FARM JOB: Belgrave, Ontario – Firmly Rooted, Greenhouse Manager

Firmly Rooted in Belgrave, Ontario is seeking a Greenhouse Manager!

ABOUT Firmly Rooted

Firmly Rooted is a pretty solid farm and a great place to work. Located in Belgrave, Ontario, we are just 25 minutes from beautiful Lake Huron.

We’ve got 11 years of growing experience under our belts, and really wonderful infrastructure and equipment which makes the work more pleasant and efficient (a heated wash house, 5 hoophouses, and a Kubota tractor with loader, to name a few). And, we’ve got a really fun team full of energetic, artistic, kind, folks that love growing food. They like to blare great music in the wash station and laugh in the field.

We work really hard to maintain a good work-life balance: we start at 8:00 a.m., take an hour for lunch, and end at 5:00 p.m.. We’ve stopped attending farmers markets so there is no need to work weekends.

We grow during all 4-seasons and produce on 3.5 acres for our 200+ member customizable Veggie Box, and for local restaurants. We are known for our gourmet salad greens, microgreens, and full complement of 30 or so other veggie and herb crops, as well as our organically grown seedlings in the spring.

We use a variety of growing methods but much of our production is on 30” semi-permanent beds with intensive spacing, we are building more and more deep compost mulch beds and practise minimal tillage.

We are also starting to dip our toes into the world of livestock with the addition of meat rabbits, and a breeding pair of Kuni-Kuni pigs; as well as medicinal plants, and basket/ craft willow. Our two little kids and golden retriever free-range around the farm and are part of the team.

We grow following the organic standards, however, we lost our organic certification following a pesticide contamination incident.

We believe that farming is noble work and are honored to farm for our community.

DESIRED QUALITIES

Applicants should be physically fit (able to lift 40lbs as well as squat, kneel, bend, etc.), be able to work outdoors in a variety of weather conditions and have some sort of previous experience with outdoor physical labor. Previous farm experience is very highly preferred, however, if you are extremely keen and feel you are a good fit without experience, please apply. A full G driver’s license is also preferred. Other requirements:

• Have dependable transportation to get to work on time (8:00 AM)
• Be able to commit to staying for the duration of their position
• Have strong attention to detail and be able to complete repetitive tasks
• Provide their own comfortable gear to work in (for all seasons and weather)
• Work well as a team member and independently
• Be a kind, interesting, human being (bonus points if you really love food)

JOB TASKS

The greenhouse manager is involved in all farm work, including transplanting, weeding, harvesting, washing, and packing vegetables.

They manage the following greenhouse work (with training and support):

• Weekly seeding of vegetables/ herbs and microgreens
• Trellising and pruning of hot crops (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, etc.)
•  Watering and fertilizing greenhouse plants
• Monitoring greenhouse crops for pest and disease
• Releasing beneficial insects
• Brewing and applying compost tea and other liquid organic fertilizers

JOB DETAILS

Term: April through December 2023

Hours per week: 40

Wage: Skilled management staff start at $17.00/ hour, compensation is commensurate with experience

All full-time staff receive a free weekly vegetable share

We do not have on-farm housing available at this time

TO APPLY

Please send your resume, references, and a short description of why you would like to work with us to Tamara at firmlyrootedfarm@gmail.com

Deadline to apply: March 1, 2023

When applying, please mention you saw this posting at youngagrarians.org

LEARN MORE ABOUT Firmly Rooted

Website: http://www.firmlyrootedfarm.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/firmlyrootedfarm/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firmlyrootedfarm/

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