Having spent almost 30 years dedicated to growing top-quality vegetables, Jane Scotter can spot a biodynamic lettuce from 200 yards away. “There’s a way that they shine, their colour and the beautiful way they stand. It’s something that would be considered high quality in all aspects, nutritionally too,” says Scotter, a founding partner of the artisanal cheese specialist Neal’s Yard Dairy.
After many years based in London, Scotter decided to swap city life for the country and in 1996 bought Fern Verrow, a tumbledown 16-acre farm in Herefordshire’s Black Mountains, despite having no gardening experience. “I decided to grow food, got my boots on and cracked on with it.”
Scotter has always adhered to biodynamic practices and since 2014, Fern Verrow has exclusively supplied its produce — an array of soft fruit, vegetables and flowers — to the acclaimed chef Skye Gyngell’s restaurant Spring in Somerset House, London.
Alongside Fern Verrow, Scotter works as the head grower at Heckfield Home Farm in Hampshire, a part of the 438-acre Heckfield estate, which comprises Heckfield Place, a stately five-star hotel, and Gyngell’s restaurants Hearth and Marle.
Thanks to Scotter’s direction and input, Heckfield Place was certified biodynamic in 2020 (the UK’s first hotel to gain this accolade). There is also a produce sale held on the first and third Saturdays of each month.
What is biodynamic gardening?
If a farm is certified biodynamic, it means it has met the requirements of organic, plus some extra measures. Biodynamics was introduced in the 1920s by the controversial Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, who called on farmers to heed the cosmos before planting and harvesting crops. His biodynamic calendar is based on the positions of the stars and moon.
The certification includes Steiner’s nine “preparations”, composed of herbs, minerals and manures that are converted into field sprays and compost, which is where it gets into a realm that’s not easily explained by traditional science (some dispel these esoteric practices as woo-woo pseudoscience).
The 500 preparation, for instance, involves packing cow manure into a cow horn and burying for six months underground over winter. The resultant compost is mixed with water and applied to the soil. Biodynamic proponents believe it stimulates soil fertility and plant growth
“It might seem wacky and crazy,” Scotter says. “And one person’s understanding [of biodynamics] can be very different to another’s. What it means to me, really, is the quality. I don’t really know how that little miracle works, but I think it’s about one’s approach. Biodynamics takes quite a lot more than just looking after the soil.”
Biodynamic is a word that’s often associated with wines — and in particular, the contemporary tranche of vintners that call themselves natural winemakers. The wine writer Jancis Robinson says she can never taste whether or not a wine is organic, but she once said: “I do think I can usually tell if a wine is biodynamic or not. There is extra life — it’s as if you can taste the microbes whizzing around in there.”
Scotter describes these so-called whizzing microbes as “fairy dust”, highlighting biodynamics’ focus on creating a holistic agronomic system. “[Biodynamics] gives me a really lovely connection to plants and to the land. My angle is: I want beautiful food and by growing biodynamically, I feel that you really will have the best quality.”
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She suggests getting hold of a copy of the Maria Thun Biodynamic Calendar 2025 to anyone wishing to try out the practices themselves. “Try to do your seed sowing and your cultivation on the correct days: on the flower, root or leaf days. The other thing is to take part in the spraying, particularly the 500 and 501 sprays [made from ground-up quartz crystal and buried in the ground over summer].
“I think if we were to sit around worrying that we don’t understand it, then we would never go out there and do it. You will see the results eventually, especially if you’re paying attention. I think that is the difference between organic and biodynamic; you do pay more attention to the growth and form. You look at things in a different way.”
What to grow
The first rule of vegetable growing is “only grow what you want to eat”.
Scotter “loves” a bit of spreadsheet work to figure out quantities. “You can say, OK, I’d like to have a lettuce a day during the summer and sow ten lettuces every ten days, rather than 50 all at once. This is called succession sowing,” she says.
Naturally, seasonality is key. “I don’t want to eat cabbage in July, I want to enjoy all those really beautiful summer vegetables at their very best. Save the cabbages and kales for overwintering and grow everything in season. The summer is the time for lettuces, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes.” Early yellow crookneck courgettesare a favoured variety.
“Like a lot of people, I’m seduced by seed packets. I probably spend double or triple the amount that we should as a grower. Radicchio is one of my favourites; those beautiful hot reds and beautiful pinks. We’ve probably got about 30 varieties.”
When searching for new varieties to grow at Fern Verrow and Heckfield Home Farm, Scotter often keeps Gyngell in mind: “I hate the word ‘inspiration’ because everyone uses it all the time now, but Skye’s spirit and her intelligence has kept me going. When I’m looking for new seeds, it’s like she is there in my head. It could be fresh peppercorns or white strawberries or a really beautiful new salad leaf but it’s thrilling for me to find something new and interesting that’s going to make her really happy.”
Scotter typically grows 18 different varieties of tomatoes each year. “If you don’t have a greenhouse, you want them to work outside, so go for something like Gardener’s Delight, which is a classic that will taste delicious and be really productive. If you do have a greenhouse, Berner Rose is probably my favourite tomato of all. Another one I like is called Jaune Flamme. I’ve never been a fan of yellow tomatoes, but that one is off the chart. A syrupy, beautiful flavour with a little bit of tartness — very nice for cooking with.”
Fresh butter beans cooked with lots of garlic at Spring are among Scotter’s top food memories. The bean family — legumes — are really good for soil, too. “Borlotti, flageolet and butter beans are beautiful to grow and delicious to eat fresh out of the shell in late summer. And they’re vertical too, which is really helpful if you’ve got a small space. You can grow things under them — lettuces like to be grown under beans,” she adds. Reine des Glaces lettuces are a go-to variety.
In terms of flowers, Scotter recommends potting up nasturtiums, especially for anyone with limited outdoor space: “There are so many beautiful varieties; much more than just orange and yellow ones — variegated leaves and blood-red flowers. You just have to look out for the cabbage white butterfly — it hatches its eggs and the caterpillars eat the entire plant. I’m very fond of white cosmos. It’s nice and wafty. And there are some great sunflowers around these days, with really incredible colours, even white ones.”
Jane Scotter’s course, How to Grow Exceptional Produce, hosted by Create Academy, is out now, createacademy.com
