About us
Our Growing Practices
Improving and maintaining soil health is an underlying objective we use for growing and maintaining our crops. Overall, we aim to make decisions with the principles of agroecology in mind, taking the lead from natural ecosystems and working with them to produce food, while at the same time hopefully helping to nourish a healthy environment and community.
We are incredibly lucky to be inheriting Lorieneen from the expert organic farmers Paul and Freya Van Midden. They have been carefully tending this site for the past 30 years growing produce organically and biodynamically. We hope to take up the batten from them and follow on in their footsteps to nurture this little plot to the best of our abilities whilst producing food for our community.
Although we value the standards and practices of certified organic farming, we are not certified organic. Since we hope to sell everything close to the farm and will have the opportunity to explain our agricultural practices in person, becoming certified feels like an unnecessary complication and expense. We do not, however, use any of the herbicides, fungicides, pesticides, or synthetic fertilizers that are often used in modern industrial agriculture, and we strive to farm in a way that builds health in the soil, in the plants, and in our community. We buy organic certified composts and seeds where possible. Having worked on certified farms for 10 years we are confident our practices would meet the certification standards, if not go beyond the levels required for organic . We will hopefully include aspects of biodynamic farming where possible and hope to involve our farm community in preparation and seasonal celebration days in the future.
We believe in "small is beautiful," proving that a farm can be hugely productive while remaining in balance with its ecology.
If you’re interested in more details regarding our growing practices, or anything else, please do get in touch!
Who we are
In December 2026, Ella and Michael, along with their dog Pip, moved to Lorieneen to begin an exciting new chapter in Aberdeenshire. Muchalls Kailyard is the start of a new venture rooted in a shared passion for growing good food and supplying it directly to the local community.
Ella
Ella has spent the past ten years working in organic market gardens across the UK, learning from a wide range of farms and growing systems. Her experience includes working at Schumacher College in Devon, Blackland’s Organics in Oxfordshire, Linley Walled Garden in Shropshire, and Forest Coal Pit Farm in Abergavenny. Across these farms, Ella has grown produce for farmers’ markets, vegetable box schemes, and high-end restaurants. She brings this experience to Muchalls Kailyard with a love for careful growing, beautiful crops, and flavourful vegetables.
Alongside the vegetables, Ella also enjoys growing beautiful cut flowers, adding colour and diversity to the garden and creating something special to share with the community.
Michael
Michael has worked on a range of biodynamic and organic farms across South Africa, Sweden, and England, gaining experience with different climates, landscapes, and farming traditions. His work has given him a deep appreciation for ecological farming and the importance of working with nature to produce healthy food. Michael has a wide range of skills beyond growing and tractor driving including graphic design, carpentry and attending to the farms many maintenance needs!
Together, Ella and Michael aim to grow food in a way that supports soil health, biodiversity, and the local community.
Helen
Muchalls Kailyard is also very much a family effort. Ella’s mum Helen can often be found helping out around the farm. Her support has been invaluable in getting the project off the ground, and we are incredibly grateful to share the vision of building a small agroecological farm that grows nourishing food for local people. As an amazing cook and jam and chutney maker her recipe and preserve suggestions will be passed on to members looking for inspiration for current seasonal bounty. When she’s not helping out on the farm, she works as a doctor in public health nutrition and runs the Lizzie Vann Foundation, a charity that researches additives and contaminants in the food system that may affect pregnant women, infants, and children. Her lifelong work promoting good nutrition and access to healthy food has been a major inspiration for Ella’s journey into farming and growing food.
Pip
Pippin the dog is a key part of the farm team. He takes his duties of vole and rodent management seriously but can sometimes be found sleeping on the job in a sunny corner. Pip’s favourite crop is carrots and can be found munching his way through any rejects for quality control purposes.
Honouring the Past
We would also like to acknowledge and honour the legacy of Paul and Freya, who developed this site from a grassy field into the farm it is today. Over 30 years of caring for the soil and growing food, they built the organic business Lembas Organics, supplying high-quality produce to the community for many years. Paul has been incredibly generous sharing his wisdom, tools and experience farming this land.
As we take on the baton, we hope to continue their legacy — caring for the land, nurturing the soil, and growing good food for local people.
Our hope is that Muchalls Kailyard can build on the foundations they created and continue to be a place where food, community, and land are deeply connected.
Below we have added the details of the foundation stone ceremony that took place in 1998. We hope to continue on the values and the intentions from which the project started serving and feeding our community whilst nurturing the land we are caretakers for.
