From soil to plate: a season of growing at Goodwood

19th October 2026

As autumn settles over the Goodwood Estate, the Market Garden is reflecting on its first successful growing season. What began taking shape last December has developed into a productive patchwork of crops, from leafy greens and salad leaves to tomatoes, chillies and edible flowers, with the next season already taking root.

The garden was established to bring another part of Goodwood’s food story closer to the table. With organic meat and dairy already produced on the Estate, growing vegetables on site felt like a natural next step, giving visitors the opportunity to source more of the ingredients for a meal in one place, while providing Goodwood’s kitchens with fresh, seasonal produce grown just a short distance away.

The first no-dig beds were created last winter, with the first harvest arriving in May. Rather than turning or ploughing the ground, the approach involves layering compost and woodchip over the existing soil. This gentler method of growing helps protect the soil’s structure and the life within it, creating an important foundation for a healthy, productive garden.

Around 25 varieties have been grown this year, including kale, chard, radicchio, cucumbers and tomatoes, alongside salad crops such as rocket, spinach, lettuce and radish. Edible flowers have also found their place among the beds, bringing colour to the garden whilst providing a valuable source of food for pollinators.

The link between the garden and Goodwood’s kitchens is already well established. Much of the harvest is used across the Estate’s restaurants and kitchens, including Farmer, Butcher, Chef, where the changing availability of ingredients helps shape what appears on the menu. The garden’s polytunnels, heated using the Estate biomass, also help extend the growing season and create more favourable conditions for certain crops.

The harvest is now making its way onto the shelves of the Goodwood Farm Shop, adding fresh, Estate-grown vegetables to its existing range of organic meat and dairy. It’s another way for visitors to bring a taste of Goodwood home.

As the seasons turn, attention is already shifting to the months ahead. Chinese cabbage, celeriac, fennel, spring onions, chillies and kohl rabi are among the crops the team hopes to grow, alongside further varieties of tomatoes.

After its first season, the Market Garden is still finding its rhythm, but the foundations are in place: healthy soil, a considered approach to growing and a close relationship between the people who cultivate the land and those who cook its produce. As the garden develops, so too will its contribution to Goodwood’s wider food story, one harvest at a time.

  • Farm Shop

  • Farm

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  • Farm Shop

  • Farm