Volunteer with us
Bosley Patch is the perfect place to learn how to turn a passion for growing into a viable business. We have a proven track record with apprentices who have gone on to set up successful companies and many other Wwoofer’s who are now growing for themselves.
Testimonial: Rachel and Sonny
“In 2015, we left the comfort of our small rural town in Australia, with safe jobs and safety net of friends and family to travel the world and enjoy new experiences. We had the time of our lives travelling all over the place but by the middle of 2016, we knew we were not done yet. We had heard about the WWOOF experience and decided it was time to give it a go. The moment we saw Tamsin’s Bosley Patch advertised on the website we hoped that we could experience WWOOFing with Tamsin and her family.
It wasn’t long before Tamsin approved our application and was picking us up from the Henley-on-Thames train station to take us to Bosley Patch. We had no idea what we were in for; but it was everything we had hoped for and certainly more. Although we only stayed for a two weeks it felt like we were part of her family and farm life.
We absolutely adored working in the garden playing with her pets and helping out around the house to make sure it ran as smoothly as it could. We loved sharing meals with the family, planning our next day and enjoying the beautiful town where Tamsin’s family lives.
Our favourite parts of Bosley Patch were of course the fresh fruit and veg, seeing how Tamsin’s vision comes to life every day and knowing that our hard work was paying off for the community around us.
We loved Bosley Patch so much that on our honeymoon we went straight back to Bosley Patch and Henley-on-Thames to visit again”.Rachel and Sonny
Moving Polytunnels
Sarah and Teresa building tunnel doors
Building tunnels
Marc and Ed laying greenhouse foundations
Our first apprentice Matt Smee now a far better grower than I’ll ever be!
Our very first volunteer, Jane who laid out our orchard and is still missed !
Testimonial: Matt
Matt first came to Bosely Patch for a week in 2010 to work with us as a WWOOFER (Willing Workers On Organic Farms). During his initial week with us he unearthed a love for the land and all things connected to growing. Over the following 2 years he came back to study under Tamsin and work as her apprentice. Through Tamsin’s guidance Matt learnt the art of growing food, managing soil and what it means to be at the heart of a food community.
After leaving Bosely Patch, Matt went on to set up his own market garden in the North-West, running an organic veg box scheme, feeding his local community and co-founding 9 Meals From Anarchy (www.ninemealsfromanarchy.co.uk)
Having spent 6 years of running his own market gardens, including restoring one of the UK’s oldest organic farms, Matt was approached by the indoor growing specialist Field 28 (www.field28.co.uk) to build them a new market garden and expand their growing site.
This has taken his food journey to the next stages; finds him working with and growing produce for some of the most respected Chefs in the UK, including several Michelin starred restaurants, while still providing produce for his local community.
Matt credits Tamsin and his time at Bosely Patch with inspiring him and giving him the vital foundation to his growing career.