A Week on the Estate: Georgina’s Grafters, Working Outdoors & Frosty Rolling

“We’ve always been outdoorsy people. My grandma loved gardening and I spent a lot of time out on the farm with family. I work better when I’m out in all weathers, achieving something tangible with my hands. I’m interested in horticulture and one of this year’s great pleasures was working with Colin in the Walled Garden.

“After finishing my degree, I worked for a while as a waitress then saw an advert for a graduate placement at South Ormsby Estate. I started on 6^th November last year and I’ve done a bit of everything. I’ve worked in estate management with Paul Barnes, herd management with Richard Lakin and cheese development with Mark Vines. I had a six-month project with Paul to establish a vineyard, and another six-month project devising and creating milk soap.

“I enjoyed the soap project and I’m proud of it. I’d done nothing like it before. I had to create multiple types of soap with names, packaging, safety standards and everything. I came to it cold but did a lot of research and got a sense of what sells.

“It took six months from beginning my research to selling milk soap. I needed Richard to get me 15L-20L of Lincoln Red milk each day to start the project off. The milk needed to be frozen, weighed and split into 225g loaves. Each loaf took 4-6 weeks to saponify, and it can take that long to see if a recipe has worked.

“There was a bit of trial and error but it went well overall. A couple of loaves didn’t work, but the issues tended to be cosmetic. We avoided waste by giving the visually imperfect soap to staff to test. It’s thrilling to see the soap selling well and getting such a positive response. The autumn tours generated so much enthusiasm for our produce.

“The vineyard project was equally fascinating. By its nature it’s a very long-term plan. I can’t say too much about it as there’s still ground preparation to be done and the project won’t bear fruit for a few years. However, we did select and order vines and put aside a suitable area.

“It’ll be quite northerly for a vineyard. Vines are planted in spring and every summer they’re pruned in a way that encourages them to put their energy into fruit. As we’ll be picking by hand, they also need to be suitably spaced. It’ll be at least three years till we get a useful harvest, and it could be ten years before the vines are regarded as established and viable.

“We’re aiming for a versatile crop that will give us still and sparkling varieties and interesting changes of character over time. The vineyard could also yield port and brandy. Watch this space, patiently!

“Graduate contracts at South Ormsby Estate tend to last a year. At that point, continuing with the Estate is a mutual decision. The programme offers experience of diverse types of work and a few ideas to take into the future. I’m staying longer as I’ve taken on a new role.

“On 6^th November this year, one year since I started with the Estate, I took on the roles of Graduate Placement Officer and Saturday Club Manager. I was coming to the end of my initial contract in the autumn and Jon asked if I fancied a new role. I was already familiar with the graduate scheme and I was keen to gain experience of managing people. It was quite an intimidating prospect at first but Jon has been helpful and I’ve been given training courses.

“Managing graduates is a big part of the new job. I  schedule each graduate’s year to ensure they don’t conflict with each other and that they’re attached to different areas at the most useful times. For example, Mark and Tristan benefit from having extra worker elves in the run-up to Christmas for poultry and gin, while Richard needs help in the spring calving season.

“I keep an eye on the welfare of our graduates, too. I was attached to the Lincoln Red herd team during the early calving season last January and February. It was hard working outside and getting attached to livestock. It felt like a make-or-break test on whether I could handle the outside work. Fortunately, I was OK with it and I learned massive respect for those who do it full-time. It takes a strong person to care for cattle.

“I’m also responsible for the Saturday Club now. I’ve only worked with young children before so working with teens is interesting, particularly as they’re such good workers. It’s a proper job, with pay and a leave allowance. It’s mostly outdoors, it can be tough, and they just accept it all and crack on. It’s a useful introduction to the working world.

“Last weekend, the Saturday Club made festive wreaths. We’ve got an ongoing project to make nesting boxes and install them. We’ve just put up new ones at Wood Farm and we’ll take a census before the spring. There’s always loads of grounds maintenance to be done. Many of the kids have poultry at home and they’ve helped care for the Estate’s birds in the past. Unfortunately, managing the risk of avian flu and cutting down the number of vectors means they can’t currently do this.

“They’ve got their own allotment spaces and get a bit of personal gardening time each week. Most grew pumpkins this year, besides various veg and flowers for cutting. They get free rein up to a point. We discourage things like blackberries as they spread too easily.

“The Saturday Club is currently at capacity but the waiting list is open again to young people aged 13-17 years. If anyone would like to add a name to my list, email me at georgina.routh@southormsbyestate.co.uk . Hard workers are always welcome!”

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* Stock photo of green sandpiper by Hari K Patibanda via Flickr CC