About Our Garden

Stonelynk Organics is a commercial organic vegetable garden in Fairlight, East Sussex. We farm according to organic principles, and we are certified organic by the Soil Association, the UK's largest organic certification body.

You'll find our little garden nestled in the Stonelynk Valley five miles east of Hastings, where the loamy soil and south-coast sun make for perfect growing conditions.

We farm in a way that is gentle to the local ecosystem and respectful of natural processes. This means we use no artificial products and very little machinery, leaving nature to do what it does best - abound in produce!

We sell most of our produce directly from the farm via our click-and-collect service. We also operate a small box scheme, delivering freshly picked vegetables straight to your door.

Meet The Team

Hélène and Stephen moved to East Sussex in early 2018 to establish Stonelynk Organics. They are inspired by the many brilliant small-scale growers across the country providing their local neighbours with their vegetable needs. Having spent a few years under the apprenticeship of the Cross family at Gold Hill Organic Farm in Dorset, they chose to fly the nest and set up their own garden. They love chatting with passers-by, singing in harmony, and experimenting with fermentation!

Hélène Maerschalck

Hélène has always been interested in food production, having grown up among the hustle-and-bustle of her family bakery. After studying a Master’s degree in bio-engineering in Belgium, she worked for a food security company in Brussels. In 2017, she spent a year visiting various farms amassing a whole host of new skills, before joining with Stephen to set up Stonelynk Organics.

Stephen Atkinson

Stephen worked for a food-waste charity before determining to learn more about sustainable food production. Since then he has a growing conviction that the means to greater food security is more and more small-scale local growers producing good food for their neighbours.

The Chickens

Our ex-commercial chickens never stop scratching and pecking. We move them regularly so that they can help us clearing the beds we finished harvesting, eating crop residues and slugs while fertilising.

The Earthworm

Where would we be without the earthworm! Churning up the soil, letting in the water and air, decomposing the old plant matter and releasing lots of fresh nutrients, the earthworm is perhaps the most important worker on the farm - so we're grateful to have thousands of them! It's for their sake that we use as little machinery as possible, in order to preserve the quality of their natural habitat.

The bumblebee and honey Bee

The bumblebee and honey bee work tirelessly to pollinate all the fruit of the farm - that includes of course our diverse orchard but also our beans and peas. Without them, the world would be a much less tasty place! To repay them for their hard work we cultivate numerous pollinator-friendly flowers, from angelica to zinnia.

And last but not least... a special mention for all the other members of our 'livestock'; the ladybirds, lacewings, centipedes, hedgehogs, bacteria, fungi, protozoa (even the odd slug!) all contribute towards the diverse biosphere in which our vegetables thrive.