We notice we have a lot of new people joining our email list, and with the season drawing to a close, this feels like a good moment to recap what we’ve been doing and what we plan to do in future. In case you don’t read any further, and just want to buy a box, the most important news is that we will be taking on around 50 new customers next year. You can sign up now by making a downpayment, or you can wait until closer to when box deliveries start in May and we’ll send an email round to remind you.
We set up TCF in 2023 with the aim of helping, in a quiet way, to provide an alternative to how farming is mostly practised in East Lothian. We wanted to give people the chance to buy high quality local veg, to create high quality jobs in farming and to involve eaters of veg in how its grown.
At the start of this year we had a small core of dedicated customers and volunteers, one employee and some generous funding that enabled us to buy two polytunnels, a packing shed and sundry other bits of infrastructure necessary for running a market garden.

Our goal for 2025 was to scale our operation and see if we had the skills and the energy to provide veg boxes for around 70 households. We needed to clear ground, recruit customers, plan what crops to grow and make sure we had a realistic business plan.

Volunteers hard at work clearing ground in February 2025

Critical to our success so far, and this year, has been all the work our volunteers have put in on our monthly sunday sessions and weekly thursday harvests. We all believe that growing is enjoyable for its own sake, and even more when done with others, and it’s been delightful to see how many people share that view. And of course volunteers help us keep costs down and therefore keep prices lower for our customers too.

A huge amount of work goes into crop planning. We aim to grow a wide variety of crops, and a selection of varieties for each crop type. This minimises damage from pests and diseases, ensures that we give our customers something new each week and allows us to constantly experiment with which crops suit our microclimate. Healthy seedlings planted out at the right time need less protection from pests as most pests gravitate to plants that are sick or damaged, so careful propagation helps us get great yields without using pesticides or other chemicals. We manage fertility by spreading good East Lothian seaweed on our beds and using cover crops to cycle nutrients and prevent weeds from establishing.

We also use wildflowers (and even nettles!) to encourage beneficial insects that prey on pests. This technique has a huge impact, especially in a year like 2025 which was a bumper year for ladybirds.

We started delivering boxes in May after hitting our targets for signing up 70 customers. We’re flattered and grateful that so many people are interested in our produce. And quietly proud because we’re about 95% certain that we offer the best quality veg in East Lothian. The bulk of what goes into our boxes is picked on the day they’re delivered because freshness is the biggest factor in how tasty and nutritious the vegetables will be.

Our aim is to be not just a farm, but a community. So we were pleased to celebrate the wonderful season we’ve had with our customers and volunteers. It was a delightful day with lots of kids, lots of sunshine and lots of delicious food.

Moving into 2026 we have lots to be proud of but also some challenges. Our goal is to serve 120 people and we’ll be recruiting 50 new customers this year. However, without more land, we will only be able to supply veg for 6 months of the year. We’re looking for around 6 acres within 15 minutes of our existing site, so if you are a landowner or know any landowners who might want to help, please get in touch!

The story of 2025

Summer Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop