Autumn At Spitalfields City Farm
The final of four features in collaboration with Contributing Photographer Rachel Ferriman, documenting the seasons at Spitalfields City Farm.
Autumn has been extended and mild this year, with a succession of sunny days lasting until the end of November. On such a day, Emma Poole, who has been working with the animals at the farm for seven years, led me on a personal tour around Spitalfields City Farm.
We began our stroll by paying a visit to Holmes, whose arrival as a piglet I recorded in the early days of Spitalfields Life. He has reached the grand old age of eleven now. ‘Holmes loves the autumn because he eats all the crab apples and forages through the leaves,’ Emma explained, ‘At night, we give him straw to keep warm and, since his brother, Watson, died in June, we will throw in a sleeping bag for him to bury himself underneath when it gets really cold.’
‘I prefer working with animals because they are so understanding,’ Emma admitted to me. ‘If you have had a bad day, an animal will never judge you. They are quick to forgive too. Even if we have to inflict pain for a medical reason, they will always forgive you and never hold a grudge. When I feel low, if I spend five minutes with a sheep or a donkey, it lifts my spirits..’
‘I love hosting school visits to the animals, especially for children who are new to them. If I had to sum up what the farm is for, I would say it is for education. Kids that struggle in a school environment thrive here. Everyone that comes here learns something. Many people do not realise where eggs come from.’
‘I could stand and watch the sheep all day, they are my favourite,’ Emma confided, ‘farmers will say that time spent staring at your animals is never wasted because when you know each one intimately and you can assess their well-being and health by their behaviour. Autumn is a good time for this.’
‘We are busy with maintenance now,’ Emma continued as we walked on, ‘this is when we mend the sheds and prune the fruit trees.’
‘After the harvest, we plant overwintering vegetables – kale, cabbage, sprouts and onions – or clear the land to lie fallow until spring. We spread manure and let all the home-grown nutrients go back into the soil. It’s our way of giving back and saying thank you to the garden for what it gave us this year. We have created a cycle without any chemical fertilisers and hopefully our good work will bear fruit next year.’
Harvest at the farm
Pond-dipping
Tanya measuring the sunflowers
Galena harvesting lettuce
Sam harvesting Jerusalem Artichokes
Simone who runs the Tea Hut with cosmos
George harvesting and trimming sweetcorn
Kudu
Produce at the farm shop
Ella with the stained glass panels she made
Bella
Th last cosmos of the year
Frank sweeping the autumn leaves
Gold Sebright hens
Donkey riding
‘Holmes loves the autumn because he eats all the crab apples’
“There is poetry in the unexpected presence of agriculture in the city and it always makes my heart leap to hear animal cries in this urban setting, connecting me to the rural landscape beyond and reminding us of the fields that were here before the streets were built up. Despite the tower blocks visible through the greenery at Spitalfields City Farm, it is nature that prevails here.”
The Gentle Author
The first Spitalfields Life calendar is produced in support of our beloved Spitalfields City Farm and features Rachel Ferriman‘s splendid photographs from her features published in these pages.
This handsome wall calendar is a collaboration between our friends Newmans Stationers who have done the printing, Baddeley Brothers who have donated handmade envelopes and Gardners Bags who have donated paper bags.
ORDER YOUR SPITALFIELDS LIFE 2022 CALENDAR NOW FOR £10
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Photographs copyright © Rachel Ferriman
Retailers can order wholesale copies direct from q@newmans-stationery.co.uk
You may also like to take a look at
Winter At Spitalfields City Farm
Thanks – that first picture of the chicken was glorious!
The calendar arrived some days ago. It is lovely and it will be cheering and useful. I will treasure the handmade envelope. Thank you.
The animal pens are all so clean and, with the piles of straw, even comfy looking.
A magnificently peaceful place for human beings and nature. Have a good time Spitalfields City Farm!
Love & Peace
ACHIM
A heartwarming post of a great community