Bateman Road has been my baby for the last 4 years, but sadly due to a combination of difficulties, I'll be stepping away from the site at the end of this season.
It has been an incredible experience to turn an abandoned, overgrown, waste-ridden plot into an lush abundance of veggies and flowers.
I started off as a farmstart trainee eager to get a foothold in the urban agriculture world. I've learnt so much that I no longer have imposter syndrome and I can now proudly call myself a professional food and flower grower.
I know my hard work there has inspired lots of locals to get growing, has welcomed in a diverse array of biodiversity and created a much improved growing space. I hope the site can continue to be an asset to the community in the future.
It was so exciting to see all the amazing things chefs and florists did with my produce. Thanks so much to all the people that helped make Bateman Road happen and all those who supported and collaborated in any way:
Sophie O'Neill
@organicleacommunitygrowers@middlelanemarket@ritasdining@missyyflynn@gabriel_pryce_@cdot___@izzywh@hladova@yourlondonflorist@violeta.marozaite@fleursdhiver_@orienteermapazine@rory_griffs@david_hellqvist@benjaminmcmahon@wotsup.doc@thefieldsn7@harry_kaufman@wyldgarlic@alecjhawkins@spice.mystic@charjsm@euanonslow
Thanks to @folx_farm@thehumbleumbel and @wolveslaneflowercompany for your veg and flower wisdom.
Thanks to all the volunteers that helped especially Terry and my dad @archieonslow
Thanks for all the support, shout outs and kind words of encouragement!
I'll probably carry on posting bits to this account to embellish my visual CV, but If you'd like to stay in touch for future collaboration feel free to follow my personal account @max_onslow
Happy growing! 🌱
Another challenging start to the the year with lots of learnings to be taken and wins to be shared. This spring feels like a "normal" spring compared to last, old school chilly temperatures making growth quite slow to kick off, but maybe I needed a break from running around like crazy with the watering can. The perennials have done really well this year, making me think I should just turn the whole site into a perennial nature reserve come market garden. Lots of planning for the future of the site is underway. Potential for big things ahead 💐🧄
Slow start to the year, but we made it through the winter, and feeling that buzz start to kick in.
#urbanagriculture
#regenerativefarming
#wildflowers
#broadbeans
#garlic
#narcissus
#tulips
Life slowly re-emerging after the deep freeze.
1. Cornflowers sown by lazy boy farm hack method I dreamt up last summer: I left a bed of cornflowers to go to seed, late September I cut the stems at the base when seeds were ready, and spread the stems thickly over another prepped bed like a mulch, waited for it to rain, then removed dry stems once seedlings emerged. Much quicker than transplanting and much higher germination rate than other beds I direct sowed conventionally.
2. Ranunculus coming up perfectly without their prescribed chitting. I just soaked them for a few hours in a bucket.
3. Hardneck garlic for scapes (harvesting green and eating the whole plant) will probably be amazing after all this chill time.
4. Heirloom daffs, the fancy ones.
5. Autumn sown broad beans coming up beautifully.
6. 💭
#regenerativefarming
#urbanagriculture
#londongrown
#cornflowers
#garlic
#daffodils
#broadbeans
#ranunculus
#clouds
Organised clutter, direct + self sown annuals, bulbs, garlic, broad beans, green manures, lots of woodchip and plenty of warm layers. Trying to optimise the site this Winter by leaving no bed without something either in it or on top of it - a quarter of the site is uncleared for insects to hibernate, the rest planted for an early crop of hardys and green manure cover crops. Time to stay cosy and think about the future plans for the site.
Sending solidarity to protesting unions, the women of Iran, and the lgbt community ✊✊✊
#regenerativefarming
#overwinter
#wintergarden
#urbanagriculture
#londonwildlife
#britishwildflowers
#britishgrown
Fading Autumn light calling an end to the big summer harvests and switching my focus onto winter and next spring.
#autumn
#sunflowers
#regenerativefarming
Mexican marigolds "Jolly Jester", undefeated by drought, planted as a companion flower, to attract beneficial insects and provide support to other plants. The petals are used as a garnish, the leaves as a herb and longer stems for cut flowers. Really versatile plant.
#urbanagriculture
#flowers
#allotment
#summer
#edibleflowers
#marigolds
#regenerativefarming
#londonflowers
#companionplanting
#marketgarden
Bringing flowers to the streets. it's uplifting to see how growing here can benefit the local community - these two kids always ask their parents to stop so they can see the garden. Before I started here all they would have seen was mdf boards, brambles and fly tippings. Feels good to provide a better view of how our land can be used.
#regenerativefarming
#urbanagriculture
#sunflowers
#communitygarden
