Company description

Tall Grass is a restaurant group that sees kitchens as a key part of the local food supply chain. Our mission is to help grow a resilient local economy by broadening accessibility of local food through value-added processing, artisan techniques and neighborly dining experiences. We aim to source ingredients locally and seasonally with a focus on flavorful, nutritionally dense heirloom and specialty crops. Owners Alex and Malu Froom envision a food culture that celebrates diversity and seasonality as connected to the wellbeing of wild and agrarian lands in the Klamath Basin and neighboring regions. Tall Grass Kitchens’ primary location will be at Watershed Row, a community hub pursuing the Living Building Challenge (watershedrow.org).

Job description

About Klamath Falls

Klamath Falls is a friendly small town in an ecological wonderland. It’s adjacent to lakes and wetlands at the headwaters of historic Klamath River restoration. Enjoy beautiful seasons, affordable living, mountain biking, kayaking, cross-country skiing, a lively arts and music scene and an active community life. A strong local food system is taking shape helmed by Klamath Grown, with broad support and enthusiasm from the community.

Klamath Falls sits at the intersection of exceptional biodiversity, agriculture, waterways, national park land, and medical, military and educational institutions. Challenges, including water management, poverty and food insecurity, stand toe-to-toe with opportunities for real change in the way people live in the American West.

Position Summary

The Horticulturist is an avid plant person and hard worker who leads the Tall Grass Kitchens garden and orchard operations in Klamath Falls and the Upper Basin. They are well versed in perennial and annual crops, have a keen interest in plant and soil biology and take an ecosystem / permaculture approach to garden and orchard management. This is a collaborative position, with visioning and decision making shared by owners Alex and Malu Froom, as well as kitchen staff.

This job offers the opportunity to:

• Work at the intersection of food production, land restoration, community building and culinary arts
• Develop diverse food-producing perennial landscapes in urban and rural settings
• Model for the community thriving and resilient working lands at small to medium scale
• Trial lesser known heirloom and open-pollinated varietals and species suited to this bioregion and a changing climate
• Participate in open pollinated seed saving and exchanges; propagate desirable, hard to find plant materials to share with the community
• Build healthy soil and sequester carbon with local organic inputs such as biochar, green mulching and arbor chips
• Grow beautiful, nutritious specialty crops for local and seasonal menus
• Build resilience in soil, community food systems and ecosystems!

Responsibilities

• Regularly tend food forest gardens at multiple locations in Klamath Falls
• Periodically tend gardens & pasture in Fort Klamath
• Care for perennials, including seasonal pruning and application of holistic sprays
• Pickup and distribute organic matter such as straw and coffee grounds
• Mulch seasonally and as needed
• Manage composting operations
• Provide routine small livestock care
• Set up and manage drip irrigation
• Propagate plant material and save seeds
• Participate in site planning & development, as well as crop selection with Tall Grass team
• Communicate with Tall Grass team, partner organizations and the public
• Provide periodic garden tours to the public as an educational resource
• Organize and manage seasonal employees and volunteers with effective workflows
• Create welcoming and engaging experiences for children on school field trips
• Help plan and host Tall Grass events related to gardens and food production
• Maintain and repair tools and equipment
• Maintain planting, harvest and maintenance records

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 seasons experience with market garden crops
• Minimum 1 year experience working with perennials
• Permaculture certificate or comparable experience
• Demonstrated passion for plants, plant care and soil biology
• Strong foundation in botany and plant identification preferred
• Demonstrated experience as a hands-on problem solver
• Excellent communicator and team player
• Leadership experience with volunteers, colleagues, children and/or community members
• Exposure to farm business management preferred

Compensation

The starting salary range for this full time (1.0 FTE) position is $58,240 to $72,800 depending on experience. Tall Grass Kitchens provides health insurance, 11 paid holidays, professional development funds and paid time off by accrual basis:

• 6 months - 4 years: 10 hours per month
• 5 - 9 years: 12 hours per month
• 10+ years: 14 hours per month

Employees must utilize at least 50% of their PTO each calendar year.

Profit Sharing & Equity

Tall Grass Kitchens understands justice and equity in the workplace to be an ongoing pursuit. Our HR policies and practices aspire to create a democratic workplace that is multi-faith, multi-ethnic, and that shares wealth equitably. We review our policies and practices annually and welcome employee participation in crafting a diverse and thriving workplace.

In the first year Tall Grass Kitchens makes a profit, a profit sharing program will be initiated in which all employees according to role and tenure will receive a portion of the company profits as an annual bonus.

Tall Grass Kitchens is an equal opportunity employer. We believe diversity leads to resilience and creativity. In order to create resilient communities, we need everybody. People who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, or other People of Color, people who are queer, trans, non-binary, people with disabilities, people who are immigrants, people from poor and working-class backgrounds, and people who are/have been system-impacted are strongly encouraged to apply.

Compensation

this position is: salaried, $50,000 - $75,000

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline