Nutrient Rich Food Grown Here

In mid-May a small group of DHHS members visited the certified organic and bio-dynamic Haymans Farm in Shillinglee. Owner Flora Stubbs, with the help of Joel and Alice, has created a productive, sustainable farm focusing primarily on providing nutrient-rich vegetables to people who care about how their food is grown. Members enjoyed a guided tour of the farm, starting first at the compost piles. No surprise that this would be our first stop as Flora believes that soil is everything – without nutrient-rich, healthy soil growing anything is difficult. Their compost is a 70% green waste/30% brown waste mix heated up to 55°C. After that the compost is turned and moved to another pile where it continues to rot down. Perennial weeds are not placed in the compost but dealt with elsewhere.

The farm does not use any fertilisers or pesticides. For pests and diseases, they employ such methods as companion planting, crop protection (fleece, netting, sheep’s wool) and letting nature take its course knowing that natural predators will soon find the ‘baddies’ and tackle these unwanted populations. Natural fertilisers such as comfrey and nettle teas are used along with seaweed extract.

During our visit, Alice was in the process of tying up all their tomato and cucumber plants in their polytunnel. They grow all these up strings, allowing them to plant more densely (approximately 45-50cm between plants). This year they are growing agretti or Monk’s beard between their tomato plants to provide another valuable crop for sale.

Their emphasis on providing nutritious, diverse food with tangible health benefits was truly impressive. Follow them on Insta @haymans_farm_sussex

We have another visit to Haymans Farm scheduled for 2 June with spaces remaining. Email us at bookingsdhhs@gmail.com if you are interested in attending.