| About Us | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scilly
Organics was started on fields that had been overgrown for years,
covered in bracken, brambles and grose. After years of clearing
weeds and building fertilty, the soils have returned to a healthy
state, which support crop growth. Jonathan Smith started the business in 2003 after seeing a market opportunity. He has a degree in Horticulture and experience in commercial organic horticulture, organic certification and other business. You can read more about Jonathan at Soil Association's Organic Heroes. |
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| The first organic licensee on the Isles of Scilly, Scilly Organics
continues to push the boundaries and Jonathan is actively involved in
other projects delivering sustinable objectives including Organic Futures and Transition Scilly. Soils on the islands are primarily very sandy, free draining and nutrient poor. Difficult growing conditions then? Yes and no. Fresh water is never in abundance, and gales from the Atlantic can cover the islands in salt. But the very mild climate means long growing seasons, and the abundance of seaweed, storm-washed in winter, makes a wonderful fertiliser costing nothing! |
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| We
use seaweed, green manures (like this crimson clover - pictured right)
and compost as the basis of fertility. We don't use any pestcides, even
the four organically-permitted ones, and all weed control is by hoe or
by hand. It is the most natural way of growing crops and has a minmal
ecological impact. Wilidlife is actively encouraged and the bird, insect and plant life is wonderful. This is a very sustainable growing system that gets better as it matures. We keep planting trees and perennial crops and use a permaculture-guided system of design. |
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| We grow a wide range of crops, from Potatoes to Lettuce, Apples to Squash and Mizuna to Kale . Freshness, quality and taste is what Scilly Organics is all about. Here on St. Martin’s the food travels hundreds of yards rather than hundreds of miles, from field to plate. This gives us an unrivalled position of providing fresh, healthy and tasty food that people can trust for quality and integrity. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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