{"id":2294,"date":"2021-05-14T09:53:07","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T09:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/stamford\/?p=648"},"modified":"2021-05-14T09:53:07","modified_gmt":"2021-05-14T09:53:07","slug":"strawberry-fields-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/food-and-drink\/strawberry-fields-forever\/05-2021","title":{"rendered":"Strawberry Fields Forever"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s one of the highlights of a Great British summer, and the perfect treat to enjoy in the garden. This month we\u2019ve a few suggestions as to where to pick the best local berries, and a few recipes for how to use them to create some stunning looking people-pleasing puddings…<\/h3>\n
\"Pick
Pick Your Own Strawberries at Hill Farm near Stamford.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s a bright, fresh morning. Late spring, with summer just around the corner. There\u2019s a bit of mist, but it\u2019ll burn off with the sun. Susannah Ivens is inspecting (well, admiring) the strawberry crop, just before enthusiastic locals descend to pick a berry or two (or more) to smother in cream, turn into jam or enjoy with a simple sprinkle of sugar.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to it every year,\u201d says Susannah. \u201cIt\u2019s hard work, but really enjoyable. How could you not enjoy being on a strawberry farm, surrounded by excited children in the middle of an English summer?\u201d<\/p>\n

Susannah and husband Paddy took over the site from Paddy\u2019s father and mother John and Jill Ivens. The farm spans more than 250 acres, with much of the land given over to field beans and wheat. However, there is also 40km worth of rows dedicated to strawberries, of which 30km are pickable from this month. The remaining 10km are newly planted (maidens) and will not be pickable until 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cStrawberry plants have a three-year lifespan,\u201d says Susannah.\u00a0 \u2018\u2019So, every year we remove a patch as well as planting a patch. Our strawberries cover about four hectares, with a further 2.5 hectares for raspberries.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe grow about eight different varieties of strawberries \u2013 such as Christine, Florence and Malwina \u2013 which are an example of our early, mid and late season varieties, extending the eight-week season as long as possible without sacrificing quality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t grow in polytunnels, preferring to get the flavour and goodness from our soil. Unfortunately, we\u2019re on a slope and have horrible heavy clay soil in places, so the conditions don\u2019t make it easy for us, but the strawberries taste awesome!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hill Farm\u2019s farm shop provides ready-picked strawberries which is certainly the fastest way to enjoy fresh British berries, but where\u2019s the fun in that? Better for children to see where their food comes from and pick their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings will be a little different this year,\u201d says Susannah. \u201cTo be Covid-safe and in order to lessen the number of people queuing at the shop, we\u2019re providing different sized empty containers on entry for our customers to\u00a0 then fill up at a set cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPayment will be taken before entering the fields, so there will be no need to return to the counter after picking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a strange thing to have to think about, not something we\u2019re used to. But happily, as families come together again after restrictions are lifted, strawberry picking is one of those activities which is outdoors in the fresh air and it can remain Covid-safe and socially-distanced.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe farm\u2019s opening times for our pick-your-own strawberries is governed by nature, but \u2018ready picked\u2019 produce will be available from Saturday 29th May. Though strawberries are our pick-your-own mainstay, people also enjoy our raspberries, blackberries, tayberries and our redcurrants and blackcurrants.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also plant a few rows of sunflowers which look magnificent in summer and we have a few plum trees sheltered behind the wood which begin to yield fruit in August. There\u2019s something traditional and fun about picking your own fruit. It\u2019s somehow reassuring that in an era of video games, children still love getting out into the fields and searching for strawberries.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re so versatile too, and though the supermarkets can provide imported strawberries all year round, there\u2019s something magical and special about waiting for them to come into season. The anticipation \u2013 and the Great British sunshine \u2013 makes them all the sweeter!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The best strawberry fields in our area…<\/h2>\n

Pick one of these great places to pick your own, then enjoy a summer treat!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Hill Farm Pick Your Own, Oundle Road, Peterborough, PE7 3UA, 01733 233270:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hill Farm is a family run business open from June-October offering \u2018pick-your-own\u2019 (PYO) and \u2018ready picked\u2019 soft fruit and vegetables \u2013 ideal for freezing, jam and wine making, or just eating fresh. Set in attractive rural surroundings, on a hill overlooking Peterborough.<\/p>\n

Rutland Water Fruit Farm, Edith Weston, Oakham LE15 8HB, 07875 479533: <\/strong><\/p>\n

A local soft fruit farm selling premium strawberries and raspberries grown on the farm. Warm welcome, friendly service, a great little farm shop plus views over Rutland Water!<\/p>\n

Seldom Seen Farm, Green Lane, Billesdon, Leicestershire LE7 9FA, 0116 259 6742: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert and Claire Symington have been farming Seldom Seen Farm in the beautiful\u00a0Leicestershire countryside for over 40 years, poultry is their main product, but their\u00a0strawberries are stunning too!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s one of the highlights of a Great British summer, and the perfect treat to enjoy in the garden. This…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[603,70,94,163,604,605,606,27,28,607,98],"class_list":["post-2294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-and-drink","tag-blackberries","tag-local","tag-oakham","tag-peterborough","tag-pick-your-own","tag-pyo","tag-raspberries","tag-rutland","tag-stamford","tag-strawberries","tag-uppingham"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}