SOFT FRUITS_about_us

Richard grew the first strawberries 46 years ago after his university tutor gave him the idea. We now grow about 15 acres of strawberries on the farm at Sessay, for pick your own as well as supplying many local shops. We employ about 50 people on the farm during the summer months to help us pick all of our lovely fruit for our customers.

The strawberries are planted in May and are cropped one year later. These plants will produce excellent strawberries for three years before we plough them out and rotate them around the farm. moving them in five acre blocks.

We believe this is the secret to our great tasting Spilman’s strawberries! Our chosen method minimises the use of chemicals on our fruit.

We have a range of different varieties of strawberries on the farm which are selected for their excellent taste, ripening date and the ability to grow in the soil, they are grown uncovered and therefore ripen naturally in the sunshine. They are all bedded up with straw and tended to by hand.

We also grow 3 acres of delicious raspberries as well as gooseberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and blackberries which can all be picked on the farm for PYO – as well as supplying local shops, supermarkets and markets.

Church farm is also home to some very special wildlife with rare grey partridge, skylarks and hares can all be seen on the farm. In 2016 we had a partridge nest and a skylark nest tucked away in our strawberry rows. We aim to produce lots of fruit but always working in harmony with the wildlife that lives around the farm by providing a safe habitat and plenty of food for them throughout the year.