Season of Mists
By Lucy Hine
EAST NEUK MARKET GARDEN is another of the independent tenant businesses based just next door to us at the brewery. Tom and Connie (and Nessa the puppy) run the small scale, agroecological farm, growing an astonishing array of organic vegetables, salads, herbs and fruit.
They brighten every Wednesday with a seasonal veg bag drop at our back door, which nearly always includes something we haven't encountered before (aztec broccoli, anyone?), alongside a great mix of staples (potatoes, carrots, cabbage, onions) and seasonal luxuries (tomatoes, herbs, salad leaves). Currently they are fully subscribed but you can sign up to their newsletter to go on the waiting list for the 2021 season if you're interested in getting a bag delivered to your door next year.
In the meantime, you can get your hands their veg this year through Bowhouse Link which is open for orders online from Monday to Wednesday every week, going out for local deliveries on Saturdays. Or as I'm sure you're still planning to support your local pubs and restaurants, even after yesterday's bombshell announcements, you'll be able to find their veg gracing the plates of the famous James Ferguson at the Kinneuchar Inn and Billy Boyter at The Cellar, amongst others, when you're out and about.
Growing agroecologically mean that the ecosystem of the whole farm is central to how the business is operated, so while they are not organically certified, the principals guiding the way they farm and grow are organic.
They say: "We grow on a human-scale without the use of pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilisers and follow methods that enrich and regenerate biodiversity and soil fertility. We are currently transitioning to a deep mulch or 'no-dig' system throughout the farm, meaning we will no longer cultivate the soil, in order to preserve and enhance soil health for greater crop health. We experiment a lot and are always trying new methods, whether to improve the ecological impact of the farm, to save on labour or time, or to get the most flavour and nutrition out of the food we grow. We believe everyone should have access to local, sustainably produced food that enhances the wider ecosystem rather than degrades it."
We popped into to see them last week to have a wee tour of the farm and see what they'd been up to. I'm not sure if every month is like this, but September seemed to be a pretty colourful time to be standing in the middle of their beautiful plot. Rows of brassicas, sunflowers dancing, the lovely squashes starting to come in.
The farm is split into sections, large mixed beds and 2 poly-tunnels (with another on the way). They explained that September is a changeover month when a lot of the summer fruiting crops are taken up to make room for the autumn and winter ones. The cucumbers, French beans, aubergines and peppers have had their chance and now it's time for the lettuces, spinach, rocket, spring greens, chervil and spring onions.
Tom and Connie spent time working, learning and developing their farming philosophy on several different farms in Scotland and Europe, before setting up themselves in St Monans a couple of years ago. You wouldn't believe how little time they'd been here, given how bountiful their 2-acres of land is already proving. A testament to all of their hard work and relentless energy in whatever weather the East Neuk cares to throw at them.
Their cheery faces and muddy knees are a constant and very welcome source of encouragement to us all.
