Find your place in the field of good food

Our goal is to connect good people with good food. We advertise sustainable food jobs and training opportunities to help jobseekers and employers find each other.

Roots to Work is a project of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.

Job description

Who are we?

Black Grove Greens is an expanding Community Supported Agriculture scheme in East Herts. The Market Garden has been growing vegetables and running volunteer days on Black Grove Farm for 5 years.

The aim is to do this while restoring biodiversity to the land and access and education to local people. 

Food is grown using organic principles and bio-intensive techniques on no-till beds in a deer-fenced, 1 acre market garden. 

We grow with and for the local community with skilled, experienced volunteers attending the work days. We aim to grow nutritious vegetables, fruit and herbs with a focus on healthy fresh Greens. Food is supplied to local shops and a box scheme. The garden is partly funded by a National Lottery Awards for All grant. 

The garden is set in a 20 acre mixed farm with pasture and ancient woodland. It has a semi-rural location close to busy market towns and on a bus route. 

The owner are a couple of new entrants to farming who have young kids and both work and live on the land.

The farm is off-grid, using solar energy and rainwater. 

They run ‘little farmers’ tours for visitors, A campsite and a woodland school. They also manage a flock of pasture-fed, free-range hens, sheep and goats. The farm raises livestock outdoors and produces high quality pasture raised meat.

About the role:

2 days per week from June to November throughout the growing season. 

Mondays and Wednesdays. 

Possibility for flexible working hours on those days. 

You will work along side the main grower and a team of volunteers. 

You will assist with all aspects of fruit and veg production from seed to harvest. Although we will make use of modern tools and equipment, human scale veg production demands a reasonable level of physical fitness and a willingness to work outdoors in all weather conditions.

Efficiency and learning skills quickly are required. 

About you:

You will have a keen interest and some experience in many of the following areas:

• Propagation of crops.
• Bed prep and transplanting.
• Pruning, training, and general crop care.
• Harvesting.
• Pest management through soil and crop health, intercropping, netting and beneficial insect introductions.
• Proficiency with a range of specialist market gardening tools.
• Irrigation.
• No-dig or minimal tillage systems.
• Organic and/or agroecological growing systems.

Above all, you will have a passion for agroecological and regenerative growing and sustainable food production.

What we can offer you:

• 11 hours per week at £12.30 per hour on a rolling 3 month temporary contract. 
• Access to free/discounted fruit and veg.
• A supportive and respectful work environment.
• The chance to be part of developing a farm and the opportunity to contribute your own ideas and leave your mark on the project.
• There is a possibility for simple Off-Grid accomodation on the farm depending on the applicants situation. 

Application information

To apply please send a CV and cover letter, outlining why you would be a good fit for this role and Black Grove Greens CIC. To blackgrovegreens@outlook.com. Call 07913 106426 for any questions. 

Closing date: May 15th

Short list: May 22nd

Interviews: May 30th

Start Date: June 2nd

We are looking forward to hearing from you!

Please mention Roots to Work when applying for these jobs