This talk and all our lectures are FREE for Friends of the Botanical Gardens to attend. Members of the public are also welcome to join us on payment of £5 at the door on the day. Live talks are held in the Education Centre in the grounds of the Botanical Gardens - easily accessed via the Thompson Road Entrance.

Nick Johnson is one of the tenants of Sheffield Organic Growers, a 20 acre mixed vegetable and fruit farm situated in the Moss Valley just on the outskirts of Sheffield and will share the story of growing organically in Sheffield over 10 years.

Starting with a bare 12 acre site, Huw Evans and lots of enthusiastic volunteers planted native hedgerow species to divide up the nine acres of rentable vegetable growing area, into four plots, and Sheffield Organic Growers was born. 

Huw’s first two tenants started growing on the land in 2012 and 2013, with various groups and enterprises renting the remaining two plots until Nick Johnson arrived in 2015 to rent one other plot, with the remaining plot being eventually divided up between 3 of the growers.

In 2020 they added another 8 acres to the existing site and this area is now growing a mix of autumn winter vegetables and flowers, run by the growers collective Over the Hedge. The top third of the new field is being rented by Sheffield Fruit Trees for their propagation and sale of fruit trees for Sheffield and the wider area.

A former Soil Association apprentice, Nick learnt how to grow the full range of vegetables at Troed-y-Rhiw Organic Farm for three seasons. He met Huw at the last apprenticeship seminar attended and hearing there was an opportunity to rent land at Sheffield Organic Growers, decided to take the next step in his growing career to plan and run a market garden.

Nick has been supplying his own veg scheme Sheffield Organic Growers, as well as wholesale customers Zeds Wholefoods, Tonco Bakery, Beanies wholefoods, V or V Restaurant and Regather.

Sheffield Organic Growers website

Sheffield Organic Growers on Instagram