ASHLEY WHEELER
Ashley Wheeler has run Trill Farm Garden with his partner Kate for the last 10 years. Brought up on an organic smallholding, he learnt a huge amount from his parents who ran a box scheme in the 1990's. After his Horticulture degree at Reading University he and Kate came across the opportunity at Trill Farm to rent 2.5 acres to run their own market gardening business. They now sell salad and other vegetables and herbs to around 20 different restaurants, cafes and caterers almost all within 8 miles of the farm. In 2020 they also setup a veg bag scheme, now delivering around 70 bags of veg locally.
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RUTH HANCOCKRuth Hancock is the lead grower at, and founder of, Fresh and Green Vegetables, established in 2003 in East Devon.
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LALLY OWEN & TOMAS CAROLSFELDWe are Tomas and Lally of Springtail Farm. We are new entrant growers who run a small low-till market garden on rented land at Fivepenny Farm in West Dorset. In total the market garden is about three quarters of an acre and 2021 will be our third growing season. We grow a wide range of vegetables and cut flowers selling them mostly at a weekly market, local shops and restaurants and in 2020 we set up a small box scheme in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. We don't do this alone though, and working with people is key to our health, our sanity, our business, why we do what we do, and what we feel is the long term viability of being growers. The market garden is in effect run by three full time employees, and our dream is to someday co-run a much bigger project, that provides training and employment to upwards of six people full time. We are driven by growing the most delicious and nutritious vegetables that we can, in bountiful quantities that pay mind to the land that we tend and the communities we feed. |