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

Forbidden Fruit and Veg market garden is looking for a Head Grower to run our 1.7 acre Market Garden which includes outdoor beds, an orchard, six polytunnels, and a small greenhouse in a walled garden with a packing shed nearby, and about 35 chickens. We sell wholesale to a local pub, shops in Bristol, 2 farmers' markets, an honesty-box kiosk, and via delivered and collected veg boxes.

Due to the present head grower leaving on July 19th, we ask the grower to commit to at least 5 months with the option to renew if both parties agree.

The engagement will be to manage the market garden and provide leadership and support to the trainee and volunteers. We are able to consider a job share for this role if the applicant would prefer to engage for part time employment.

The candidate(s) must have at least two years’ experience of organic/agroecological growing, preferably in a commercial setting, with a strong theoretical and practical experience in edible horticulture. A full, current driving licence is required. The freelance salary would be £90 per 7-hour day. Days worked will be 5 days per week.

We are willing to offer the Head Grower a bonus of 75% of any profits made by the business. 

We can offer free accommodation and free organic food kept in my house and prepared by the community of growers. You will be able to choose between a room in my 6-bed house, or across the road in a detached 5-bedroom house (with a contribution towards your use of utilities) shared with the community of Wwoofers and a trainee.

•  Interviews: immediately

• Job starting date: 13th July

The role will involve attending to all aspects of running the Market Garden, including (but not limited to) the following:

Annual planning:

• Rotation

• Cropping Plan

• Sowing Plan

• Infrastructure plan

Purchasing:

• Seed order

• Equipment & tools

• Consumables

Practical work 

• Crop production

• Harvesting

• Sowing and plant raising

• Infrastructure, maintenance and repair

Routine admin 

• Recruiting and managing Wwoofers

• Sales lists: collating and distributing by email, updating web lists, box planning

• Prepping pick lists

• Processing Ooooby sales (boxes & others)

• Enquiries

• Ordering bought-in veg

Promotion & publicity

• Social media

• Stalls

Packhouse work 

• Packing

• Deliveries (organising drivers)

Human Resources

• Trainee mentoring

The Market Garden Lead Grower will:

• Work with the trainee and woofers to attend to all aspects of care for the land and the production of crops, including soil preparation, sowing, planting, weeding, harvesting and other activities that support crop production such as pest and disease management, compost production and mechanisation;

• Work with the trainee and woofers in packing and organising delivery of wholesale and individual orders around the local area;

• Work with the trainee and woofers to carry out infrastructural work and general maintenance;

• Be flexible in working hours to suit the needs of the garden where necessary, such as early starts on busy harvesting mornings, and helping cover routine duties for example on the weekend watering / tunnel-opening rota. We do however strive to be as flexible as possible in meeting all needs for a regular work routine, and all irregular work will be prearranged according to need and availability;

• Work flexible hours throughout the year due to the seasonal nature of the work;

• Help promote and market the business such as helping run stalls at local events;

• Help to oversee casual workers and volunteers who may be drafted in at busy times of the year.

• Whilst your focus will be on vegetables, you are also expected to work with the trainee and woofers in attending to all aspects of fruit growing, arranging, packing and sales, where required. 

See more information via our Forbidden Fruit and Veg website

Application information

To apply, email your CV and cover letter, or any queries to tracy@tracyworcester.org.uk and forbiddenfruitandveg@gmail.com

About Forbidden Fruit & Veg

Forbidden Fruit and Veg was established in 2021 in a 1.8 acre walled garden, built by the Victorians to feed Badminton House and the wider estate. The market garden is run by the Head Grower, supported by ‘live-in’ project WWOOFers and volunteers. The garden has 6 large poly-tunnels and a small greenhouse and supplies veg to local markets, farm shops and businesses, as well as running a veg box scheme and honesty stall.

Application information

Please write with a covering letter and CV to Tracy Worcester: tracy@tracyworcester.org.uk

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