HOW WE FARM
Little Trochry Farm is a 15 acre farm situated on the hillside, in Strathbraan, three miles west of Dunkeld, Perthshire.
The farm dates back to long before we arrived - with maps showing records of the farm in 1869. As the caretakers of this beautiful patch of land we plan to do our best to look after it in a way that is not only productive but cares for the environment. Our first project, starting the market garden in Spring 2022.
1869 Map of Little Trochry - Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
LOCAL, FRESH, PRODUCE.
On two thirds of an acre we grow vegetables aiming to supply our local community with high quality, super fresh produce. We grow food that nourishes us, tastes delicious, and is grown in a way that benefits the natural world. All our vegetables are grown without the use of any pesticides or chemical fertilisers and we follow a range of organic growing principles. We love to supply our produce as locally as possible, thus reducing food miles and ensuring fresh produce - check out our farmstand page to see where you can buy our veg.
THE SOIL.
The soil in which the crops grow is at the heart of our farm. If we care for the soil, the soil cares for the plants. Simply put if the soil is healthy, the plants are healthy and therefore the food is even more nutritiously rich. We have created no-dig beds where possible, this means the soil is not turned over and disturbance to the soil structure is minimised, ensuring a happy place for soil life. As well as this we feed the soil with compost, local animal manures and green manures and use cover crops to protect the soil throughout the year.
HERITAGE VARIETIES.
We grow a diversity of crops, making the market garden a rich habitat for wildlife of all shapes and sizes. As much as possible we grow heritage varieties with open pollinated seeds. This means that in our farmstand you are likely to find unique varieties you may not see on the supermarket shelves. It is important to keep growing these ancient seeds and preserve their wonderful flavors. As well as this open pollinated seeds mean that we can save seeds ourselves for future resilience - something we hope to do in the coming years.
THE REST OF THE FARM.
Throughout the farm we are trying to increase biodiversity in the landscape by creating new habitats for wildlife. We jumped straight in last year by planting 1200 native trees, 250m of hedging and allowed some areas of pasture to become wild meadows. We also dug a pond which has already led to visiting newts, ducks and herons.
