{"id":291,"date":"2018-06-04T10:25:56","date_gmt":"2018-06-04T10:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/?p=291"},"modified":"2018-06-04T10:29:27","modified_gmt":"2018-06-04T10:29:27","slug":"picking-strawberries-at-willows-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/food-and-drink\/picking-strawberries-at-willows-farm\/06-2018","title":{"rendered":"Picking Strawberries at Willows Farm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fresh strawberries with cream is a clich\u00e9 of a British summer.\u2008It\u2019s a picnic highlight, Wimbledon classic and welcome treat after a day in the garden. You won\u2019t get a fresher strawberry than one that you have handpicked right off the stalk. There\u2019s something traditional and simple about picking fruit on a hot summer\u2019s day when they\u2019re still warm to the touch and full to bursting with sticky sweet juices.<\/p>\n

We visited David Pridgeon on his family farm near Skegness as he was getting ready for another busy season of fruit picking. Willows Farm is largely arable but in 1997, when David returned from college, he thought it would be good to diversify the business into fruit and fruit picking.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started the fruit farm at a time when picking your own fruit was really popular,\u201d says David. \u201cIt still is but it has definitely seen a resurgence in the past couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n

David sells his fruit to wholesalers and at local markets as well as offering the Pick Your Own service, and it isn\u2019t just strawberries you can try from\u2008Willows Farm. There are also raspberries, blackberries, redcurrants, gooseberries and plums to pick and eat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2008think what\u2019s really special about picking your own fruit is first of all how fresh the fruit is and how good it tastes, but also how local the fruit is. You literally cannot get less food miles even if you tried, and I\u2008think the buying habits of people nowadays is changing and people are backing and supporting local farmers. It\u2019s very important to support the local economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"David
David Pridgeon from Willows Farm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also a way to get the children out of the house, off the gadgets, in the fresh open air, eating healthy fruit and doing something at a minimal cost that they will love.\u201d<\/p>\n

David has just extended the season he is able to offer the Pick Your Own fruit service so there\u2019s interest there all year round. You can pick most of the fresh fruit including the strawberries from early June till the end of August, but you can also pick pumpkins in time for pumpkin soup and scary carved faces at halloween on the farm in October.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe diversification into fruit on the farm has now taken over and despite it only taking up 10 hectares of the 500 hectare arable farm, it is the most labour intensive and the biggest part of the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

When we visited Willows Farm in early May, there had been a recent heatwave so the interest in David\u2019s strawberries from wholesalers and markets had skyrocketed. David and his team of 20 were busy preparing everything for the start of the season and the expected high demand due to the warmer weather. However, due to the unusual weather we\u2019ve had this year, jumping from snow to sun, it has had an affect on when they\u2019ve been able to plant and grow the fruit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe plant from March till June, but we grow most of our wholesale produce in polytunnels. This allows us to be flexible with cropping, and lets us stagger growing and production out so we have a level amount of fruit throughout the season rather than one high peak.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you would prefer to buy your own fruit from Willows Farm rather than picking your own, there is a farm shop that you can go to on the site. If you\u2019re worried about accessibility there is field grown strawberries, but also \u2018table top\u2019 fruit production grown in rows so there is no need to bend down. You can either get your ready picked fruit or pick your own every day from 9am until 6pm in the season which will start mid-June this year at Chapel St. Leonards and from 10am until 5pm at Saltfleetby.<\/p>\n

\"Fruit
Fruit from Willows Farm!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At Willows Farm you can also buy locally grown Lincolnshire potatoes, carrots, beetroot, onions, cauliflowers, cabbages, lettuce, spring onions and tomatoes. There will also be other seasonal fruit and veg on offer including pod peas, sweetcorn, runner beans, cherries, plums, greengages and much more. If you\u2019re not heading to the east coast this summer, there are a number of other Pick Your Own fruit farms across the county and one that may be a little bit closer to home.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re in Grantham, try Syston Park Farm (01400 250000), or if you\u2019re further north, there\u2019s Braders near Grimsby. In Lincoln, Spinney Farm is a great place to pick your own fruit (01522 703865), and Naylor Farms in Spalding is also a great one to visit (01406 370439). However, if you would like to head to David\u2019s lovely fruit farm and try your own locally produced strawberries this summer, visit him on the way to Skegness! Alternatively, visit www.willowsfarm.co.uk or call David on 07771 696001 for more information.<\/p>\n

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