Vegetables and Fruit
Here I have chosen growers who select carefully the varieties of fruits or vegetables they grow, with the aim of maximum flavour, not necessarily maximum crop size. Organic growers feature heavily; organic production encourages clean, rich soil, and that has to be good news for flavourful vegetables.
A key aspect of buying from one of the local producers we feature is that you will be tackling the food miles issue - the produce is sold where it is grown, not trucked around the country or even around the world, and this is a big factor in getting fruit and vegetables at the peak of freshness.
Lenshaw Organic Produce
Upper Lenshaw Farm, Rothienorman, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire AB51 8XU
Tel: 01464 871243 Fax: 01464 871416 E-mail: jborganics@hotmail.com
Wide range of vegetables; also organic free-range Gloucester Old Spot pork and beef. Organic, 100 per cent home-produced seasonal vegetable box scheme, delivering within a 40-mile radius.
Jekka's Herb Farm
Rose Cottage, Shellards Lane, Alveston, Bristol BS35 3SY
Tel: 01454 418878 Fax: 01454 411988
Website: http://www.jekkasherbfarm.com E-mail: farm@jekkasherbfarm.com
Soil Association-certified organic herbs, sold as seeds or plants. Jekka has won dozens of awards from the Royal Horticultural Society and Chelsea Flower Show. Not open to the public, but mail order available: minimum order value is £10 for plants.
Eddisbury Fruit Farm
Yeld Lane, Kelsall, Cheshire CW6 0TE
Tel: 01829 751225
Website: http://www.eddisbury.co.uk E-mail: mike@eddisbury.co.uk
Fresh asparagus, raspberries and other soft fruit, available ready-picked from the farm shop, or pick your own. An amazing number of varieties of apple are produced here, and home-made cider - unusual this far north.
Chatsworth Farm Shops
Stud Farm, Pilsley, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1UF
Tel: 01246 583392 Fax: 01246 582514
Website: www.chatsworth.org E-mail: farmshop@chatsworth.org
Fresh produce from the Chatsworth estate.
Riverford Farm Organic Vegetables
Wash Burn, Buckfastleigh, Devon TQ11 0LD
Tel: 01803 762720 Fax: 01803 762718
Website: www.riverford.co.uk
Award-winning organic food producer, supplying fruit and vegetables by box scheme and farm shops (see below). Winner of six awards at the 2001 Soil Association Awards. Farm shops are located at: Riverford Farm Shop Staverton Devon TQ9 6AF Tel: 01803 762523 Fax: 01803 762571 Riverford at Kitley Yealmpton Nr Plymouth Devon Tel: 01752 880925
Rod and Ben's
Bickham Farm, Kenn, Exeter, Devon EX6 7XL
Tel: 01392 833833 Fax: 01392 833832
Website: www.rodandbens.com E-mail: rodandben@rodandbens.com
A huge range of organic fruit and veg, from the staples, to aubergines, peppers, even melons. Also available are fresh herbs, organic poultry and honey produced by the farms own bees. The farm is run with a strong commitment to strengthening the connection between food producer and consumer. There are also open days, when customers are asked to come and find out how things are done. Produce is supplied by box scheme (Exeter and Exmouth) or by mail order.
Peppers by Post
Sea Spring Farm, Lyme View, West Bexington, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 9DD
Tel: 01308 897892 Fax: 01308 897735
Website: www.peppersbypost.biz E-mail: info@peppersbypost.biz
Wide range of peppers and chillies, from the well-known to the unusual. Mail order available.
Green Valley Foods at Longmeadow
Godmanstone, Nr Dorchester, Dorset DT2 7AE
Tel: 01300 342164
Organic farm shop; also runs a local box scheme and sells vegetables and fruit from Orgarden Produce, winner of two Soil Association awards in 2000, and winner of best tomato in the Soil Association Awards 1999.
Simply Wild
Scragoak Farm, Brightling Road, Robertsbridge, East Sussex TN32 5EY
Tel: 01424 838420/838454 Fax: 01424 838420
E-mail: enquiries@simplywildorganics.co.uk
Enormous range of vegetables: Simply Wild aim to offer a selection of varieties of each kind of vegetable, to encourage species diversity. Organic market garden, farm shop and box scheme, encompassing a wide area. Previous winners of two awards in the Soil Association Awards.
Gourmet Mushrooms (UK) Ltd
Morants Farm, Colchester Road, Great Bromley, Essex CO7 7TN
Tel/Fax: 01206 231660
Website: www.springfieldmushrooms.co.uk
At least 20 different varieties of organic mushrooms. Available from many farmers' markets in the region; call for details.
The Organic Farm Shop
Abbey Home Farm, Burford Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5HF
Tel: 01285 640441 Fax: 01285 644827
Website: www.theorganicfarmshop.co.uk E-mail: info@theorganicfarmshop.co.uk
Incredibly fresh, home-produced organic vegetables and herbs (over 100 varieties of vegetables). The farm has a dedication to strengthening the link between producer and consumer, and is creating an education centre on the farm. Everything is Soil Association certified. Free-range meat is also available. Farm-shop sales only.
Duchy Home Farm Organic Vegetables
Broadfield Farm, Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8SE
Tel/Fax: 01666 504287
Unusual variety of organic vegetables from the Prince of Wales' estate. Box scheme deliveries within a 10-mile radius; also available at Tetbury, Cirencester and Stroud farmers' markets and Bath Organic Farms (see Poultry section).
West Lea Farm Shop
Lady Croft, Alresford, Hampshire SO24 0QP
Tel: 01962 732476
Freshly harvested watercress, available from the farm shop.
Mrs Tees Wild Mushrooms
Gorse Meadow, Sway Road, Lymington, Hampshire SO41 8LR
Tel: 01590 673354 Fax: 01590 673336
Website: www.wildmushrooms.co.uk E-mail: mrs.tees@wildmushrooms.co.uk
Fresh wild mushrooms from the New Forest and occasionally from the Continent. Mail order available, or from Mrs. Tees' stall at Borough Market in London.
Test Valley Watercress
Stocks Cottage, Bishops Sutton, Nr Alresford, Hants SO24 0AG
Tel: 01962 734943
Fresh, peppery watercress, available from many farmers markets including Guildford, Reading, Newbury, Farnham, Salisbury, Oxford, Richmond and Barnes; call for details.
Hop Mania
Munsley Gate, Munsley, Ledbury, Herefordshire HR8 2SQ
Tel: 01889 808367
Website: http://www.hopmania.com/
Featured on 'Food Heroes', Hop Mania produce Hop Asparagus, possibly the most expensive vegetable in the world. Hop Asparagus is the first shoot of the hop plant, and tastes like a combination of spinach and asparagus. Available fresh for a limited time in spring, or preserved in jars by mail order.
Dragon Orchard
Dragon House, Putley, Ledbury, Herefordshire HR8 2RG
Tel: 01531 670071
Website: www.dragonorchard.co.uk E-mail: info@dragonorchard.co.uk
The Stanier family at Dragon orchard offer a cropsharing scheme - an annual fee allows you to join in on the orchard four times a year, and take home a share of the harvest that the traditional orchards produce, which includes fruit, jams, cider, juices etc.
SoilMates
PO Box 67, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire HR9 5ZA
Tel: 01989 767444
Website: www.soilmates.com E-mail: growmaster@soilmates.com
Members of the Wholesome Food Association, SoilMates grow the most astonishing range of chillies, tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes and squashes, all without pesticides or artificial fertilisers. These are varieties you are unlikely to find elsewhere - 'heirloom' varieties that are very difficult to come by. All available by mail order.
Glendale Salads
19 Upper Fasach, Glendale, Isle of Skye IV55 8WP
Tel/Fax: 01470 511349
A big range of unusual, organic salad leaves - every colour, flavour and shape, all Soil Association certified. Sold through a box scheme, encompassing a wide area. Call for details.
Isle of Wight Garlic
The Garlic Farm, Newchurch, Isle of Wight PO36 0NR
Tel: 01983 865378 Fax: 01983 862294
Website: www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk
All things garlicky, including fresh bulbs, smoked garlic, pickles and relishes. A garlic festival is held every summer.
Abbey Parks Asparagus
Park Farm, East Heckington, Boston, Lincolnshire PE20 3QG
Tel: 01205 820722 Fax: 01205 821154
Website: www.abbeyparksasparagus.co.uk E-mail: info@abbeyparksasparagus.co.uk
Asparagus and rhubarb, and 'baby' vegetables, garlic and artichokes, all available via mail order and shipped on the day of harvest for ultimate freshness.
Chestnuts
Kirton Holme, Nr Boston, Lincs PE20 1TE
Tel: 01205 290470
Church Farm Organics
Church Lane, Thurstaton, Merseyside CH61 0HW
Tel: 0151 648 7838 Fax: 0151 648 9644
Website: www.churchfarm.org.uk
Organic farm with a big range of fruits and vegetables, specializing in strawberries and asparagus. A previous winner of the 'Best Farm Shop' title in the Soil Association awards. Deliveries throughout the Wirral, and farm-shop sales.
Clive Houlder: Mushroom Man
98 West Street, North Creake, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 9LH
Tel: 01328 738610
Wild mushrooms from East Anglia and Scotland. Mail order available; call for details.
Bluebell Organics
Forcett Hall Walled Garden, Forcett, Richmond, North Yorkshire DL11 7SB
Tel: 07759 832234
Featured on 'Food Heroes', Katrina Palmer grows unusual 'heritage' varieties of organic vegetables in a beautiful old walled garden. She makes wholesome soups, which are available, alongside the vegetables, from Orton, Brough, Richmond, Stanhope and Barnard Castle farmers markets.
The Bell and Bird Table
Runnington, Wellington, Somerset TA21 0QW
Tel: 01823 663080
Website: www.bellandbirdtable.com E-mail: goodtaste@bellandbirdtable.com
At least 50 varieties of tomato - and also soft fruit - grown organically (although not certified by the Soil Association). The tomatoes are old varieties from around the world that are rarely grown - you will find no examples in supermarkets of the varieties grown here. The owner gets seeds from the Henry Doubleday Research Centre and equivalent institutions around the world. Every year in September a tomato tasting is held. Free range rare breed pork is also available. This is a tiny smallholding, so call before visiting. Farm-gate sales only.
Hollow Trees Farm Shop
Semer, Ipswich, Suffolk IP7 6HX
Tel: 01449 741247 Fax: 01449 741799
Website: www.hollowtrees.co.uk E-mail: shop@hollowtrees.co.uk
Home-grown vegetables, home-reared meat, and produce from local small producers, including beer, honey and cream. Winner of the National Farmers' Union ‘Best Farm Shop' Award, 2001. This was awarded not just for the quality of produce, but also for Hollow Trees' commitment to the community.
Kingfisher Farm Shop
Guildford Road, Abinger Hammer, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6QX
Tel: 01306 730703, Fax: 01306 731654
Watercress grown in natural springwater, with no fertilizers or insecticides. The farm shop also stocks local organic produce, including goats and sheeps milk cheeses, free range chickens, and locally baked cakes.
West Dean Gardens
West Dean College, West Dean, Chichester, Sussex PO18 0QZ
Tel: 01243 811301
Website: www.westdean.org.uk
Every August these award-winning gardens have a chilli fiesta, where you can buy unusual varieties of chillies in plant form to grow at home.
Brickyard Farm Shop
Badsworth, Nr Pontefract, West Yorkshire WF9 1AX
Tel: 01977 617327
Organic home-produced fruit and vegetables, with a range of over 40 different varieties of vegetables, all picked fresh every day. The owner happily admits to being old-fashioned in his farming methods. Farm sales and a box scheme delivering around West Yorkshire.
John Hurd's Organic Watercress
Stonewold, Hill Deverill, Nr Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 7EF
Tel: 01985 840260 Fax: 01985 841346
Traditionally bunched and grown to maturity for a strong, peppery taste. Available direct from the farm, through the local organic box scheme (call for details), or from Waitrose.
Coleshill Organics
59 Coleshill, Swindon, Wiltshire SN6 7PT
Tel/Fax: 01793 861070
Box scheme and farm sales of organic fruit, herbs and vegetables, and also free range organic eggs.
