There doesn’t seem to be an end to this pluvial misery of a summer, so make the most of the occasional dry days respite and come and pick!

There is a lot of lovely fruit on the field at the moment and the ground dries out quite easily.

Strawberries

We have an abundance of late variety strawberries ready now: the Symphony, Fenella, Florence, Amelia and Sophie varieties are all available. Note that these varieties are best picked fully ripe – deep red, not pinky-red – to get the full flavour.

One of our customers has given us a great tip for freezing strawberries so they don’t go mushy.

Raspberries

The raspberries have bulked up well – there are lots of the Minerva, Tulameen and Leo varieties to pick now. The late Octavia variety is just starting to ripen and will go on until mid August.

Gooseberries

The green gooseberries are becoming riper and sweeter all the time, and are relatively easy to pick.

The red dessert gooseberries are now ready. These are generally sweeter that the green gooseberries and therefore you can reduce how much sugar you add when cooking them.

Both types of gooseberries make excellent ice cream and jam. We’ve also been trying out some more savoury gooseberry recipes, ideal sauces for meat.

Broad beans

There are still lots of broad beans to pick. For those short of time but who want to stock up, we now sell the larger size 4 kg bags in the farm shop.

Broad beans freeze very well – a great way to revive summer in the winter months. I don’t bother to blanch them, instead I just lay the shelled beans on trays and open freeze, before transferring to bags.

Red and blackcurrants

It’s very easy picking on the currants at the moment. Come soon though, as we predict that the reduced redcurrant crop will be picked out more quickly than usual.

And great news! Not only are they delicious but research has also found that blackcurrants are the new superfruit, containing greater levels of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants than 20 other fruits tested.

A customer gave us this seasonal recipe for raspberry and redcurrant jam.

The local area

We have an excellent playing field in the village with a skateboard park, basketball area, swings, slides, climbing frame and picnic table. If it stops raining there is often a cricket match going on at weekends and the bar is open for drinks.

The farm shop

If you’re tempted by making jam with our fruit but don’t have the time, we are fortunate to have someone in the village who does it for us. We stock homemade jam in the farm shop, made with our fruit.

The farm shop also stocks ready picked fruit as well as local produce, including eggs and potatoes. The farm is open every day 9am – 6pm.

I look forward to seeing you soon!