My New Urban Farm

[CraigJemy]

Hi everyone, my name is Craig and I’m currently located in East Yorkshire.

I was lucky enough to acquire around 1/8th acre of land two years ago on a 7 year lease and last year decided I would start an urban farm business this season. I have had some success in growing produce over the past 4 years. I initially got into growing food when my mother was diagnosed with cancer for the second time, I wanted to provide her with the healthiest, tastiest produce I could whilst having the minimum impact on the environment. This has bloomed (excuse the pun) into me researching, reading, watching youTube blogs and really getting my head around organic, sustainable working methods. I now want to take it a step further and create my own urban farm business.

As stated the my initial plot is around 1/8th acre and recently secured another smaller site with greenhouse and raised beds. My aim is to find unused land or peoples gardens who don’t have the time or inclination to garden; I will grow produce on it and pay them in food whilst keeping it maintained. This general idea came from what I was reading about SPIN farming and subsequently Curtis Stone’s book The Urban Farmer.

I would like to keep a thread here where I can post my progress, show my successes and failures and hopefully learn and create dialogue about what I am doing.

This is a lot of work for me on my own and I don’t have lot’s of money to throw at it. I have decided to take a part time job in local glasshouse over summer to supplement me financially. The hours are 6am – 2pm Monday – Thursday so I can have the rest of the day and end of week to focus on the farm. I intend to sell at the local village store which is keen to take my produce, as well as markets/farmers markets/car boot and I have set up a small indoor micro green production system which I will will try to sell to chefs at local restaurants. I currently am doing trials with the micro greens and also using the lights to grow chilli plant starts I intend to sell and also start other seedlings ready to plant out soon.

So onto plot #1!

I have 28 chickens which I sell the eggs and am starting to use the manure on the plot. Over the winter I have let them out of the coop to scratch and fertilise. This has had some success as I have a real problem with couch grass, they seem to have scratched a lot of it to the surface.
Although I aim to go no dig completely, I really needed to start digging 2 weeks ago as it really had got out of control, it is taking me a long time but I’m getting there and concentrating on the areas I will be growing in first. I made some raised beds and filled with compost I made and chicken manure (sparingly) in a new area. I also added the same to the greenhouses I will grow tomatoes, peppers (4 plants I overwintered hoping to get high yield this year), basil in-between the tomatoes, there is also a big white seeded grapevine in the big greenhouse. I have very established fruit bushes; raspberries, blackberries, redcurrant, blackcurrants, gooseberries and two apple trees and 3 plum trees. The birds had most of those last year so I will be constructing some kind of cage around them this year as they will be quite a high profit item and very little maintenance.

I have already started my salad mix (Green Salad Bowl/Lollo Rosa) indoors which is almost ready to go out, as well as radish. I will have herbs, kale, rainbow chard, beetroot, turnips. I am hoping to make the most of the space and grow vertically too, squash climbing on netting and pumpkin underneath. I am also growing courgette as they produced extremely well last year. I have Tumbling Tom, Money Maker, Black Cherry and Shirley tomatoes as well as the hot pepper plants.

I am trying to source all my materials locally and up-cycle as much as I can, I won’t be using any chemicals only organic pest control methods and companion planting techniques. I’m struggling for compost as I need around 4 tonnes, I see online I can order for delivery but I am wary as I don’t know how good quality it is. There is a local place here I went this morning but they won’t sell me any as 4 tonne ‘isn’t worth their time’ apparently! So for now it’s manure and keep making my own, I just want to get started and suck it and see!

Thanks for looking in and I’ve attached some pictures. Still lots of digging to do but another week or so at it and onto plot 2!

[CraigJemy]

A few more pictures.

[Stringfellow]

Hi Craig and welcome. There’s a brilliant allotmenteer called Pete who posted on here some years ago who is based near Beverley, running three plots (I think) specialising, amongst other areas, in green manures. Search for those posts as they may be of use to you. Try “green manures”.

All Charles books are fab, and check out elliot Coleman and Bob flowerdew too, all with lots to offer.

Lots of hard work ahead, wishing you the best with it. Tris

[John]

Hello Craig,
Great idea. I am curious to know if such a venture requires certificates, licences etc to grow for selling to the public or restaurants. !?.
Regards,
John.

[CraigJemy]

Hi Tris and John, thanks for the replies. I tried looking for Petes post but can’t find them. I want to buy all of Charles books when I can afford it, already have a pile here I’m trying to get through!

John, with regards to licences etc. I had to register as a food business with the local council. It was easy to do online, they deem my farm to be ‘low risk’ and said they don’t require a site visit etc but they could at some point should they wish. They also advised someone would be in contact about my labelling of produce to make sure it is legal. I did take the Level 2 Food Hygiene and Safety Certificate online which again was very easy. For selling at markets etc I am looking into public liability insurance which I think a lot of markets ask for. With regards to selling to restaurants, the council advised I just need to keep a record of who, what, when etc which I will be doing anyway as part of record keeping. Hope that helps some?

I’ve been digging constantly for the past few days, it’s really hard work in this clay loam, esp when it’s very wet and every square inch is riddled with couch grass rhizomes! This is definitely the last time I do this, so need to be thorough but I think I’ve caused myself to develop carpal tunnel in both arms, I’m getting tingling and numbness in my hands during the night…needs must!

That being said it’s taking shape and I’m about half way through plot #1 now. I added some pics.

A quick question, I started some broad beans which became chicken feed because they got very leggy due to that setback with the weather two weeks ago. I also have some radish that look like they are ready to go out, is it too early to put out even under cover? My lettuce starts also are going to the chickens as they were ready too early.

[Stringfellow]

‘Ere ya go:

https://forum.charlesdowding.co.uk/forums/topic/green-manure/

[CraigJemy]

Thanks!

[Cleansweep]

Hi Craig,
Every good wish and moral support in your venture. Hard work at first- first five years will be the worst!! Just keep it simple, and manage your inputs to fit your output. And make sure, for everything, that you definitely get paid.
Cleansweep

[John]

Thanks Craig,
That info helps. Thanks. I only watch blogs and read blogs to get my info about gardening. I make my own composts but also buy some for sowing seeds in trays. I got an idea from Charles composting film and I hope it works. There are two lengths of the garden here, one is ours on the left side and the other belongs to our neighbour…with arrangement, I cut grass, seeds etc from a section of their side and compost it…not much but around 200 litres of so. However, this year, I broadcast some oats, peas and mustards on some parts of both strips…so this year my work should give me an additional mixture of compost greens.

[CraigJemy]

Hi everyone. It’s been a heavy week, I have dug 1/2 of the first site. It has been horrendous trying to get as much couch grass and other weeds out as I can but I’m persevering-the site is literally covered in a blanket of root zones. After finishing half the plot today, I emptied the chicken coop and dug that in.

Yes, I know I’m playing with fire digging manure in a few weeks before planting but I honestly think it will be ok. I haven’t put too much on and last year I used it with no problems at all, it’s mixed with hay. The chickens have been grazing over the plot on and off over winter and providing droppings so it can’t be much different! It will rain quite a bit here before anything goes in and it definitely looks like it helped even out the composition of the soil a little, I guess it will make or break the farm this year as I have no money for tonnes of compost sadly. That being said, looking after 28 chickens is a serious advantage, they produce a lot of waste, are great at clearing overgrown areas and are giving me plentiful supply of fresh eggs each day! A true chicken powered farm.

Next job is to head over to the second plot to add manure/homemade compost to the greenhouse there ready for tomatoes and basil in a month or so. I’ll try to grab a picture of the plot, need to assess the beds there too. Plenty of room for herbs I think.

Well I’m pretty much a quivering wreck after this week but it will be worth it. Time to start some seeds of salad mix, beets, turnips, radish and I have been gifted some broad been sees which i have soaked overnight in water ready to sowed.

I added a picture of the logo I designed for packaging as well as the ‘epic dig pic’ and the girls powering my soil!

[CraigJemy]

Pics.

[Jos]

Great good luck CraigJemy…have you seen John Kohler? (growing your greens.com YouTube.frenetic but useful..a corollary to Charles’ way)

[Cajun Claude]

Good luck Craig with your venture/adventure. I will be really interested in your results planting in “fresh-ish” manure?
My backyard is tiny in comparison to your land, but I am focusing on making compost for next year.
You say you are going to grow salads and micro greens for the local restaurants/pubs etc? Organic is definately the way to go. Because of my limited space I tinkered with a Hydroponic set up in the polytunnel. I got loads of salad/strawberries/toms and cuc’s… but they tasted like a postman’s sock! (not that I have ever tasted a sock of course, but you get my meaning). The produce was bland in taste.
So you go and grow that lovely flavoursome organic veg and I’ll be reading your blog for updates.

all the best!

[Author]

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