Stanhill Farm News!

Stanhill Farm is delighted to be taking part in National Doughnut Week from Saturday 12th - Saturday 19th May to raise funds for The Children’s Trust, the UK's leading charity for children with brain injury and neurodisability. During Doughnut Week we will donate ALL profits from our doughnuts to this worthy cause, and every day we will reveal a delicious and tempting ‘Doughnut of the Day’! Please come along to the farm shop for a doughnut and help us to raise money for this amazing charity! You can keep up to date with our fundraising by following us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

We can reveal that the theme for our 2018 Maize Maze will be Safari! The game will be based on finding and collecting wild animal species but is based in the UK. The game stations will explore information around key species and explain some of the amazing facts about even our most common and familiar creatures. Keep an eye out for further details regarding our chosen design, opening date and prices! The maize seeds have now been planted so we are hoping for lots more sunny weather to boost its growth!  

May is National Asparagus Month! The perfect time to try out this delicious vegetable! The British asparagus season runs from May to June and is considered to be the best in the world. When buying asparagus choose firm but tender stalks with a good colour and closed tips. Before cooking, wash in cold water and remove the ends of the stalks. Boil or steam until just tender (4-7 minutes depending on thickness). Alternatively, try it in a stir-fry, blend into soup or simply boil on its own and season with a little salt and pepper!

We are expecting our strawberries to be ready for picking at the very end of May/early June. This is all dependant on the weather but we will keep you updated both on our website and social media pages.
 
It is all systems go on the farm as we attempt to catch up on the many jobs we were unable to complete during the prolonged wet and cold weather. All our over winter crops have now finished, the only produce we are currently harvesting on the farm is rhubarb.

There has been a shortage of Jersey Royals, as they have gone from an indoor to an outdoor crop. We were unable to source any for a number of days and are now struggling to find the larger ones. It is hoped that these will be available soon.

There may be a cross over for when the Spanish produce season finishes and the English season begins, so as a result prices are expected to rise. This will affect broccoli in particular, and once again is due to the bad weather over winter. 

Unfortunately nadorcotts are now coming to an end. The Spanish peach and nectarine season has now begun but the early season fruits don't tend to ripen very well so we  will leave it a couple of weeks before we stock them to ensure a nicer flavour.