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The Secret Farm in southern East Anglia (Essex, Bedfordshire and Hertsfordshire) - More Information
The Secret Farm is usually open each year, in season for their crops. It's ALWAYS advised to call or email the farm before you head out to the farm to determine the crop availability, as many factors, such as weather, soil conditions and even market and economic conditions affect what they have and when. And that can change not only from year to year, but day to day!
Below is the general info, keep in mind this is very general, this is NOT a list of what The Secret Farm has this year or ANY year or will have on any day.
See the southern East Anglia (Essex, Bedfordshire and Hertsfordshire)-specific harvest calendar for typical crop harvest dates in southern East Anglia (Essex, Bedfordshire and Hertsfordshire) and
see The Secret Farm website for their current availability. This list below is a general list for many commonly grown crops.
The South will be the earlier end of the dates, and the North, the latter end:
- March - April: Asparagus, Rhubarb
- April-June: strawberries
- June- July: cherries
- June-August: blueberries, brambles, blackberries
- July-September: aubergines, courgettes, peaches, figs, tomatoes, beans
- July-October: raspberries
- August - Figs, Fall raspberries start, early apples
- September-October: apples and grapes
- October: late apples, winter squash, Pumpkins
- December: Christmas trees
Specific Fruit and Vegetable Picking and Preserving Guides and Recipes
After you go to The Secret Farm, you may want to freeze, bottle, can or preserve the fruit or vegetables you get there. See these pages below for detailed, illustrated, step-by-step instructions that make it easy!
Picking guides and canning directions
- Complete list of home canning and freezing directions
- Apples
- Apricots
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Cherries
- Citrus (oranges, lemons, grapefruit, mandarins, etc.)
- Corn (a.k.a, "sweet corn")
- Cranberries
- Figs
- Green Beans
- Peaches and nectarines
- Pears
- Peppers (hot or sweet)
- Plums
- Raspberries
- Rhubarb
- Sweet Potatoes
- Strawberries
- Tomatoes
- Watermelons
- Other Vegetables
- How much do I need to pick?
Recipes and canning information
- Jam and jelly directions and recipes
- Jam and jelly questions and answers
- Canning - anything that can be safely canned at home!
- Juices: Canning fruit and vegetable juices
- Freezing directions
- Pie fillings
- Sauces, Salsas, Syrups, Fruit Butters and Chutneys
- Soups - canning vegetable and meat soups at home (see this page for tomato soup)
- Pickling - more than just cucumbers
- Drying / food dehydrating
Related farms and products
- Farm markets and roadside stands
- Local Honey Finder
- Local Meat, Milk and Eggs
- Venues: Farms, Wineries, Orchards for your event, wedding or party
- Easter egg hunts
- Children's consignment sales
- Fruit and vegetable festivals
- Winery tours and wine tastings
- Horse rides, stables, lessons, trails
- Maple Syrup farms and sugarworks
- Bed & Breakfasts on Farms, Wineries, Ranches and Orchards
- Pumpkin patches
- Corn mazes
- Zombie Paintball venues
- Christmas Tree Farms & lots
- Environmental resources
- Consumer fraud information
- Wholesale food sources
- Resources for Farmers