The Organic Grower Podcast

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The Organic Grower Podcast

Organic Growers Alliance

24 episodes

1 week ago

In this episode, James shares his thoughts on running a successful plant sale. It's jam packed with tips and tricks for you to put into practice. Buckle up, reason number 1 to run a plant sale is... This podcast is brought to you by the Organic Growers Alliance, the UK's only grower-led organisation providing technical and practical advice and support on organic growing. For more information about the OGA head to www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk and become a member. More about James Butterwo...

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In this episode, James shares his thoughts on running a successful plant sale. It's jam packed with tips and tricks for you to put into practice. Buckle up, reason number 1 to run a plant sale is... This podcast is brought to you by the Organic Growers Alliance, the UK's only grower-led organisation providing technical and practical advice and support on organic growing. For more information about the OGA head to www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk and become a member. More about James Butterwo...

Show more...

Episodes (20/24)

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 24: 5 reasons to run a plant sale and 10 tips for success

In this episode, James shares his thoughts on running a successful plant sale. It's jam packed with tips and tricks for you to put into practice. Buckle up, reason number 1 to run a plant sale is... This podcast is brought to you by the Organic Growers Alliance, the UK's only grower-led organisation providing technical and practical advice and support on organic growing. For more information about the OGA head to www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk and become a member. More about James Butterwo...

1 week ago

1 hour 9 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 23: George Bennett and Sandy Lane Farm

James speaks to George Bennett of Sandy Lane Farm. George came back to the family farm after a career in IT and has built something pretty special. We talk about going to scale and building a growing operation and sales infrastructure that allows them to run an extremely slick 400-strong veg box scheme and on-site farm shop. George discusses implementing and improving processes and systems throughout the farm, harnessing the natural environment as well as opportunities provided by data analys...

3 weeks ago

1 hour 43 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 22: John McCormick and Helen's Bay Organic

James speaks to John McCormick of Helen’s Bay Organic just outside Belfast. It was a real privilege to speak to John, who is entering his 34th year on the site. We speak about dealing with clay soils, particularly in spring and methods he’s developed to get production going earlier. We discuss rotations, compost, green manures, weed control and John’s large collection of machinery, which he uses to great effect. Our conversation also touches on business skills and the benefits of direct retai...

1 month ago

1 hour 33 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 21: Edwin Brooks and Ed's Veg

James speaks to Edwin Brooks of Ed’s Veg in Hampshire. Ed has a wide range of expertise but today the conversation focuses mainly on his year-round salad production. Ed and his team produce 150-200kg of mixed leaf salad a week, primarily for wholesale markets. We drill down into propagation, planting, varieties, irrigation, fertility, harvest schedules and techniques and much more. We also discuss the development of a field scale operation at a nearby site, which is helping to expand and dive...

1 month ago

1 hour 27 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 20: Hamish Evans, Sammy Elmore and Middle Ground Growers

James speaks to Hamish Evans and Sammy Elmore of Middle Ground Growers on the edge of Bath. In four seasons, they have grown the business from nothing to a turnover of over £200,000. We discuss how they set their goals and worked backward from there to achieve their rapid scaling up. We touch on how they built up a 180-strong veg box scheme, the different production systems they have developed from small-scale no-dig to field scale mechanisation and the benefits of their collaborative farming...

2 months ago

1 hour 8 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 19: Rebecca Laughton and the Landworkers Alliance

James speaks to researcher, policy expert and campaigner, Bea Laughton. Much of the conversation focuses on her work for the Landworkers Alliance. We discuss the latest Horticulture Across Four Nations report, including addressing import substitution, increasing supply and consumption of UK-grown vegetables, price challenges and the true cost of production. We also discuss public sector procurement of organic veg, particularly attempts to get more organic veg into schools in Wales. We move on...

2 months ago

1 hour 12 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 18: Adam Payne and Awen Organics

James speaks to Adam Payne of Awen Organics in Pembrokeshire. Adam is no novice and is now putting his experience to work in a relatively new venture in West Wales, where he has been leading in establishing a 25-acre organic veg farm from the ground up. We talk about the farm’s long-term investments in infrastructure and machinery and attempts to scale the business quickly. We discuss developing a strong and diverse market, building a good team and designing efficient growing systems. We also...

3 months ago

1 hour 8 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 17: Jim Aplin and Hotchpotch Organics

James speaks to Jim Aplin of Hotchpotch Organics in Worcestershire. We talk about Jim’s experience of developing a growing system with next to no infrastructure where crops moved every year as part of a much larger arable rotation. We discuss why Jim opted for a 4-wheel compact tractor over a 2-wheel tractor and how he developed spacings and techniques to suit. More recently, Jim has moved to a new site, now with buildings and protected cropping, and he talks about the challenges and lessons ...

3 months ago

1 hour 16 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 16: Kate McEvoy and Real Seeds

James speaks to Kate McEvoy from Real Seeds in Pembrokeshire. We talk about the gradual growth of the business over many years, growing seed for home gardeners, the importance of open-pollinated seed and incorporating seed growing into market gardens., We delve deep into growing peas and beans for seed, economics of seed vs veg, what you need to think about on top of actually growing seed when you run a seed business and the scope for more small-scale seed companies. Later on, Kate discusses ...

4 months ago

1 hour 32 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 15: Ed Hamer and Chagfood Community Market Garden

James speaks to Ed Hamer of Chagfood Community Market Garden in the Dartmoor National Park. CSAs or Community Supported Agriculture is very much the focus in this one. We talk about Ed’s split growing site, leaning into the restrictive nature of the CSA model, dealing with and sharing risk, the importance and challenges of communicating with customers/members, the benefits of hard copy newsletters, member recruitment and retention, dealing with crop failures, surviving without cold storage an...

4 months ago

1 hour 34 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 14: Pete Dollimore and Hankham Organics + The Montessori Place

James speaks to Pete Dollimore, previously of Hankham Organics in Sussex and now an instructor at The Montesorri Place. Pete is an absolute fountain of knowledge, particularly about protected cropping, which is so important to many organic growers. At Hankham Organics, Pete oversaw production in 7000m2 of glasshouse - an incredible opportunity but one with an endless learning curve. We delve deep into irrigation systems, managing fertility, dealing with the peaks and troughs of production, ti...

4 months ago

1 hour 36 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 13: Rita Oldenbourg and Adam Beer and Pitney Farm Market Garden

James speak to Rita and Adam from Pitney Farm Market Garden in Somerset. Rita and Adam are fresh from winning Young Organic Grower of the Year and hopefully our conversation gives you a flavour of why. We talk about their decision to mechanise much of their operation and how this feeds into their goal of year-round production, direct wholesaling and growing as much food as possible while maintaining soil health and providing a livelihood. It’s a very wide-ranging conversation with loads of nu...

5 months ago

1 hour 33 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 12: Jayne Arnold and Oxton Organics

James speaks to Jayne Arnold of Oxton Organics in Worcestershire. Oxton Organics has undergone a number of transformations over the years and James and Jayne discuss this, but the bulk of the conversation focuses on Jayne’s experiments with green manures. Jayne talks about the benefits of green manures, establishment, undersowing, species selection and seed mixes, key dates and methods of termination. We also get onto Jayne’s LWA-funded trials into bio-stimulants and her attempts to save seed...

6 months ago

1 hour 23 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 11: Alice Rixon a.k.a. The Veg Lady, Chettle

James speaks to Alice Rixon a.k.a. The Veg Lady, based in Chettle, Dorset. We really wanted to hear from someone at the start of their growing journey to talk through the challenges and thinking of starting out with their own horticultural business. Alice talks about how she is setting up the growing space (where she’s combining polytunnels, market garden and field-scale from the get go), the things she’s chosen to invest in early on, the particular arrangement she has with her landlady...

6 months ago

1 hour 17 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 10: Jean-Martin Fortier

Back to today’s episode, James speaks to Jean-Martin Fortier. And boy did we manage to pack a lot into this one. James ended up speaking to JM on his phone outside the packing shed at FQT farm so the sound isn’t perfect but hopefully the content more than makes up for that. We talk about the limits and sweet spots of human-scale market gardening, training new-entrant growers to do the work required, a deep dive on profitability and running market gardens as businesses, the importance of marke...

7 months ago

1 hour 19 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 9: Connie Hunter and Tom Booth and East Neuk Market Garden

In this episode James speaks to Connie Hunter and Tom Booth from East Neuk Market Garden. We talk about how they have developed their site and growing systems over the last 6 years, the particularities of their climate on the East Coast of Scotland, farming as a couple and their recent forays into collaborative farming with nearby business Falkland Kitchen Farm. There’s also some top tips for dry-farming tomatoes and quick and easy pea supports. It’s such a rewarding conversation with a coupl...

7 months ago

1 hour 30 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 8: Laurence Jarrett-Kerr and Soul Farm

In this episode James speaks to Laurence Jarrett-Kerr of Soul Farm. Laurence started the business 6 years ago and has grand plans for the years ahead. We chat about combining home-grown veg with bought in produce, managing costs and some deep thoughts on profitability and entrepreneurship. The perennial issue of scale also features prominently as we dig in to Laurence’s plans to grow the business, having recently secured £350,000 of community investment. It’s a thought provoking one for sure ...

8 months ago

1 hour 24 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 7: Rosanna Catterall & Signe Jensen and Knepp Market Garden

In this episode James speaks to Rosanna Catterall and Signe Jensen from Knepp Market Garden. We discuss establishing a production horticulture enterprise in the middle of a substantial rewilding project, growing on heavy clay, aligning crop planning and sales, combining no-dig and min-till systems side by side, running a market garden as employees and Rosanna and Signe’s top tips for growing beetroot and garlic. This one is jam packed with useful insights and experiences so let’s get to it.Th...

8 months ago

1 hour 9 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 6: Ashley Wheeler and Trill Farm Garden

In this episode, Jame speaks with Ashley Wheeler from Trill Farm Garden. Would you believe they have been going for 14 years now? We talk about how they have adapted their growing systems over that time, experimenting with field scale (although Ash questions whether that’s the right term!), setting up a new veg box scheme as an established market garden, all things radicchio and Ash’s reflections on the viability of small-scale growing in the current socio-economic context. Oh, and a bit abou...

9 months ago

1 hour 33 minutes

The Organic Grower Podcast

OGPod Episode 5: Phil Sumption

In this episode, James talks to Phil Sumption, a man of many hats (grower, researcher, adviser, writer and editor). We discuss how Phil got into organic horticulture, his portfolio of roles in the sector, his reflections on the history of organics over the last few decades, as well as the development of the Organic Growers Alliance and The Organic Grower magazine. Later on in the episode we talk about his new book The Organic Vegetable Grower, his take on new entrants, issues of scale, and th...

9 months ago

1 hour 10 minutes