If the thought of pick-your-own farms is shelved somewhere between shoulder-pads and Spandau Ballet in your memory bank, then it’s time for a fresh food makeover. After the eighties’ boom in pick-your-own farms, the concept has suffered somewhat beneath the rise of its more glamorous successors; the farm shop and farmers’ market. However, just as fashionistas are touting the return of power dressing, pick-your-own looks set to rise up stronger than ever. We visited FARMA award-winning Parkside Farm to the north of London in Enfield, to find out what’s on offer at today’s ‘PYO’s.

The first thing you see as you approach Parkside Farm are rows of what looks like green-topped white picket fences. These are in fact tabletop strawberries; over 11km of them. Approximately six plants are placed in troughs of peat at about waist-height for ease of picking. The troughs are then fed using a hydroponic system which balances the moisture, pH and nutrient levels. At Parkside, the compost is covered with a mulch of almond shells to prevent weeds growing which inhibit picking. The tabletop system also means that ripe fruit is less prone to rotting, and the plants are less likely to be waterlogged in the winter.   

In June, the first visitors to Parkside can expect to pick the variety ‘Eros’ grown in the soil, followed shortly afterwards by `Elsanta’ and `Sonata’ on tabletops, together with soil-grown `Symphony’, an old favourite. These varieties keep going through July and just into August, when `Everest` comes into its own. It’s a variety which owner Richard Whitman proudly claims outdid his neighbours’ renowned ‘Evie’ berries in a taste test. This success is due partly to the careful monitoring of the plant feed through the tabletop system; and ‘Everest’ does like a boost of Potassium to bring out its best. But it’s not just methods that have moved on. These days growers have a lot more varieties available to them (there are about 16 currently grown commercially) which extend the season as far as October in some parts of the UK.  

If tabletop strawberries don’t impress you, then it’s worth wandering into the adjacent raspberry field. Here Richard and his team have planted 1km of raspberries… in pots. Each 10L square box holds a tall healthy plant, and lined up beside its neighbour makes you feel like you are in a formal garden, rather than on a farm. However, before you cry ‘This is not true horticulture!’, there is a good explanation for the pots. The farm, located near Enfield, is situated on typical London clay; even after days of rain the ground is cracked, and after years of producing crops, the soil needs a rest. Also the variety used, ‘Glen Ample’, is particularly prone to root rot, which can be minimised by using pots. At any rate, there are very healthy raspberry canes growing round the corner to reconvince you, including the new autumn variety ‘Himbotop’ to keep supply continuous until October.  

Today’s PYOs are not just about strawberries and raspberries either. Many offer a range of soft and orchard fruit – it’s been a particularly great year for plums and pears, which enjoyed the winter chill and blossomed in the spring sunshine. The result is branches heaving with set fruit. You can also find salads, herbs and vegetables for picking, including crops which really benefit from optimum freshness such as asparagus, peas, French beans, and sweetcorn (just 35p a cob at Parkside). 

Some growers are even experimenting with the likes of melons, cucumbers and flowers including sunflowers, dahlias and pinks. Richard Stanley from Rectory farm in Oxfordshire is another FARMA award-winner. He trialled a range of crops last year in his polytunnels to give the soil a break from strawberries; some proving more successful than others,  

“The melons were delicious, and filled the farm shop with an incredible smell. The challenge, however, was working out when they were ripe – we tried all the usual pressing the top and sniffing, but it’s not always obvious! We planted too many tomatoes as well, and the place become somewhat of a jungle, so less plants this year. One crop we’ll definitely be repeating is the gladioli. We sold them at 60p a stem and they were hardly in from the field before they walked out the door.”    

One thing that hasn’t changed is that pick-your-own still offers great value for money – good news in these cash-stricken times. For a nation increasingly concerned as much climate change as with freshness and taste, PYO is hard to beat, with minimum food miles attached and next to no packaging (bring your own containers or reuse those provided). Parkside will be selling strawberries at around £3.79 per kilo. Redcurrants, blackcurrants and gooseberries are often cheaper than this. Raspberries are also very competitively priced, at around half the average price charged by the supermarkets, a fact particularly worth noting this year as the retail giants are apparently decreasing production believing demand will dwindle with the credit crunch. 

A word on PYO etiquette - some PYOs now stipulate a minimum spend, usually around £1-£1.50 per head. This doesn’t amount to much, buying you about half a punnet, but it does protect the farms from customers who equate PYO with free food. As has always been the way, part of the experience is sampling a sun-warmed strawberry, or two… and the growers really don’t mind you doing it; what they object to is the sampling of a punnet’s worth or two. With a pot of cream. The minimum charges are in place to protect the future of PYO, to ensure that the next generation continues to enjoy its benefits. 

If all this sounds tempting, but you’re unsure as to who grows what and where near you, visit www.pickyourown.info or google to bring up websites for local farms. Many have options to sign up for newsletters, RSS feeds or email updates so you know what’s truly in season and how much it will cost you, as well as special offers and events.

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