Senior Grower at Borde Hill, Haywards Heath

Salary:£26,000 – 28,000(Dependent onexperience)To apply:email your CV & coveringletter to:##### you are inemployment, pleaseinclude your currentnotice periodBorde Hill (BH) is a Grade II* listed English Heritage Garden set within 383 acres ofParkland and Woodland in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with widerfarmland beyond.Created in the early 1900’s with plants gathered by the great plant hunters fromtheir travels to the Himalayas, China, Burma, Tasmania, the Andes and NorthAmerica, the Estate contains over 70 champion trees and 8,000 trees and shrubslisted by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. In addition to the living collection, BordeHill also has a rare plant archive which allows us to better understand the plantcollection and social history to engage our visitors about ‘the world in one garden’.The Stephenson Clarke family have been custodians of Borde Hill for fivegenerations, and are at a stage of generational change that will see new energy,opportunities and ideas aimed at broadening our visitor demographic and ensuringBorde Hill is sustainable for future generations. This will include new businessinitiatives of field to fork eating, a biodynamic market garden and a rejuvenatedfamily parkland offering with improved infrastructure, better horticulturalinterpretation and plant management.You and Your RoleAn exciting new opportunity has arisen to join the Borde Hill team to manage ournew 4 acre biodynamic market garden – The Growers Project – located at SugworthFarm, a 40 acre farm on Borde Hill Estate. Now in its second year of production, weare looking for a passionate grower to work on establishing and transforming thesite to produce seasonal fruit and vegetables which will supply the new restaurant,café and farm shop planned to open at The Stables at Borde Hill.You will work closely with the Senior Kitchen Gardener and restaurant Chef to bringthe new food vision to life, creating a strong brand message of farm to fork,seasonal produce, showcasing the very best of biodynamic growing. It is therefore,not only key that you have knowledge of growing produce on a large scale, but alsoneed strong organizational and communication skills to enable effective planningwith all parties regarding crop selection, cultivation, time of sowing and harvest.As the operation grows, you will manage seasonal growers and will need to buildupon the current volunteer pool in order to support the growing operation.Polytunnels and undercover crops will be key, so knowledge of cultivation andpropagation under these structures will be important for producing a vast array ofsoft crops.Beyond the market garden at Sugworth Farm, you will work closely with the SeniorKitchen Gardener to oversee the re-imagined Walled Kitchen Garden at the Stables,which is also biodynamic, and is designed as a potager garden with edible, medicinaland companion planting. Therefore the successful candidate would ideally also haveexperience in productive walled gardening encompassing vegetable production,propagation, herbaceous borders, orchards, wall trained fruit and cut flowers.Your passion for organic/biodynamic growing, technical knowledge and creativity willbe key in ensuring these areas and the plants within them are cared for anddeveloped to grow delicious seasonal produce to be eaten on site or sold wholesale.Knowledge, skills and experience needed:(Please provide evidence in your Covering Letter and CV)You will have the following responsibilities:• Line manage a small team including staff, volunteers and students.• Be responsible for all aspects of care for the land, the growing and harvesting of crops including:effective rotations, composting, fertility building, weed control, pest and diseasemanagement and mechanisation.• Adhere to and develop the cropping plan and sowing/planting schedule, to ensure produce isvaried and sustained throughout the year.• Work within the standards of Demeter and attend annual inspections, preparing all of thepaperwork and keeping records of BD spraying activities across Sugworth Farm and the WalledKitchen Garden.• Set fair market prices for each product by cross checking other similar operations and adjustingwhen necessary.• Communicate and plan ahead with the Chef and Senior Walled Gardener on crops to be grown aswell as determining supply and demand.• Contribute to Borde Hill’s wider work as a member of the Garden team, actively participating inscheduled and ad hoc departmental meetings with the Head of Horticulture, Executive Managerand the Managing Director.• Manage annual budgets for growing.• Manage the sale of crops, ensuring efficient use of receipts and working with the Accounts teamfor invoicing.Essential Selection CriteriaSkills required:• A strong understanding of organic/biodynamic propagation, seed sowing, crop rotations, non-chemical pest and disease management, knowledge of post-harvest and other plant husbandrytechniques needed in a productive biodynamic market garden or a willingness to learn aboutBiodynamic principles and practices.• A passion for biodynamic growing and experience of growing fruits, vegetables, and salad cropsin a recognised establishment.• The variable and dynamic nature of this role requires a flexible approach to working out ofregular hours as required.• A strong understanding of growing crops undercover and knowledge of cultivation underpolytunnels.• An understanding of how to manage the cultivation of heavy clay soil and the climatic influencesit may have.• Excellent communication is key in order to work collaboratively and effectively with the Chef andSenior Walled Gardener as well as across the business as a whole.• Experience in managing volunteers / junior roles• Strong organization, forward planning and record keeping are critical for the timely operation ofseed sowing, crop rotation, harvest operations as well as supply and demand.• Experience with handling and using a wide range of machinery, including rotavator, tractor andhand held machinery.• Understanding and experience of health and safety procedures including COSHH and riskassessment procedures.• Computer literate with experience of MS Office software, and able to use databases accurately.We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified personsregardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation. 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