Why are we doing it?

We know it can be hard to get growing food at home, and it's easy to get it wrong. We also know not everyone has a garden, so our project also aims to support those in urban areas with limited space to grow.

We hope by building knowledge through our growing streetfarm community we can all achieve more growing success.

There are many other reasons to streetfarm... scroll down to read a few of our favourites...!

Biodiversity and Biomass

Our insect species have had a difficult time over the last 50 years, largely due to the pesticides we spray onto our crops. It's also no surprise that biomass is dwindling since we started covering everything in concrete. Your streetfarms will welcome insects back to our cities.

Social connections

We live so close together but can feel so far apart. Just recently in our ancestry we relied on growing food in small communities, as a common interest and a way to stay in touch with one another. There's no reason we can't continue doing this with a little help from our new friend, technology.

Immediate impact

It’s easy to feel completely helpless faced with constant news about environmental issues - not knowing what we can really do to change things. We are sure that by growing a streetfarm, we are immediately making a difference.

Absorb light

We've all heard about climate change. And since we concreted over everything we reflect a lot of light back into the atmosphere. This increases the greenhouse effect and raises global temperatures. Even a little plant on your balcony will absorb that light instead.

Reconnect with nature

Remember when we used to be surrounded by trees and animals and plants, and how we used to watch things grow and connect with the earth? No, neither do we... But it wasn't that long ago. Deep down we need that connection. We hope streetfarm can help us re-connect with our global ecosystem.

A little less pollution

Even a small amount of home-grown food can reduce the use of plastic packaging, the impact of processing the food, and the need to transport it.

What's happened so far?

Streetfarm was conceived as an idea back in 2019. In 2020 and 2021 we ran small pilot studies in the Brighton area, providing our farms to several households. We tested the use of notifications via digital media to support the growing process.

In 2023 and beyond we are looking to expand the project to the wider public. As the project grows we plan to develop and enhance a handy app to allow the sharing of knowledge and crops between our streetfarm members!

A bit more about the plants

Tomato

This year our tomato plant is the compact and delicious “Veranda Red”. It’s perfect for growing in pots, and should not require any supports. It will, however deliver a strong and remarkable sweet taste!

They will likely be one of the early starters in your farm, and once the leaves are developed it will enjoy some warmth and light.

When planted into bigger pots, always keep the soil moist, but not damp, and treat to the occasional dose of plant food!

Cucumber

For 2023 our choice of cucumber is again the “Spacemaster 80”. We enjoyed the compact space of the plant, and the excellent yield of fruits.

This will likely be the first seedling to grow, and it will grow pretty rapidly. It should be re-homed into a bigger pot, or expansion pack, within around 3 weeks. Again these plants will enjoy regular watering, to keep the soil moist.

Basil

Our basil plants are quite bad-tempered and might resist germination for a while. Keep the basil pod moist and it will eventually calm down a bit and emerge. With plenty of sunshine and emotional support, it will one day become the life and soul of the farm!

Chilli

You chilli seeds might be the last ones to the party, but once they get going they should catch up fast and can produce lots of fruit! When they are moved on from their streetfarm nursery, they will like warmer temperatures, if possible, and ideally around 6 hours of direct sunlight per day.

Oregano

Out oregano plants are delightfully fragrant – yes, but simple little beings. They have tiny weeny seeds that can take some time, and some love, to come through. They will enjoy some warmth to get going, and once established a nice dose of direct sunshine each day.

Wildflowers

Not only are we aiming to feed ourselves, we are also trying to feed the insects! We like to think the other plants enjoy the companionship of native species too…. However, we have no idea which ones you will get! Can we get some flowers to grow on windowsills? Do make sure you let us know!

We are really interested to hear your thoughts about our project

If you have any questions, or would like to get in touch please fill out the form below