Stanhill Farm News!

Happy New Year to all of our customers! We hope you had an enjoyable and restful Christmas. 2017 was a very good year for the farm, with the Pick Your Own and Maize Maze both becoming busier than ever and the farm shop thriving due to an ever increasing number of loyal and supportive customers. The only downside was stopping the collection part of the business, however, we are confident that it will be another great year for the farm and look forward to seeing what 2018 has in store!

With all the winter bugs around and after the excesses of Christmas, it is the perfect time to boost those vitamin C levels with some delicious citrus fruits! Blood oranges are now in season -  a rather gruesome name for a wonderfully sweet and beautifully coloured fruit. The inside flesh of a Blood orange is usually brilliantly dark pink, maroon or even dark blood red.

Nadorcotts are also available, this lovely clementine-type mandarin is easy peeling, with a great depth of flavour and sweetness and a good acidity balance. Nadorcotts have overtaken satsumas in terms of popularity, and with the seasons getting shorter for satsumas more growers have now gone over to nadorcotts.

For any marmalade makers we have Seville oranges available. Seville are ideal for making marmalade, although every bit of the fruit from the zest to the juice and pips can be used in cooking. The season for Seville oranges is very short so make the most of them while you can!

We are still harvesting Purple Sprouting broccoli, kalettes, Savoy, Tundra and January King cabbages, Red kale, kale, spring greens, cavolo nero, sprouts, sprout tops, carrots, leeks and parsnips. Purple carrots are becoming more popular each year and as a result they are now coming to an end.