About Us

Ashtrees Farm Vegetables was set up and is now run by Mark Powell, a former insurance agent who decided on a career change after being made redundant at the end of 2005.  While spending his redundancy pay on the renovation of an old village house in the south of France, Mark decided that the outdoor life was for him and vowed never to work in an office again.   Instead, he decided to set himself up as a producer of organic fruit and vegetables for the local community in and around Wallingford, Oxfordshire.   After all, he’d been growing all his own produce at home in Benson for many years, and was a firm believer in the value of seasonal produce grown on your own doorstep.

Mark and his company car	Mark's office
By good fortune, Mark met a local farmer, Philip Chamberlain, of Crowmarsh Battle Farm, who was willing to support Mark’s new venture by leasing him 1 hectare (3 acres) of land just off the main A4074 between Benson and Wallingford.  In August 2007, once the wheat had been harvested, Mark was able to move onto the land and he was in business!
Ashtrees Farm before...	... and after!