Once a year I spend a morning walking around the farm with a soil auger, taking little cores of soil about 12" deep from across the whole farm. The purpose is to understand what is happening in the farm's soils, in particular the soil organic matter. It sounds idyllic, though is not quite as lazy and romantic as it sounds.…
March is a busy month on the farm. With the increased light levels, longer days and milder temperatures, plants really start growing strongly this month. At the other end of the year it's late September when plants really start to slow down. Now hedge cutting is finished (birds should be starting to nest soon), it's all about getting plants started…
Please note the deadline for applications has now closed. We are looking for an apprentice grower at our small organic market garden on the Isles of Scilly. Growing fruit and veg for local outlets, this is a great opportunity to learn more about commercial organic horticulture, alongside the head grower. Ideal candidates for this job will have had some…
I'm often asked "what happens in the winter on the farm?". Partly it's delivered with curiousness, and partly with disbelief that there would be more than a morning's work a week to do! Well, dear reader I can assure you that there's plenty to keep me going in the winter and by this time of year I get a bit…
Please note applications for this position have now closed. We're recruiting! From early April to mid/late September 2020 we require an Assistant Grower to work on our small organic fruit and veg farm on the Isles of Scilly. The position is paid and comes with free accommodation. Scilly Organics is an organic market garden growing a range of veg crops…
The Cornwall Air Ambulance is a wonderful thing, providing that real life line link between remote places in Scilly and Cornwall, with the medical care that they need. Incredibly, this isn't funded by Government, but is a charity that exists to keep the helicopter flying every day of the year. We're pleased that our customers have contributed over £100 to…
I am currently working on a project called CIRC4Life, which aims to create new Circular Economy solutions for businesses. This is about creating less waste, using less resources, reducing carbon emissions and bringing producers and consumers closer together. As part of this we would like to ask you to take part in a consumer survey, to understand your attitudes towards…
You might be curious about how a day on the farm here looks like. It depends what season you're talking about, for summer is very different to winter. But as we're in summer now, let's concentrate on the farm in the summer months. Let's assume it's one of those lovely sunny mornings. After a ten minute walk to work, taking…
PLEASE NOTE APPLICATIONS HAVE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS JOB We're recruiting! From early June to late September we require an Assistant Grower to work on our small farm on the Isles of Scilly. The position is paid and comes with free accommodation. Scilly Organics is an organic market garden growing a range of veg crops for local sales, specialising in…
Recently a very alarming report came out about the state of the world's insects. Over the past decade 41% of insects have disappeared. That's nearly a half! https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/10/plummeting-insect-numbers-threaten-collapse-of-nature Think about that for a bit, and its implications. All the myriad of birds, animals and other organisms that are inter-dependent on insects to support food webs. Oh, and humans - no…