Hardwick residents supporting, and supported by, Tolhurst Organic
Today I am writing about people who live at Hardwick and are involved directly in our farm’s operations.
Of course, there are many more Hardwickians and beyond, who have made invaluable contributions to how our farm runs. Volunteers, neighbours, nearby villagers, family and friends supported us at large public events and work parties. They all have a special place in our hearts. But look how many of us live here and offer their skills, knowledge and services for the day-to-day work! Without them Tolhurst Organic would not be what it is today. And we are proud, in turn, to support them and make them welcome to our “farm family”.
Tolly of course is the founder of Tolhurst Organic farm and has been at Hardwick since 1986. He is the everyday engine of the business, and his wealth of knowledge and skills serves not only to maintain the business, but also to train others, younger generations of organic growers.
Chris has been with the business almost as long as Tolly, for over 30 years. He knows his plants best, and is in charge of our weekly Box Scheme.
Tamara moved to Hardwick 23 years ago. Together with husband Tolly she founded the business as it is now – Tolhurst Organic Partnership CIC – and is responsible for business development aspects of the farm.
Dave came to the farm as a volunteer, in 2020 when COVID created a lot of jobless people, but a huge demand for our food. He since has been growing a young family here, with Zoe and delightful Delilah and is in charge of our farm shop management Lin’s VegShed
Maria visited us at a Farm Walk in 2022, then she applied for a volunteering placement and never left. Which is wonderful, because Maria is a very talented grower and is learning fast all business ropes. For the second season in a row she is in charge of the plant propagation, a huge responsibility for a beginner! We trust Maria to grow hundreds of thousand of healthy plants for the season ahead.
If you like our social media stories about the various veg we deliver every week, or about what happens at the farm during the week – this is Tash who has been writing about us for two years. Tash is also organising the famous Hardwick Talks, something that we proudly host at our Packing Shed in the Walled Garden.
Kristen has felt the brunt of picking strawberries for three seasons now, since 2023. She is a keen gardener and endeavoured into pruning our Agroforestry rows of apple trees, no feat for the lighthearted!
Anaelle joined the business in 2024, as our accounts manager. Her contribution is invaluable in projecting the future and in establishing good business relationships with our clients and suppliers.
Nat is our Education Outreach officer, organising group visits from schools and various care-farming organisations. If you know somebody who may want to visit the farm, we can organise funded trips, just get in touch with us.
Sarah is our latest addition to the team. Her beautiful flower growing business will share our Walled Garden and we hope to bring delicate scents to our farm shop this season.
And of course this is not all of the people involved! We have Simon Barker, who has become our mechanic, Karen Buckland, a vegan chef helping with catering, Miriam Rose, a member of our business, Sophia Lysaczenko, events facilitator, and many more!
‘It takes a community to run a farm” we say. A trusted community that bears the same profound values that we have: to grow and provide healthy seasonal food, to share the knowledge, to look after the land entrusted.
