edge of a field, parish ground or community site.
- A safe way in during agreed hours and a sensible plan for water.
- A patch that will not disturb the owner's privacy, work or future plans.
- Clear boundaries and an honest conversation about any known hazards.
What we are not taking on yet
- Accommodation, living on the land or overnight access.
- Protected or environmentally sensitive ground, or busy working areas.
- Land due for development, or land offered without the owner's permission.
- Public events, selling from the site, livestock or powered machinery.
- Children's projects during this first adult-only trial.
It is still your land
- You do not have to accept anyone Homegrown suggests.
- You choose the person, patch, route in, visiting times and house rules.
- You decide what is allowed around water, tools, sheds, guests and pets.
- You agree any payment or produce share directly with the grower.
- You can stop access if there is a serious safety problem and choose whether to continue next season.
Before the first seed goes in
- Permission: make sure the person offering the land is entitled to do so and has any approval their organisation requires.
- Insurance: tell the home, farm or land insurer exactly what is planned, including whether money or produce is involved, and ask for the answer in writing.
- Walk the patch together: point out the route in, water, boundaries, hazards and anywhere that is out of bounds.
- Agree the everyday things: visiting times, weeding, paths, water, tools, sheds, compost, chemicals, guests, pets and tidying up.
- Write it down: use a short seasonal agreement - legally, a licence - saying who may use the patch, for how long and how either side can end it. The owner keeps access and control throughout.
What Homegrown will - and will not - do
Homegrown collects interest, keeps exact locations private, asks practical questions and introduces people only when both sides agree. We provide a starter checklist and draft agreement; hosts and growers make the final decision, arrange insurance and agree any payment directly.
Have a patch in mind?
Tell us roughly where it is and what questions you have. It starts a private conversation and commits you to nothing.