The Organic Grower Podcast

Dec 05 2024 18 ep. 85 mins 18

The Organic Grower Podcast artwork

The Organic Grower Podcast aims to bring together organic growers from across the UK to share their skills and experiences with those looking to deepen their knowledge of the organic growing world. It will be practical in focus, getting straight into the nitty-gritty of people’s growing practices and business operations.

James Butterworth, co-founder and grower at Cotswold Market Garden, will be taking us on a journey through farms and gardens across the UK to speak to growers about the work they do, delving into the most relevant topics of the organic growing world.

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 and member.

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OGPod Episode 18: Adam Payne and Awen Organics

Dec 05 2024 68 mins

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 di

OGPod Episode 17: Jim Aplin and Hotchpotch Organics

Nov 21 2024 76 mins

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

OGPod Episode 16: Kate McEvoy and Real Seeds

Nov 07 2024 92 mins

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 growi

OGPod Episode 15: Ed Hamer and Chagfood Community Market Garden

Oct 24 2024 94 mins

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 har

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

Oct 17 2024 96 mins

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

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

Sep 26 2024 93 mins

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

OGPod Episode 12: Jayne Arnold and Oxton Organics

Sep 12 2024 83 mins

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 m

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

Aug 15 2024 77 mins

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

OGPod Episode 10: Jean-Martin Fortier

Aug 01 2024 79 mins

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

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

Jul 18 2024 90 mins

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