First of all – many apologies! We were so busy last month that we forgot to do a May Farm Blog. So let’s try and catch up…
June… is all about strawberries. Large parts of the farm are a sea of red as our biggest fruit crop comes into its own. We’ve just come to the end of our first red flush of strawberries, picking over 100 tonnes on average a week. We’re particularly excited that our new METEOR strawberry growing system is delivering its first crop since it was installed – and what a crop it is turning out to be!
Talking of strawberries, you will have noticed that the weather through June has been changeable ( to say the least! ) But we’re pleased to say that this is great news for our favourite fruit. The unsettled weather has delayed this year’s strawberry season slightly – but it has also helped produce sweeter, juicier and bigger strawberries. We’ve tasted a few as they’ve become ripe ( one of the best parts of our job ) – and they taste amazing, really full of flavour.
Sunday 7th June saw us open our farm gates for another annual event – our Open Farm Sunday. We had a wonderful day welcoming people to the farm, and showing them what we do here. It was our 20th anniversary of doing this – and we’re already excited to do it again next year.
One of the best parts of Open Farm Sunday is seeing the younger generation getting interested in farming and fruit growing. Here at Tiptree we feel a real responsibility to inspire the next generation of farmers and fruit growers ( and jam makers! ) – and recent weeks have seen a big focus on this. This month we have completed a number of LEAF ( Linking Environment and Farming ) education tours, we will also be going along to do the educational farm events of Institute of Food Science and Technology and Writtle food farming day where we will meet and speak to thousands of school children. We are also hosting the Royal Hospital School for a farm visit later this month.
Lots to keep us busy! But all very worthwhile.
