pick your own.....

SoScrooge

Being still very new to OS, I wonder if anybody could share their wisdom here....

I am playing with the idea of buying vegitables (maily potatoes, carrots, and something else in season, I don't know what it is now) from a farm.

:question: Is it cheaper than in a supermarket or not?

Aslo, has anybody done Pick You Own thing (when you go to a farm to pick fruit and veg)?

:question: How do you get paid? In money, in fruit and vegg, or both? I read somewhere that now it is asparagus and rhubab time.

Could anybody recomend farms for the above? We are on the border between Surey and Kent.

Thank you in advance.

Rachel021967

I've only ever done "Pick Your Own" during the summer and the produce is priced per kilo. You pay them for the produce you've picked and taken away. I used to make this a day out during the summer holidays. The kids loved it. My middle daughter was picking strawberries before she could walk. The prices of the soft fruit were not cheaper, even sometimes more than the supermarkets but their vegetable and flowers were cheaper. I don't mind paying more as it was an enjoyable and healthy day out for me and the kids.

Prudent

I have found it to be more expensive than the supermarket too, but they do have a lovely flavour.

thriftlady_2

Hi,SoScrooge,
I use a farmshop in Worcestershire which specialises in apples - they're fruit growers.I find prices variable.Some things are always cheaper than the supermarket and some are more expensive.Things that are cheaper are potatoes-a 25 kg sack for £4 as opposed to a Tesco value 12.5 kg bag for £3.19,apples are always cheaper too-usually about £1.40-£1.50 for a 4 lb bag.At this time of year though the big bags of spuds are not such good value because they are beginning to go mealy and sprout as it is the end of the maincrop season.Locally produced potatoes are a bit hard to find now because we're at the end of the stored spud season and the new potatoes are a few weeks away yet.You might be better buying supermarket spuds or imported ones at the mo.

Local apples are also getting scarce as they were all picked in the Autumn/Winter and are definitely past their best.English apples come back at the end of August.

I love buying locally grown asparagus at this time of year and in May,but it is never cheap-it is one of those things that is just plain expensive! But since I only buy it in May from local growers I don't mind.The cheapest way to enjoy it is to grow it yourself.

Imported fruit like grapes,lemons ,pineapples etc are available at farmshops but are more expensive than supermarkets in my experience, although better quality.

PYO can be quite expensive as you tend to pick a lot!I pick for the freezer. It is cheaper than buying it ready-picked.Berries are pricy because they have a short shelf life,again the cheap answer is to grow your own HTH

marybishop

Agree with the comments that picking your own is a fantastic day out. My girls aged 13 still love doing it - taking a picnic and going with friends makes it even more fun. Can be expensive as you tend to pick more than you can eat before it goes rotten but if you've got a freezer then it's worth doing. We were eating raspberries through the winter that we'd picked the previous summer when the ones in the shops were really expensive so it's swings and roundabouts. And it's true the flavour is better - not like the tasteless imported strawberries that are in the supermarkets at the moment. There is a good one in Turners Hill near Crawley called Tulleys Farm https://www.tulleysfarm.com. Not much in season at the moment but they have a timetable on their website so you can check what's available when.

SoScrooge

Thank you so much!

We are not going on holidays this year - paying off debts

but will most certainly make a trip to a farm near by for PYO trip.

I would grow it myself (my parents used to have an allotment and regularly exploited us, kids ), but we live in a flat and have no garden or balcony.

But I make a start with growing herbs in posts: got some seeds from Llidl (29p a packet), am going to get some compost from them too (£1.99 for a huge bag)

marybishop

Same here re holiday for same reason! Unless I win the lottery (helps if you do it I suppose!). Im sure you'll enjoy the PYO, it's such an easy day out. But do keep an eye on how much you pick (or the kids pick) as it's easy to get carried away and then it can be a bit of a shock when they weigh the produce and tell you how much! Have fun!

moggins

At our local pick your own it's a good job they don't weigh the kids as it's always one for the basket and one for the mouth

We have three local farm shops, one is huge and sells lots of rather expensive goodies, one is wholly organic and costs lots and the other is mediocre but sells great vegetable seedlings.

The one shop I really do miss is a Weigh and Save, does anyone remember those? It was an OS'ers dream with no packaging and dirt cheap prices.

samh_2

Well the title says it all really! Can anyone recomment a good place to pick your own fruit/veg. in or around Scarborough. My strawberries were a disaster this year and if there's any left (I know it's a bit late) I'd love to go and stock up for this year's jams.

Thanks in advance!
Sam

P.S. Sorry if this post is in the wrong place, I wasn't sure where it should go!

Queenie

Can't personally recommend any, but if locating one is what you need then try visiting: "North Yorkshire Local Food" (right hand menu bar, browse by facility) Looks like an informative site Hope you find what you are looking for, sorry to read about your own attempts at strawberries

samh_2

Thanks Queenie - that's a great link! Yes I'm very disappointed with my strawberries this year, but those that did grow obviously tasted nice, at least to the slugs!

Thanks again
Sam