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

Start: March/April  Location: Farmacy Farm, Ironbrooke, Forest Row, East Sussex  Hours: 3-5 days per week (seasonal variation; rota’d weekends)  Rate: From £15 per hour: dependent on experience  Reports to: Head Grower and Farm manager

About Farmacy

Farmacy is a 13-acre Demeter-certified farm in Forest Row, grounded in agroecology, permaculture, biodynamics, and syntropics. We grow for our London restaurant (opening 2026) and for on-farm events/workshops, hosting learning at the intersection of food, hospitality, health, and systems change.

Role Summary

We’re looking for a hands-on, curious Assistant Grower to support our Head Grower across the market garden and wider farm systems. This is a great role for someone with some growing experience (Traineership, internship, season or two of growing commercially) who wants to keep developing and learning in a unique and interdisciplinary farm.

What You’ll Do

• Propagation: seed sowing, pricking out, potting on.
• Beds & Crop Care: bed prep, weeding, transplanting, direct sowing, mulching.
• Harvest & Pack: picking to spec, quality control, packing for events/restaurant.
• Irrigation & Housekeeping: watering rounds, tunnel/glasshouse care, tool hygiene.
• Compost & Soil: turning piles, making simple mixes, applying compost/mulch.
• Records (light-touch): basic harvest logs and field notes (training provided).
• Wider Farm Help (as needed): support in syntropic rows, mushroom beds/logs, poultry rounds, and general site care.

Training & Support

• Biodynamic practice: calendar rhythms, preparations (stirring/application).
• Agroecological methods: closed-loop fertility, living mulches, composting.
• Permaculture and syntropics: methodologies and management strategies
• Education: opportunities to support the on-farm educational courses
• Quality & safety: harvest hygiene, knife/tool safety, manual handling.
• Progression: opportunities to take ownership of a bed block or crop line as you grow.
• Career progression: Potential for the roles to become permanent

What You Bring (Essentials)

• Genuine interest in biodynamics/regenerative agriculture and learning by doing.
• Reliability and stamina for outdoor work in all weather.
• Experience in veg growing (home/allotment/volunteering counts).
• Team mindset, good communication, respectful attitude.

Nice to Have (Helpful but Not Required)

• Experience on a market garden or CSA.
• Familiarity with perennials/soft fruit/tree crops.
• Chefing and culinary skills       
• Flower growing or basic floristry.
• Interest in medicinal plants/herbalism.
• Knowledge of food preservation techniques eg fermentation, conserves, dehydration.
• Light machinery use (strimmer/chipper/pedestrian tractor) and simple maintenance.
• Basic crop planning or simple order fulfilment.

Practicals

• PT to FT: 3-5 days/week; more hours may be available in peak season.
• Some weekends on a rota.
• Right to work in the UK required; Farmacy is not able to sponsor visas.

How to Apply

Please email your CV and a short cover note (why this role, your relevant experience, your availability) to basil@farmacylondon.com

Application information

Please email your CV and a short cover note (why this role, your relevant experience, your availability) to basil@farmacylondon.com

Please mention Roots to Work when applying for these jobs