Assistant Grower

Wild Fern Farm is hiring for the Assistant Grower position in Kingston, NH. This hands-on role supports the operation's day-to-day production and care work. Reliable execution and early communication matter because the work directly affects plants, animals, equipment, coworkers, customers, or the surrounding property. What you will do • Seed, transplant, cultivate, irrigate, harvest, wash, pack, and store crops according to the farm's plan and food-safety procedures. • Use and care for assigned hand tools, wash-pack equipment, carts, and field equipment within training. • Monitor crops and communicate pest, disease, water, weather, quality, or harvest-timing concerns promptly. • Seed in the greenhouse, transplant seedlings, apply compost, cultivate with hoes, hand weed, trellis crops, and harvest vegetables with the consistency needed on a compact hand-scale farm. • Wash and pack vegetables carefully, keeping harvest lots, containers, work surfaces, and finished produce organized so the crop moves efficiently from field to customer. • If interested and scheduled, help manage a CSA pickup or the Saturday farmers-market booth by preparing shares or displays, welcoming customers, answering farm questions, and returning accurate counts and reusable materials. How the work fits together Farm priorities follow crop condition, weather, harvest commitments, and customer orders. The crew checks urgent irrigation and harvest needs first, then moves through field production, post-harvest handling, accurate packing, storage, and cleanup. Each employee's work affects both crop life and the quality customers receive. At Wild Fern Farm, the employer also makes these role-specific priorities clear: Seed in the greenhouse, transplant seedlings, apply compost, cultivate with hoes, hand weed, trellis crops, and harvest vegetables with the consistency needed on a compact hand-scale farm. Wash and pack vegetables carefully, keeping harvest lots, containers, work surfaces, and finished produce organized so the crop moves efficiently from field to customer. If interested and scheduled, help manage a CSA pickup or the Saturday farmers-market booth by preparing shares or displays, welcoming customers, answering farm questions, and returning accurate counts and reusable materials. What the employer is looking for • Positive energy, readiness to receive feedback and follow instructions, attention to time and detail, and ability to work both with a very small crew and independently. • Ability to lift 30 pounds and remain standing, squatting, bending, or working in another repeated position while completing physical work in sun, heat, humidity, rain, cold, wind, and insects. • Dependable attendance, direct communication, and willingness to follow the employer's safety, quality, and customer- or production-care procedures. • Ability to complete the role's active, in-person work and to ask for instruction before using unfamiliar tools, equipment, products, or animal-handling methods. Schedule, conditions, and compensation The preferred weekday season runs through November 21. Hours are approximately 30 to 40 per week Monday through Friday from May through October and 12 to 18 per week in November. Start and end times have some flexibility, and a part-time arrangement may be possible if clearly described in the application. Time off is limited from June through September and more flexible later in the fall. The farm does not publish a numeric wage, overtime treatment, paid leave, insurance, or other benefits for this opening, so confirm those terms during hiring. The employer does not publish a numeric wage range on this page, so no compensation has been estimated. Applicants should confirm the final hours, overtime treatment, starting assignment, travel or reporting point, supplied equipment, and benefit eligibility directly with the employer before accepting an offer. This is an in-person agricultural production position with a small operation. Daily priorities can change with weather, plant or animal condition, equipment availability, customer schedules, and the season. The successful person should arrive ready to work, communicate early when a task or condition is unclear, follow the employer's safety and quality procedures, and leave tools, vehicles, production areas, and job sites secure and ready for the next shift. Applicants should expect active work that may include long periods of standing or walking, bending, lifting, repetitive hand tasks, noise, dust, mud, pollen, heat, cold, rain, or work around moving equipment. The exact physical demands differ by assignment. Candidates should discuss any accommodation needs with the employer and confirm the final schedule, overtime treatment, training period, travel expectations, and benefit eligibility before accepting an offer. Only compensation and benefits expressly published by the employer are included here; unpublished terms have not been estimated. How to apply Email a letter of interest and resume to Liz at wildfernfarmnh@gmail.com. Explain why small-scale organic vegetable work interests you, the dates and weekly hours you can commit through November 21, and every scheduling restriction. Describe relevant farm, greenhouse, harvest, food-service, wash-pack, market, landscaping, garden, or other fast-paced physical work and identify any particular growing skills you hope to strengthen during the season.