Job Title
Assistant Grower
Location
Sandy Lane Farm, Sandy Lane, Tiddington OX9 2LA
Start Date
Beginning April 2026
Employment Type
Full time, 1 yr fixed term with opportunity to extend.
Salary
£26.5k
Hours and Schedule
On a rota basis; a few hours on the weekend once a month during March – September. Time off in lieu is exchanged. Assisting with on‑farm open days and events offers paid overtime but is not required.
Holiday Entitlement
28 days (including bank holidays), pro rata.
Benefits
Weekly organic veg box & 10% staff discount in the farm shop.
About Us
Sandy Lane Farm is a 100‑acre certified organic family‑run business. Our main focus is on growing and selling organic vegetables, but we also have a small flock of sheep, pigs for meat, and laying hens. We sell our veg through our thriving veg box scheme, an onsite shop, a market in Oxford every other week and some wholesale into Oxford colleges through the OxfarmtoFork scheme. We have an ethos of good communication, teamwork, efficiency and mucking in. We like to look at how we work from minor processes to overall systems to see how we can improve our work as well as celebrating the successes we have achieved as a team. Building a sustainable business, supporting our community and the land on which we grow.
Role
This role is part of the growing team and will assist other members of the growing team with activities required throughout the week. The growing team consists of 5 full‑time and 1 two‑day a week worker. You will report to the Head Grower Market Garden.
Weekly Schedule Overview
Monday – Market Garden Harvest/jobs (spring/summer), Field Harvest/Field jobs (autumn/winter)Tuesday – Market Garden Harvest/jobs and bagging for boxesWednesday – Market Garden Harvest and packing boxes.Thursday & Friday – Market Garden jobs primarily, Field jobs at some points of the year. Routine harvests in Market Garden when required. Harvest for Market every other Friday as required.
Responsibilities
- Harvesting in the Field and Market Garden as required.
- Assisting Head Grower Market Garden with all aspects of growing – propagation, planting, weeding, maintenance, etc. in the Market Garden.
- Assisting Head Grower Field Scale with jobs in the Field – planting, weeding, net moving, etc.
- Assist with bagging and box packing as required on Tuesday and Wednesday, under instruction from Veg box manager.
- Assist with bagging for Shop and Market on Wednesday – Friday as required.
Candidate Requirements
- 1 season growing experience with a general understanding of propagation, planting, weeding, harvesting and other basic market garden skills.
- A genuine interest in organic growing principles, our farm, sustainability & the local food movement.
- A desire to do a job well – caring about quality, speed, efficiency, the farm environment or teamwork.
- Good communication & team‑working skills.
- Happy to get stuck in and be flexible.
- A positive, solution‑focused, can‑do attitude.
- Ability to work outside in all weathers all year round.
- Willingness and ability to use Google Sheets in line with our box packing software, WhatsApp and Trello (task management app).
Applications
Deadline for applications will be the end of January 2026, but the position may be filled prior to this if the right candidate is found. Interviews will be held in February 2026.
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