Let us embrace the harvest…

We are delighted to be back sharing our news with you. Autumn is revealing itself with the arrival of Ringden Farm apples from East Sussex, Kent cobnuts, Corn on the cob, various varieties of squash, colourful dahlias competing for attention, sunflowers and the dappled subtle tones of hydrangeas.

As summer winds down we open the Watercress Museum for one last weekend this year.  The Old Bunching Shed doors will be open on 28, 29, 30 September from 10am – 4pm. The Little Bean artisan coffee trailer will be by the museum on the Friday and Sunday. They will be serving Surrey Hills Coffee, hot drinks and cake.  The coffee trailer will be making a regular appearance on Fridays and Sundays each week from 1 September.  You will be able to get your coffee fix from the Little Bean trailer in our back car park behind the farm shop.

To celebrate Autumn, join us on a flower workshop on 16 and 18 October.  Immerse yourself in the colours of the season with our selection of seasonal blooms and be guided step by step to make a beautiful hand tied bouquet to take home.  It’s a great way to spend a couple of hours with a friend and learn a new skill.

We share ideas for easy dining with offerings from our freezer whether it’s for breakfast or supper.  If you are entertaining, then learn a little bit more about ‘Sushi in the sticks’ for an effortless way to dine with family or friends.

We hope you enjoy the read!

Easy effortless Breakfast

It’s always a treat to enjoy a slow breakfast at the weekend isn’t it?

In our freezers you’ll also find our frozen bakery selection containing individual croissants and pastries that need to prove overnight and bake in just 20 minutes.  Add to this vibrant fruit selections, all peeled, chopped and frozen, ready for smoothies or defrosting for the breakfast table.

Little Fish- Sushi in the sticks

We’re delighted to have been asked to be a collection point for Little Fish, an innovative new business creating exceptional sushi and pan Asian cuisine.

Their beautiful dishes are freshly prepared each day in their Liphook kitchen, and then distributed through a network of local partners for collection, or delivered direct to your door. They aim to be a cut above in everything they do, and strive to use the best ingredients available.

Photography Credit : Milly Fletcher

FRESH FISH MONDAY

Fish & Chip Supper - Kingfisher Style

As the season changes and we head indoors, the desire for a hearty hot supper returns. Fish & chips are one of our favourites - here’s how we do it.

As some of you already know, we are lucky enough to have a visit from Andrew Randall of Fresh Grimsby Fish every Monday lunchtime from (approx) 1.30-2.30pm. If you are unable to be here to see his mouth-watering selection in person, please call us in the morning to place an order and we’ll keep it chilled until you have time to pick up.

In our freezer chests near the back of the farm shop, there are all manner of delicious time saving frozen goodies to make life just that little bit simpler. There’s a choice of chunky steakhouse chips, sweet potato or rainbow fries, plus individual creamy potato gratin (a staff favourite) to go with the fish, plus frozen petit pois peas alongside in the freezer.

Just grab a freezer bag and fill with the quantity required.

Tartare sauce and tomato ketchup available too.

Isle of Wight Tomatoes

Every week we look forward to our delivery of sunshine filled tomatoes from Isle of Wight Tomatoes. We asked them to tell us about their journey to becoming the successful business they are today, and here’s what they told us.

“Our journey began over 15 years ago when we packed our van and headed to our first farmers market. From day one, our customers fell in love with our tomatoes, and we have been exciting people with the most flavourful varieties and tomato inspired products ever since.

From our 60 acre estate in the Arreton Valley on the Isle of Wight, with rich soil and the most hours of sunshine anywhere in the UK, we have been developing full flavoured, speciality varieties for over 10 years. Led by an expert growing team and inspired by feedback and collaborations with world leading chefs, our team’s insatiable desire to only grow the best varieties means we no longer need to travel further afield to enjoy the most exotic and interesting tomato varieties.

With our speciality range, we offer red, green and everything in-between. We grow over 40 mouth-watering varieties every year, each especially selected for its unique flavour and picked only when perfectly ripe.

Our organic range is grown using innovative methods honed over 20 years using our own special blend of compost and selecting the best varieties. We offer a delicious selection of fresh organic tomatoes all Soil Association approved.

We firmly believe that a good tomato cannot be rushed, so there are no intensive farming practices. We always opt to grow slowly to create the best flavour possible. All of our tomato plants are recycled to create our own compost which we use to enrich our organic soil or they are turned into packaging. Our soil is so rich in biodiversity that we haven’t rotated our organic crops for 10 years, and natural predators help us to keep balance and control pests in our greenhouse ecosystems. The island is an accredited Biosphere Reserve, which celebrates our unique and diverse ecosystems and our ability to live harmoniously within them. The rainwater that falls on our nursery is captured and used to irrigate our crops.

We use all the tomatoes we grow, including those that are not pretty enough to pack or just too ripe and juicy to make the journey to you. We have created a range of products to let the flavour of our tomatoes shine. Handmade in small batches just a stones throw away from the glass house, using minimal ingredients, with no additives or preservatives. Each product has six months shelf life and is delivered direct from our nursery.”

Putting the Garden to Bed…

We have a selection of useful and stylish garden tools to slowly put the garden to bed.   It is also time to start thinking ahead to Spring and start planting bulbs.  Our selection of bulbs includes, alliums, daffodils, hyacinths, narcissi, muscari and tulips.

Photography Credit: @chloe.hardwick & @henrycatling