The Springtailers…
We are in our fourth year of full-time vegetable growing and as our experience grows, so too does the area of land that we tend. The expansion of our growing area means that there’s always more to do, and so we are very glad to have several great employees. For most of the week this means that there are three or four of us working together in the market garden.
Working as a team, however small, has made an immeasurable difference! We are able to get so much more done, our goals of producing bountiful amounts of food are made more possible, and the long term sustainability of our small business feels more viable, especially when it comes to our own wellbeing as young growers who hope to be in this profession for many years to come. Vegetable production is no small task, and there is much that is out of our control, so the fact that this work can be shared in the company of others is vital. Thank you team!
Lally
When I was a kid, much of family life happened around our kitchen table. From a young age I felt the importance and specialness of sharing food with people. In secondary school my work experience was on a farm-cum-education centre and it was there that I first felt the joy of hard physical work that is shared with others. Later at university I had a job on the campus’ farm, where again I felt the vitality of working outdoors with other people. We talked whilst we worked in a way that bound us, and the vegetables that grew mesmerised me. Between then and now, I’ve felt quite a lot of confusion and indecision about what I wanted to do with my days, but knew that I had to revisit vegetable growing at some point to see if that’s where my passion might lie. It has been almost four years now, and I’ve never felt as fulfilled (and tired!) or as driven.
Both of my parents grew up on family farms, one arable and one dairy, but both left the countryside for the city, to study and later work in film and television, which is how they met. I wasn’t close to either of my grandfathers, and I’m sure we would have had somewhat differing visions of farming, but two generations later, I feel a sense of history and belonging in returning to the work of my grandparents — to the work of many of our grandparents.
Growing food feels like a practice that attends to the multiplicity of life. There is so much to learn from the abundance, diversity and intricacy of nature, and so much to think about and strive for when it comes to working towards cultures of food production that are just, equitable and regenerative. In short — I’m in deep and here for the long haul.
Tomas
I grew up on Vancouver Island, off the southwest coast of Canada and then, after moving around a bit, went to university to study Human Ecology in the northeast of the US, on the coast of Maine. That was my first experience of spending time on and around farms — helping friends, working on class projects, and visiting farms from a food systems perspective, specifically food waste and food recovery, which was my focus in my final year of university. At the time I never considered actually being the one to grow the food in the first place and although I started as a bit of a reluctant vegetable grower a couple years ago, I have been converted (possibly irreversibly) and now find it difficult to think about much of anything else! This year I’ve been especially mesmerised by the world of cut flowers, and the million ways to care for and prune a cucumber plant. I just love how much there is to learn about vegetable farming and how the more I learn, the more I realise how little I know.
Elektra
My motivation to work on a farm and learn about growing vegetables comes from a serious love of food. I grew up on tip toes; desperate to be eye-line with the kitchen counter, to observe and absorb my mothers hands as she crafted meal after meal. And so, it was by sharing food at the table, washing up in our family restaurant and later standing at the kitchen counter or waiting tables that I discovered and developed my interest in working with food and people. Now, working on a farm and learning continuously from the plants and the people has grounded my love of food like nothing else. I'm yet to find anything that compares to the joy and meaning I find in a hard day’s work harvesting the bounty to be taken home, or taken to market, and then cooked, eaten and shared. With that comes the commitment and belief that it is both essential and possible that everyone should have access to good food as well as the knowledge and understanding of where it comes from. There's a whole lot to learn and sometimes that feels daunting but also always exciting.
Ruby
Vegetables and flowers make me happy.
Every part of veg growing is magical for me, from tiny seeds sprouting to giant sprawling squash plants and best of all the cooking and the eating!
I have worked on lots of farms, picking spuds in Wales and apples in Kent, growing for a veg box scheme and also a fruit tree nursery in Devon. I did a season growing medicinal herbs at Weleda in Derbyshire, harvesting fields of chamomile and stirring huge vats of potions with spades in the Willy Wonkaesque factory.
Many years working as a ranger nurtured my love of nature and so it’s just perfect now to be at Springtail Farm listening to the birds sing for joy as we plant out pea seedlings and look forward to scrummy stir frys.
and Clay
I’ve been working on the farm since I was a young pup. Most days, I laze around until it seems like I couldn’t possibly laze around anymore, and then I sprint around in big circles at top speed with seemingly endless energy, until I revert back to lazing around. I also like fresh vegetables, mostly the crunchy ones, especially iceberg lettuce, and then also tomatoes. I’m not very good at transplanting, weeding, watering, or sowing seeds, but the humans taught me about pathways, and I sometimes use them.