Meet the Growers
The Good Grubb Garden is run by me, Phoebe Grubb and my partner, Alastair Backus. In 2011 we visited The Lost Gardens of Heligan and were blown away by their kitchen garden. We were so inspired that the following day we lifted the turf on half of our small lawn and created a vegetable garden. I have been hooked on growing ever since and after gaining my Royal Horticultural Society Level 2 Diploma in 2016, decided to take the leap and make it my full-time career.
Since then I have worked as a private gardener and in a historic garden but my real love is for growing beautiful blooms. In 2018 I jumped at the chance to take on some land and polytunnels and The Good Grubb Garden was born. In 2021 we moved the business from our rented site to our own land next to our new house in the beautiful Lew Valley.
We sit within an area locally known as ‘The Golden Triangle’ being within easy reach of the three nearby towns of Tavistock, Okehampton and Launceston, all about 10 miles away.
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Al and Phoebe
Sustainability
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Our impact on the environment is hugely important to us. We use ‘no-dig’ methods on our farm. This is a method of growing without digging over the soil every year. Instead, organic matter is added to the surface of the soil as a mulch. This has many benefits including protecting the structure of the soil, protecting beneficial soil organisms and reducing carbon emissions from our soil. We also grow our flowers without using artificial pesticides or fertilisers. Our Indian runner ducks are in charge of slug control and make their way over to work in the cut flower field every morning. We manage the site with biodiversity in mind and encourage all kinds of beneficial wildlife. We had a toad hibernating in the polytunnel this winter!
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Around 90% of the flowers sold in the UK are grown on an industrial scale across the world and imported. The carbon footprint of the global cut flower industry is vast. By contrast, everything on our small-scale farm is grown in step with the seasons and with care for our environment which means our carbon footprint is very small.
Indio, Howard, Nay Nay and Noodle
