Seasonal Farm Worker

Most of the day you pick strawberries by hand inside long plastic polytunnels, placing the fruit in punnets without bruising it. Shifts usually start at 6am to beat the midday heat and run in two blocks with a break in between. You will also help set up irrigation lines, weed the rows, trim runners, and load full crates onto trolleys and the cold-store truck. During quieter weeks the work moves to other produce on the farm, such as potatoes and seasonal vegetables. You sort and grade fruit at the packing tables and keep the tunnels and walkways clean. The pace lifts sharply when a buyer order comes in and everyone pushes to fill it the same day.

Able to bend, crouch and stand for long hours in the heat

Careful hands so the fruit does not get bruised

Willing to start early, around 6am, six days a week in season

Comfortable working outdoors and inside warm polytunnels

Basic English or Greek to follow the team leader

No prior farm experience needed, you will be shown the work

Shared accommodation provided near the farm

Daily transport between the housing and the fields

Water and a midday meal during the shift

Help with paperwork and registration on arrival

Pickers who show up on time and keep their quality high move up to crew lead, setting the pace for a row of workers and checking the punnets before they ship. From there you can take on packing-line supervision or running the cold store. Pay climbs with the role, from 1040 to 1200 net a month as you take on more responsibility.

The work is on open fields and inside plastic polytunnels a few kilometres from Nea Manolada, close to the coast. Summers get hot, so most of the heavy picking is done in the cooler morning hours. The ground can be muddy after watering and the tunnels stay humid, so good boots and a hat matter.