Name: Helen Sothern
Farm Name: Brookhill House
Farm Type: Organic horticulture, woodlands, drystock
Name: Helen Sothern
Farm Name: Brookhill House
Farm Type: Organic horticulture, woodlands, drystock
Brookhill House farm is part of the GLAS programme with traditional meadows and grassland that are used for dry-stock. Part of the farm is in forestry and the remainder is used for horticulture which includes a commercial tunnel and vegetable beds.
Helen grows a variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers in large poly tunnels and in outdoor beds. There are also cattle and hens that need to be looked after, forestry and a pond area.
Helen worked as a secondary school teacher for a number of years and has always had an interest in farming. She is a registered organic farmer and is I particularly passionate about the horticultural aspect of farming.
Horticulture: preparing ground, planting seeds (flowers and vegetables), watering and caring for plants, harvesting, pruning and harvesting fruit trees, preserving and storing produce for winter.
Animal care: looking after hens, collecting eggs, cleaning out hen house; counting cattle and making sure they have enough feed.
Other activities: collecting seeds in the autumn, cooking with the produce collected, forestry walks and learning about trees, forestry preserving
Helen particularly likes th eorganic horticulture aspect of the farm and believes there is a great onus producers and consumers to be conscious of where our food comes from.