The Assistant Gardeners – Kitchen Garden work with the Head Gardener to create a beautiful organic vegetable garden, including herbs and fruits. The ideal person is a people person with experience, and a love of hard work, long hours, and interaction with children as well as adults.
Emandal’s organic garden is about an acre and a half of annual vegetable production. In addition we have fruit trees (apples, pears, peaches, walnuts, and persimmons), brambles (blackberries, red raspberries, and golden raspberries), and other fruits, herbs and veggies as part of the edible (and also ornamental) landscaping. The garden plays an important role in our Family Camp/Private Group Rentals (Summer) and Field Trips (Spring) for not only the production of food, but also for educational purposes and property beautification.
The Assistant Gardener – Kitchen Garden must have farm and garden experience. In addition, it is desired that s/he will have experience in crop planning, greenhouse management, planting and garden maintenance, harvesting and post-harvest needs, irrigation set up and repair, and composting. Also helpful is knowledge of pruning, perennials, lawn and garden equipment (tillers, weed wackers, mowers, chippers, etc.), food preservation, and flower arrangement. Experience working with school or tour groups, as well as individuals, is a plus as well.
Main Responsibilities (in no particular order):
- Annual vegetable garden planning and implementation
- Enthusiastically leading educational activities for guests of all ages including harvesting, shucking, pickle making, etc.
- Maintenance of fruit trees, vegetable beds, and brambles including pruning, weeding and planting
- Communicate with the Keeper of the Farm and kitchen staff concerning kitchen and business needs on a daily basis
- Spring duties will be split between the garden and facility operation and maintenance (including, but not limited to, animal care, facilities projects, etc.)
- Ornamental Garden: assistance with landscaping activities (planting, weeding, mowing, etc.)
Other Possible Responsibilities (as needed)
- Facilities: various farm and property maintenance projects
- Animals: feeding and care
- Kitchen: occasional assistance with meal and kitchen clean up
Compensation
Minimum beginning at $345/week, plus room and board. Tips during Family Camp/Groups.
Work schedule
40 hours a week; 5 or 5.5 days per week depending upon business needs. Holidays and weekends required. Please note we generally cannot approve extended vacation time (i.e. more than your usual days off) for our staff during the program season due to the demands of our business as well as our staffing levels.
We do not allow overtime for financial reasons, but more importantly, because we want our staff to enjoy the farm amenities and its surroundings to the fullest extent when not working. Our goal is to ensure that working at Emandal is more than just a job – we want each of our staff to have an adventure.
2020 Dates of Employment
(1) Full Season: May 17- October 14, 2020
Preference is given to applicants who can stay for an entire period, but we will still consider applications for shorter time periods. End date in particular may be flexible dependent on needs of the business and staff member. Please check with us prior to applying.
All 2020 Emandal staff will be required to attend our 2 week staff training (May 17-29, 2020). Training topics will include guest relations policies and techniques; kitchen, facilities and housekeeping foundation skills; Emandal history, policies and procedures; animal feeding and basic care; garden harvesting procedures, etc.
Hiring Dates and Application
We will accept applications beginning December 15, 2019. We hire on a rolling basis, so the sooner you return your COMPLETE application package (see below) to us, the better your chances for being considered.
Assistant Gardener – Kitchen Garden Application 2020 (online form)
If you are interested in being considered for this position, please complete the online application, and be sure to attach your resume and a cover letter describing your qualifications and reasons for wanting to work in this position at Emandal.
After reading all that’s on the website and if you would like more specific information, please email us at emandalemployment@gmail.com