Ellen Pearce, Coordinator of the Plot, reflects on the last few years
We recently hosted a celebration event to mark five years of the Plot at Old Holly Farm, and to offer thanks to the very many people who have contributed to all that the Plot has been over the last few years. It was fantastic to see so many people who’d played such an important role in the Plot’s development over the years, together in one room!
Why we set up The Plot
Traditionally market gardens were plentiful in North Lancashire and surrounded the urban areas supplying veg to local residents. These are now all but lost, with livestock farming being the dominant use of land in the District. LESS, the organisation behind the Plot, undertook some feasibility work in 2018 which scoped the interest in buying more local produce and as well as the level of interest in training and earning a living from small-scale farming. The study also looked at the logistics and potential partners for such a project. The Plot is part of a wider vision to bring back a network of farms growing fruit and veg for residents in North Lancashire.
The Plot has grown community as well as veg
In 2020, as covid hit and lock-downs were imposed, LESS took over two small paddocks at Old Holly Farm, just off the A6 between Lancaster and Garstang – thank you to Ian, the farmer at Old Holly, for supporting us and enabling us to get a foot in the soil so to speak! Thanks are also due to the LESS Directors for taking a risk on an opportunity too good to let pass.
Finally having a site kick-started the project and we set up the FoodFriends scheme, a small-society lottery, to fundraise to support the vision and work of the Plot and other similar projects in the fullness of time. We are grateful to the FoodFriends for paying for the first organic certification visit in 2020 that was a condition of our lease, and for supporting the Plot financially over the coming years.
During the Autumn of 2020, we were able to fundraise for a grower, Tamsin, who joined in early 2021 to set up the growing space at Old Holly and to set up the polytunnel at White Lund provided to us by the City Council. And thus the Plot was born!
And ‘grown’ new farmers!
Over the last 5 growing seasons, we have been joined by 19 FarmStart trainees who have been onsite for two days a week for a whole growing season to learn the horticultural and business skills needed to set up an organic market garden. Among the 19 FarmStarters, 7 have gone on to get jobs as growers or in social/community horticulture, whilst a further 4 have been employed by LESS on the farm.
Working alongside Tamsin in the first year, and then Dennis, the Plot’s grower since 2022, the FarmStarters joined classroom sessions, hands-on practicals and farm visits. Many of the FarmStarters have gone on to use their food-growing skills in commercial and community growing projects, four have had grower roles and four more have been employed subsequently in seasonal roles at the Plot. Each cohort brought different ideas and input to the Plot which has enriched our vision and work – thank you!
Thank you to all the volunteers
We are also extremely grateful to the awesome volunteers who joined our initially monthly and then weekly sessions at the Plot – weeding, among other jobs(!), in all weathers and making a huge difference on site at the farm. Thank you so much to all of the almost 100 people who joined at least once on-site, to Vaso for running the volunteer sessions for 18 months, and to our committed Wednesday volunteers who’ve been a hugely valued part of the regular team.
Sharing the risks and ‘abundance’ with crop-sharers
From people to veg, the Plot has produced a lot over the last few years – over 460kg of organic mixed salad with edible flowers, over 360kg of kale, and over 600kg of tomatoes from the polytunnels.
We are grateful to our crop-sharers (back to people!) who supported the farm for a season at a time, and shared the risks with the growers, benefitting from abundance in the good seasons and sharing the challenges when they came (especially in the one particularly hard season). There were 124 households who enjoyed a season of veg! We also donated produce to Eggcup and supported a large range of community meals in the District.
Thanks to local businesses for championing local produce
A number of local businesses were also part of the eco-system which made the Plot possible – thanks go to Single Step and Barton Grange Farm Shop who bought a lot of produce, and to local cafes and restaurants including the Herbarium (now the Old Gun Shop), the Quarterhouse and Tuck, who were hosting the celebration. We are also grateful to Wyreside Mushrooms for their spent mushroom blocks which we were able to use to make compost for veg growing.
A special place for people and nature to thrive
One theme that has recurred many times over the last years in our review sessions and conversations with folks on site, is how special the land is. There’s a peaceful vibe in those paddocks, and lots of people have spoken about the haven of the Plot. I know I’ve experienced this myself and it’s been a very special place to many. Linked to this we also reflected on the wildlife on site – the birds of prey, the ducks, pheasants and rabbits who nested on site (!), and the multitude of other insects and bugs who processed compost, aerated soil and sometimes, enjoyed our veg too!
So we came together, to acknowledge all of this – and much more than can be captured in words and in a short article – and we enjoyed locally made drinks (thanks to Claverhill for the apple juice and cider and Choon Key for the kombucha) and the last of the Plot crops from Old Holly – primarily carrots and kale – which were made into ferments, mini-pies, dahl cake, and sweet carrot and date bliss balls.
To everyone who should be thanked but who we have not named, we thank you!
And to the wider network locally (at LESS and FoodFutures and the Gather Food Hub including the community collection point hosts) and nationally (including Better Food Traders, CSA Network, Landworkers Alliance, Northern Food and Farming and Open Food Network) who are working for more localised food economies, we thank you too. We couldn’t have achieved all this without your wider support and work.
The future is bright
During 2026 the Plot is setting up a new outdoor growing space at the newly purchased Summerhouse Community farm. We hope that the space at Old Holly farm may be taken on by the volunteer group who have shared in caring for the veg growing over the last few years. The FarmStart programme plans to run again in 2027.
With thanks and gratitude.
