The Organic Grower Podcast

Organic Growers Alliance
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The Organic Grower Podcast aims to bring together organic growers from across the UK to share their skills and experiences with those looking to deepen their knowledge of the organic growing world. It will be practical in focus, getting straight into the nitty-gritty of people’s growing practices and business operations.James Butterworth, co-founder and grower at Cotswold Market Garden, will be taking us on a journey through farms and gardens across the UK to speak to growers about the work they do, delving into the most relevant topics of the organic growing world.This podcast is brought to you by the Organic Growers Alliance, the UK's only grower-led organisation providing technical and practical advice and support on organic growing. For more information about the OGA head to www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk and become and member.

  1. FEB 6

    OGPod Episode 35: Plant Sale Q&A

    In this episode, James responds to listeners questions about running a plant sale as an add-on to a vegetable growing enterprise, based on his experience of developing a profitable plant sale enterprise at Cotswold Market Garden/Conygree Farm. What are the best flower varieties to try and what perennials can you sow in the spring? What if you have limited greenhouse space? What if your site isn't suitable for holding events - how else could you sell plants? What are the labour requirements prior to the plant sale itself? Is one-day enough, a weekend or all spring long? This is a follow-up episode to episode 24 where James dives deep into 5 reasons you should consider running a plant sale and 10 tips for success. This podcast is brought to you by the Organic Growers Alliance, the UK's only grower-led organisation providing technical and practical advice and support on organic growing. For more information about the OGA head to www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk and become a member. More about James Butterworth and Cotswold Market Garden: https://www.cotswoldmarketgarden.co.uk/

    47 min

  2. JAN 22

    OGPod Episode 34: Dan Betterton and The Kitchen Garden People @ FarmEd

    In today’s episode, I talk to Dan Betterton of The Kitchen Garden People, based at FarmEd, Oxfordshire. Dan shares the challenges and advantages of operating within a mixed farm environment, the ins and outs of their community-supported agriculture (CSA) scheme, and the pros and cons of growing a business slowly and organically. The conversation also touches on the significance of volunteers, finding value beyond the financial, using caterpillar tunnels and lining up crop plans with sales. Towards the end we also discuss squash failures, strawberry successes and looking after your back. So let’s get to it. This podcast is brought to you by the Organic Growers Alliance, the UK's only grower-led organisation providing technical and practical advice and support on organic growing. For more information about the OGA head to www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk and become a member. More about James Butterworth and Cotswold Market Garden: https://www.cotswoldmarketgarden.co.uk/

    1h 22m

  3. JAN 8

    OGPod Episode 33: James' 2025 Season Review

    James is in a reflective mood, offering up a review of the season just gone...the highs and lows, lessons learned, and areas for improvement. Hopefully you find it useful and  can use it as a springboard to think about things wherever you are growing. This podcast is brought to you by the Organic Growers Alliance, the UK's only grower-led organisation providing technical and practical advice and support on organic growing. For more information about the OGA head to www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk and become a member. More about James Butterworth and Cotswold Market Garden: https://www.cotswoldmarketgarden.co.uk/

    1h 3m

  4. 12/11/2025

    OGPod Episode 32: Jamie Carr and Blacklands Organics

    In today’s episode, I am delighted to share my conversation with Jamie Carr from Blacklands Organics in Oxfordshire. We chat about the pros and cons of taking on land already used for organic veg production, developing a library of field-scale machinery and adapting crop plans to new market streams. A large chunk of the podcast focusses on how Jamie has fostered a skilled and dedicated team, based on principles of delegation, cross-training across tasks and roles and allowing employees space to develop their own ideas and learn from their mistakes. We delve deep into growing chard in the field and aubergines in the polytunnels and finish up with some brilliant advice about the importance of keeping going through the season, maintaining and optimising crop performance after the spring and summer sprint. It was really useful for me to hear about what Jamie and his team have developed at Blacklands and has given me loads of ideas to think about over winter. I am confident you will feel the same, so let’s get to it. This podcast is brought to you by the Organic Growers Alliance, the UK's only grower-led organisation providing technical and practical advice and support on organic growing. For more information about the OGA head to www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk and become a member. More about James Butterworth and Cotswold Market Garden: https://www.cotswoldmarketgarden.co.uk/

    1h 10m

  5. 11/27/2025

    OGPod Episode 31: Jez Taylor and Daylesford Organic

    In today’s episode I’m delighted to share with you my conversation with Jez Taylor, Head Grower at the famous Daylesford Organic in Gloucestershire. It is a wide ranging conversation where you’ll get a sense of the rather atypical scale and complexity of the wider farm business. According to Jez, the market garden is ‘the jewel in the crown’ of Daylesford. Jez manages the 34 acres of organic horticulture with a team of 8 plus a few more in the main season. We discuss the seasonal flow of produce with 14 different ‘in-house’ customers and the bias towards growing for chefs. Jez talks about managing a large team in the context of a highly diversified operation. We delve deep into weed management from using a treffler tine weeder to the art of hand weeding, as well as growing plentiful leeks and rocket. Towards the end, Jez reflects on how he would approach growing differently if he were on a smaller scale. I will warn you that Jez was recording on site so there is some background noise, as well as Jez’s noisy elbows. But, as ever, even though we only really scratched the surface, there’s so much food for thought that you can take into winter where I hope you will have more time to reflect on your own growing journeys. This podcast is brought to you by the Organic Growers Alliance, the UK's only grower-led organisation providing technical and practical advice and support on organic growing. For more information about the OGA head to www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk and become a member. More about James Butterworth and Cotswold Market Garden: https://www.cotswoldmarketgarden.co.uk/

    1h 30m

  6. 07/31/2025

    OGPod Episode 30: Sinead Fenton and Aweside Farm

    I speak with Sinead Fenton of Aweside Farm about the the inspiring job she has done in building a business around organic edible flowers. We get into all the nitty gritty of production methods, market development and the various changes that happened to get the business to where it is now. In the latter part of our conversation, and I think this section will be of real importance to the sector as a whole, we discuss Sinead’s (and my own!) recent health struggles and how this affects the business. This podcast is brought to you by the Organic Growers Alliance, the UK's only grower-led organisation providing technical and practical advice and support on organic growing. For more information about the OGA head to www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk and become a member. More about James Butterworth and Cotswold Market Garden: https://www.cotswoldmarketgarden.co.uk/

    1h 1m

  7. 06/08/2025

    OGPod Episode 29: James' Spring Review 2025

    So today, I thought I would share with you my 2025 spring review. What’s gone well and what’s gone less well? How are sales going? What's up, what's down?What are the top crops and why? What improvements can be made for this year and next? And, stay tuned to the end, to hear how our third annual spring plant sale went.. So, plenty to talk about…let’s get to it. This podcast is brought to you by the Organic Growers Alliance, the UK's only grower-led organisation providing technical and practical advice and support on organic growing. For more information about the OGA head to www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk and become a member. More about James Butterworth and Cotswold Market Garden: https://www.cotswoldmarketgarden.co.uk/

    55 min

  8. 05/15/2025

    OGPod Episode 28: Jonty Brunyee on Being Enterprising and Joint Ventures

    In today’s episode I speak to farmer, educator and my own business partner, Jonty Brunyee. As I was preparing to change careers 7 years ago, I approached Jonty and his wife, Mel, to see if there was scope for setting up a market garden here at Conygree Farm. To cut a long story short, we went into partnership and the rest is history! Inspired by Jonty and Mel, I have become evangelical about partnerships and I have been keen for a while to sit down with Jonty and get him talking. Anyway, we sat down last week, in between lambing, calving, harvesting, blow-drying the water pump and setting up for our big spring plant sale weekend. We talked about being enterprising, enterprise stacking and synergy, the ins and outs of joint ventures, partnerships and the importance of business planning. Jonty, as he says himself, is a big picture person and a people person. As well as running a successful farm business he has taught and inspired thousands of people - farmers and the general public alike, including at the Royal Agricultural University and at FarmEd. And hopefully there’s lots in our conversation to inspire you today, so let’s get to it.  This podcast is brought to you by the Organic Growers Alliance, the UK's only grower-led organisation providing technical and practical advice and support on organic growing. For more information about the OGA head to www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk and become a member. More about James Butterworth and Cotswold Market Garden: https://www.cotswoldmarketgarden.co.uk/

    47 min
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About

The Organic Grower Podcast aims to bring together organic growers from across the UK to share their skills and experiences with those looking to deepen their knowledge of the organic growing world. It will be practical in focus, getting straight into the nitty-gritty of people’s growing practices and business operations.James Butterworth, co-founder and grower at Cotswold Market Garden, will be taking us on a journey through farms and gardens across the UK to speak to growers about the work they do, delving into the most relevant topics of the organic growing world.This podcast is brought to you by the Organic Growers Alliance, the UK's only grower-led organisation providing technical and practical advice and support on organic growing. For more information about the OGA head to www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk and become and member.

Information

  • Creator
    Organic Growers Alliance
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Organic Grower Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Organic Grower Podcast

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