Pick Your Own Farms

It’s really and truly Summer! How we’ve got to this point in the year, I’ll never know but I’m so grateful for it. One of the things I love about Summer in the UK, and especially in Kent, is the wonderful variety of fruit that’s available. There’s a real joy to eating fresh, local fruit, the taste is amazing. Even better is when you have been along to a Pick Your Own Farm and chosen them yourself. But did you know that you can PYO other things too? It’s not just Raspberries and Strawberries but a wonderful array of other things too.

Little children adore seeing fruit, vegetables and flowers growing. If you want them to be interested in food, get them involved and help out picking them.

Here’s my round-up of local Pick Your Own Farms, what they grow and their opening times. It’s always worth checking with the farm that there’s plenty to pick before you make the journey to them. Also, this year’s lockdown will affect the amount of people allowed to pick at one time, so you may have to queue, especially at the weekend.

Downingbury Farm

Open:
9.30am-4.30pm daily

Downingbury has a wonderful variety of fruit to pick, starting in June with strawberries and finishing with apples in September. In between, you can pick raspberries, blackcurrants, red currants and plums.

Downingbury Farm,
Maidstone Road,
Pembury,
Kent.
TN2 4AD
01892 824282
https://downingburyfarm.co.uk/Pick-Your-Own-Fruit

Stonepitts Farm

Open:
10am-5pm daily

Stonepitts specialises in soft fruit. From June to early August, you can choose from 6 different varieties of strawberries, 3 of raspberries or try their tayberries.

Seal Chart,
Sevenoaks,
Kent.
TN15 0ER
01732 762 983
http://www.stonepitts.com/fruit.htm

Maynards Farm

Open:
9am – 5.30pm daily

Maynards is one of the longest established Pick Your Own Farm in the UK. They’ve been going since 1963. They have a wide range of fruit to pick, including rhubarb, gooseberries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, plums, blackcurrants and apples. They also have cobnuts!

Windmill Hill / Cross Lane,
Ticehurst, TN5 7HQ
01580 200394
http://www.maynardsfruit.co.uk/our-fruit/pick-your-own/

Cherry Gardens Farm

Open:
10am-6pm Tuesday – Saturday

Cherry Gardens Farm is an Organic farm, they grow gooseberries, raspberries, tayberries, blackcurrants and red currants, runner beans and a wide variety of cottage garden flowers.. You can pick any of these for yourself, as well as buying them in their Farm Shop.

Cherry Gardens Hill
Groombridge, Kent
TN3 9NY
01892 862307
https://www.cherrygardensfarm.co.uk/

Blooming Green

Open:
10am-4pm Saturdays, only by appointment

Blooming Green is a bit different in that they only grow flowers. It’s wonderful to go there and walk around their flower beds, picking as you go. Many brides choose to go there and pick the flowers for their wedding bouquet.
You can choose to pick one or more containers-worth of flowers to take home.

Loddington Farm,
Loddington Lane,
Maidstone
ME17 4AG
01622 298676
https://www.bloominggreenflowers.co.uk/pyo-flowers/

Lower Ladysden Farm

Open:
9-4pm Tuesday-Saturday

When I asked around on local parent Facebook groups about the best Pick Your Own Farms, so many people recommended Lower Ladysden Farm.
You can pick all sorts of fruit and vegetables there: asparagus, strawberries, raspberries, runner beans and blackberries. Later in the year, you can go and pick pumpkins, which is becoming increasingly popular with little ones and a great photo opportunity.

Lower Ladysden Farm,
Winchet Hill,
Goudhurst,
Kent.
TN17 1JX
01622 890003
https://www.lowerladysden.co.uk/pick-your-own.php

Chegworth Cherries

Open:
10am – 4pm daily

It’ll be no surprise to learn what Chegworth Cherries specialise in! They sell fruit juices on-site too. You can also rent a cherry tree from their farm in Harrietsham (ME17), then go and pick them from your own tree

Wyngarth Farm,
Lower Road, 
West Farleigh,
Maidstone
Kent.
ME15 0PF
01622 859272
https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Farm/Chegworth-Cherries-105684327837612/

I’ve created a graphic for quick reference on the farms I’ve mentioned. Please feel free to share it.

I really hope you have a wonderful time picking fruit and vegetables with your little one.

I’m now booking studio sessions again, please get in touch if you’d like to find out more
https://hushabye-photography.co.uk/contact/