July on the Farm

So June was all about strawberries. It may not surprise you to hear that so is July! Our strawberry picking has continued at pace all the way through June and into July. We’re so pleased with the quality of the fruit – full, red, and bursting with flavour! We think it will make some incredible-tasting jam…. 
 

 
Sadly though, we did have to cancel our Annual Strawberry Race. It was all planned for mid-June, but the weather was so hot that we didn’t want to risk the health of our volunteer pickers. We ended up picking our delicious Little Scarlet strawberries ourselves – and were rewarded with a wonderful crop. If you haven’t tried our signature Little Scarlet Conserve then you certainly should – it’s sweeter and more intense than our standard strawberry jam. Try it and see what you think! 
 

 
We’ve also just finished picking our Mulberries for the year. We’ve had Mulberry trees in a small orchard on the Tiptree estate since we started farming ( some of the trees are over 150 years old ) and they produce a small crop of these deeply flavoured berries each year. Hand-picked with care, these delicate berries are known for staining hands – which is where the phrase ‘ caught red-handed ‘ comes from. Try our delicious Mulberry Jelly
 

 
July is also a great month for wildlife on the Tiptree farm. We have over a dozen beehives on the farm, and we’re pleased to see them literally swarming with bees! We also have more butterflies on our Colts field near the reservoir than we’ve ever seen before – it’s so good to see them thriving on our land.