Experienced Kitchen Gardener Looking to Establish a Diversified Land-Based Business

Stephanie is an experienced grower with nearly eight years of experience working in food production. She is a creative, driven landworker with broad knowledge in growing and land management, who is now ready to establish her own enterprise.

She is looking for the right plot of land to develop a diverse growing business, growing vegetables, cut flowers, and other productive crops such as those for dye and fibre. Alongside this, she hopes to create opportunities for education, helping to reconnect people with the land through practical, hands-on experiences. In time, she would like to work with the available land and is keen to use her skills in natural beekeeping, forest gardening and orcharding if the opportunity arises.

Stephanie currently works as a kitchen gardener, managing a productive plot while overseeing volunteers and trainees. In recent years she has also developed a programme of workshops which she offers in her own time, with plans to integrate nature connection, growing and foraging into any future enterprise. She enjoys teaching and training, and hopes to build a space where people can learn practical skills and deepen their understanding of nature and working with it.

Her passion for land-based work has led her to train in horticulture, orchard care, forest gardening, natural beekeeping and seed production. She is about to start a women-in-forestry training programme, and has practical experience in hedge laying, coppicing and orchard care. Her journey into growing originally began through training in fashion and textiles, where her curiosity about where materials come from inspired her to learn how to grow flax for making cloth.

More recently, Stephanie has developed particular interests in seed production—especially producing seed for organic dyes—as well as supplying crops. She hopes to build specialist seed sales into her enterprise, supplying high-quality seed for home growers and small textile makers interested in natural fibres and dyes.

Her ideal site would be around 1.5 acres and within reach of an urban area, allowing her to attract participants for workshops and educational activities. She has ties to the North East but is also open to opportunities in Yorkshire, Cumbria, the North West, or the South East near her current base in London. It is important to Stephanie that in time, a sheltered or indoor space could be available to host her workshops and welcome people to the plot in all weathers.

Steph is an open-minded and curious person keen to work with a landowner who shares an interest in experimentation, learning and exploring new possibilities for the land.

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