Cooks Garden Small Farm Internship in Ohio

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Cooks Garden in New Lebanon, Ohio is offering a small farm internship for the 2018 season

General Description: Cooks Garden looking for one intern or a stable couple. Ideal applicants would be folks who have decided to be market gardeners and wish to actually do it for a season before starting off on their own. Interns are needed from April through August, to work with us and learn all aspects of business, working about 40 hours per week or a combined 40 hours a week for a couple. We will pay a total of $250 per week, we will also provide housing in a small self-contained, well-appointed cottage on the property, with free produce from our garden. Cooks Garden is a small operation with one acre in produce, and cut flowers. We grow bedding plants for sale in May. We also keep bees and sell extracted honey. Most of our produce and cut flowers we sell at a farmers’ market in Dayton, although we do have a significant door trade.

We are the managers of the Shiloh Farmers’ Market in Dayton, so intern will also get an insider’s view of the issues and challenges that managing a farmers’ market involves. There would also be an opportunity for the intern to earn an additional stipend from Farmers’ Market by helping with the computer bookkeeping, updating webpages and social media.

We specialize in very early tomatoes and lettuce EVERY week from mid-May to mid-October. We also grow a variety of other produce to make our booth colorful and varied. We also grow a variety of other produce to make our booth colorful and varied. In flowers we specialize in large, mixed “country” bouquets; some ready-made and some made-to-order at the market. Though no longer certified organic, we use no commercial fertilizers or sprays in the garden. 2018 will be our 13th year to host an intern. Applicants are encouraged to speak with former interns to get an inside perspective of this position.

Internship Starts: Friday, April 1, 2018 Internship Ends: August 31, 2018
Number of Interns: 1 or 2
Applications Accepted: Until March 1, 2018 or until position is filled
Minimum Length of Stay: 5 months

Meals: Interns will be expected to cook their own meals. We provide free produce from our garden.
Skills Desired: Ideal applicants would be folks who have decided to be market gardeners and wish to actually do it for a season before starting off on their own. Interns are needed from the beginning of April through September, to work with us and learn all aspects of the business (40 hours per week, or a combined 40 hours per week for a couple). Characteristics that we feel are necessary to succeed in this line of work include: enjoy working hard outside in all types of weather, good physical health, driver’s license, good sense of humor, genuine warmth for people, ability to prioritize and not procrastinate, at least minimal computer skills, and above all enthusiasm and integrity.

Educational Opportunities: All aspects of growing, harvesting and selling vegetables, cut flowers, bedding plants, strawberry planting and honey, farmers’ market management.

Stipend: $250 per week.

Housing at Cooks Garden: We also provide housing in a small, self-contained, completely furnished, cottage on the property. During the off-season they rent the cottage on Airbnb and applicants can see their housing at this link: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/194186

Cooks Garden Internship Details: Our farm is small. We have the bare minimum of equipment, but have developed tools and techniques that enable us to do very well. A typical summer work week includes garden maintenance, planting of weekly succession crops, harvesting produce and flowers, making up flower bunches, and setting up and selling at farmers’ market. Sundays and Mondays are ALWAYS free. So the 40 hours would then be worked Tuesday through Saturday.

If interested in the Cooks Garden Internship, send them an email and request an application to cooksgarden@gmail.com or call 937-248-1536

Cooks Garden
989 N.Clayton Rd.
New Lebanon, OH 45345 – 9641

Contact: Stephen Cook, Zella Falcon Cook

Email: cooksgarden@gmail.com

Website: https://cooksgardennewlebanon.com

 

To learn more about farming jobs and internships or to post an opportunity on beginningfarmers.org, go to: https://www.beginningfarmers.org/internship-and-employment-opportunities/