Waterland CSA Head Grower Heron Holmes
I have been volunteering or working on the land here since 2011. I have been lucky enough to learn from Paul and Doreen Robinson of Waterland Organics over this time and am now managing Waterland CSA.
I have a PhD in botany and a passion for organically growing nutritious vegetables for local people. I’m always looking for new methods to manage weeds, soil health and create a diverse farm ecosystem. I also grow organic heritage grain in partnership with Flourish Produce.
At Waterland CSA, I am lucky to grow on a beautiful dark mineral Fen soil which has been impeccably stewarded as organic land for over 30 years by Paul and Doreen. I do soil tests every year to monitor nutrients and organic matter, and I leave no land bare over winter, everything is either cropped or sown with diverse cover crops to maintain living roots in the ground and help protect soil biology.
I am truly farming with nature. I rely on the diverse ecosystem of the farm for disease and pest control as I apply zero synthetic inputs to the land. It is my job to enhance the farm’s environment with strips of flowering plants and cover crops to encourage insects which are natural enemies of crop pests- such as hoverflies and lady birds whose larvae feed on aphids. I pay attention to rotating crops and giving back to the land to keep it in good heart and enhance the biological activity of the soil, which cycles nutrients for me to grow the best vegetables possible. I depend on these natural systems to carry on farming and I do everything I can to protect them and grow nutritious healthy vegetables alongside them.
Did you know that the Soil Association standards require me to grow with organically produced seed? This is sometimes harder to find for the diverse variety of vegetables I grow but allows me to support organic seed producers and grow varieties of heritage vegetable that are best suited to organic systems. Veg that grows slower, is more likely to associate with mycorrhizal fungus in the soil and take up more nutrients to potentially be more flavoursome and nutritious to eat.
I’m incredibly grateful for the time volunteers spend on the farm and always try to provide opportunities for learning. If you are interested in volunteering please get in touch.
