Kevin bought Skyegrove in the spring of 2008, a nine and a half acre field, gently sloping to the west/south west of medium loam soil over shillet. There was no water, electricity or buildings, just nine and a half acres of grass bounded by Cornish hedges and three gated entrances. This project is an ideal opportunity to show other people what can be done with the bare minimum of infrastructure.
During this crucial time of transition it is becoming of paramount importance to find new ways of living sustainably in times when we cannot take endless fuel supplies for granted. The threat to world food security increases as populations become more unbalanced and disconnected from the land; therefore projects like Skye Grove Organics are becoming increasingly relevant.
This exciting project, beginning on 9½ acres of agricultural land is showing a sustainable system of crop production using traditional and new progressive growing techniques.
We produce organic food for our local community where we aim to help people gain a deeper connection with the land and to the way their food is produced. This understanding of the provenance of their food can then be enjoyed and developed through participation in courses, workshops and education.
Times are changing; to redress the balance we need to back away from intensive food production based heavily on the oil industry and and to return to handheld and horse-drawn machinery, working harmoniously and gently with the land, for a more authentic way of producing our food.
Today in 2014, we still have no electricty or mains water. We use a rainwater harvesting system and continue to water carefully by hand.
This year, we have invested in a barn to use for storage, workshop space and teaching facilities. We have constructed the second new polytunnel frame and this will become our fruit cage. We have a large amount of redcurrants, blackcurrants, gooseberries and raspberries to protect from the birds!