OGPod Episode 15: Ed Hamer and Chagfood Community Market Garden

James speaks to Ed Hamer of Chagfood Community Market Garden in the Dartmoor National Park. CSAs or Community Supported Agriculture is very much the focus in this one. We talk about Ed’s split growing site, leaning into the restrictive nature of the CSA model, dealing with and sharing risk, the importance and challenges of communicating with customers/members, the benefits of hard copy newsletters, member recruitment and retention, dealing with crop failures, surviving without cold storage and calculating value in CSA models. We also speak about Ed’s recent travels around the US, where as part of a Churchill Fellowship, he visited 25 CSA farms to see how things compare across the pond and see what lessons could be brought back to the UK. Later on, we get into the nitty gritty of growing carrots and discuss how woodland coppicing has allowed Ed to integrate biochar and woodchip into the growing operation. Ed spells everything out with so much passion and with such clarity that I’m sure you’ll find this one a joy to listen to, so let’s get to it.This podcast is brought to you by the Organic Growers Alliance, the UK's only grower-led organisation providing technical and practical advice and support on organic growing. For more information about the OGA head to www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk and become a member.Liv James is taking the reins from James Butterworth as host in 2026. Liv has been a grower for 10 years mainly at Down Farm Market Garden in Devon and is now a storyteller at Soil Association. Alongside this Liv is a plant nut, wordsmith, music lover, life enthusiast, surfer and Mum.