While there's nothing easier than heading down to your local supermarket or greengrocer's to pick up a punnet of strawberries, for many nothing can beat picking your own.
Not only is this the best way to exercise your own quality control by ensuring you get the freshest berries, it also works out cheaper than buying from the shops, who have their own overheads to add to the cost. You’ll also be amazed at how much better they taste picked straight from the field. It’s fresher, more nutritious, with less packaging and zero food miles.
The advice from experienced pick-your-owners is that since PYO berries are fresh and cheap, it’s worth getting more than you need immediately. Currants and raspberries both freeze well whole; strawberries, which don’t, can be crushed or puréed for use in fruity puds and ices.
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And then of course there's jam, which can use up baskets full of the stuff. Pick Your Own (PYO) is seasonal and usually runs from the end of June to the middle of August.
Right now it’s pretty much only strawberries, but most places will also have other soft fruit later in the summer too - with raspberries, tayberries, gooseberries, red and blackcurrants too.
Here are some top PYO tips:
- Heading to the the furthest part of the field where no one else bothers to go. There will always be an abundance of ripe fruit and easier picking.
- Always pick ripe ones, some look ripe but are only half ripe.
- Don’t pull the strawberry off, hold the stem above and break it off from there. Picking the fruit by holding it and pulling out the plug means it will be bruised and go off quickly.
- Don’t put in the fridge as they will lose their flavour, eat them as quickly as possible and best eaten warm
- Always try the strawberries - you want to know they're ripe - but respect it’s the farmers living, so don’t take advantage.
- Call before you set off. Some of the farms alter their opening hours or might not have the berries you want in season, so ask them before you set off.
The four main PYO farms within easy reach of Liverpool are:
Claremont Farm
Pick Your Own has been an annual event at the Wirral farm for more than 40 years. The pick your own fiels are now open for strawberry and gooseberry picking, with a small funfair located at the strawberry field.
At weekends the farm also offers a free tractor ride to the best picking spots. Pick Your Own (PYO) is seasonal and usually runs from the middle of June to nearly the end of July.
The entry fee of £450 per person includes a 1kg punnet, with the option to upgrade to a 2.5kg punnet for £8. No booking is necessary and card and cash are both accepted.
To reach the PYO fields, go past the Claremont farm shop and over the motorway bridge, where you will find the field on the left. Follow the signs off Junction 4, M53. There is also a pick your own pumpkin in the lead up to Halloween. They are open daily from 10am to 5pm.
Address: Claremont Farm, Old Clatterbridge Road, Bebington, Wirral, CH63 4JB. Tel: 0151 334 1133.
Kenyon Hall
Known to generations as 'the strawberry farm', Kenyon Hall Farm is a farm shop, cafe, plant centre and pick your own experience near Warrington. Depending on the season, there's a huge range of tasty fruit and vegetables to pick - from strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, to peas, sweetcorn and pumpkins.
Booking in advance is required if you wish to pick strawberries. Tickets are released online two to three days in advance. As well as allowing entry, a ticket includes a punnet of strawberries (approximately 350g). Tickets are priced at £4.75 for adults and children aged over 18 months.
Advanced bookings are not usually required for picking other fruits and vegetables. The farm charges a deposit of around £2 per person on entry, which is then deducted from the cost of your produce when it is weighed at the end.
Kenyon Hall Farm is open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm. There is also a Farm Shop full of local and artisan produce, a cafe and a children’s play area.
Address: Kenyon Hall, Winwick Lane, Croft, Warrington, WA3 7ED.
Sandhill Strawberry Farm
This traditional working farm has strawberries for picking, as well as flowers and hanging baskets, asparagus, preserves and raspberries. The farm has traditional buildings with all produce grown on-site. There is also a Farm Shop which sells a range of fresh fruit and vegetables.
It is open seven days per week from May ‘till early August, 10am to 6pm. For information on crops ready to pick, phone 0151 493 2022.
Address: Sandhill Strawberry Farm, Warrington Road, Rainhill, Prescot, L35 6PG, next to Junction 7 M62 - at Rainhill Stoops. Tel: 0151 493 2022
Bellis Brothers
Bellis’ Pick Your Own is open seven days a week - from 9am until 5pm, with the last entry to the field at 4:30pm. Strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries, rhubarb and redcurrants are available to be picked throughout the season.
The strawberries are now grown on a table top rather than in the field, making them easier to pick and allowing the season to be extended. Simply collect a container, head int the fields and pick as much fruit as you like. You will then pay for your produce by weight.
A small selection of cold drinks and snacks are available for purchase in the pick your own hut. There is also the Strawberry Fields Restaurant in the main garden centre where you will find a selection of tasty treats. In October, the fields will be open for pumpkin picking.
Address: Bellis Brothers Farm Shop and Garden Centre, Wrexham Road Farm, Wrexham Road, Holt Village, Wrexham LL13 9YU. Tel: 01829 270 302.
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