However, for Living Shamrock, this year is an exception to other years. They usually produce shamrocks just for one day, namely St Patrick' Day (March 17), and mainly export them. The company has been established with the aim to supply the US, but is currently shipping their shamrocks to all parts of the world.
Importance shamrocks in US
"There always has been a big connection between the US and Ireland as a huge population in the US are of Irish ancestry. Therefore, St Patrick's day has been heavily celebrated for years over there. In 1961 the Irish prime minister handed JF Kennedy a bowl with shamrocks for the first time. Since then Ireland has been supplying the White House with shamrocks every year, it became a tradition," says Martin.
Hydroponic cultivation
At that time, it was allowed to ship the plants with the soil. Later it became prohibited, so the White House could not receive the Irish shamrocks anymore. And this is where the story of Living Shamrock began. In order to continue this tradition, they built a greenhouse that is dedicated to a hydroponic cultivation of shamrocks. "So, instead of soil our shamrocks are grown in hydrogel (a polymer that can hold several hundred times its weight in water) and the roots come out of the bottom of the vial and reach the water. This way of cultivation enables us, unlike other Irish shamrock growers, to export them not only to the US, but all over the world with a shelf life of 8 to 10 days," says Martin.
Current export markets
The company was established 20 years ago and, ever since Bill Clinton, they now provide the shamrocks that are presented to the US president every year. Besides that, they also supply shamrocks to the Irish army units, Embassies and other private people worldwide via DHL. "Annually, we need to produce around 80,000 to 90,000 shamrocks in order to meet the demand."
Living Shamrock
Living Shamrock is a trading name for a specialist indigenous Irish company, IPI Teoranta. They grow horticultural products in a 4acre sized greenhouse. 1,5 acres of the greenhouse is dedicated to the cultivation of shamrocks. Currently, the greenhouse is empty, because the shamrocks are planted in September and are being harvested in February.
For more information
Living Shamrock
Peter Martin
Email: [email protected]
www.livingshamrock.com
