I can only apologise. This is the 4th blog post on the trot where I've cheated by writing next to nothing and just making a video instead. I promise I'm not trying to become a Youtube star (my one subscriber will attest to that). Being flat out with the busy strawberry season for the last couple of months, it's been quicker to post a short video than draft and re-draft endless paragraphs of waffle!

Speaking of the strawberry season, we've come to the end of the main outdoor season and are now exclusively picking from the indoor tunnels. And in rainy weather like we're having at the moment, they're really coming into their own! As my video tries to explain...

If you've not been to our indoor strawberry fields yet, you've still got a month or so to visit and I really hope you do - they're awesome! Make sure to check our Pick Your Own page to work out the best day to come.

I'll try to get back to writing in the next few weeks and give your eyes a rest from my ugly mug!

​James Bulmer (27th July 2019)

Having lived through nearly 40 strawberry seasons, I've got a reasonable understanding of how they work. There's a beginning, a peak and an end. The quantity, quality and availability changes during the season. There are good times to pick, and not so good times. And when I'm updating the availability page on this website, I often fall into the trap of using phrases like 'peak season' and assume everyone must know what I'm talking about.

But on reflection, I suspect this isn't always the case. Why would anyone who doesn't spend their year obsessing about growing soft fruit know the ins-and-outs of a strawberry season? Surely they're either ready for picking or they're not?!

​Well, to help explain what I mean, and to give you a better idea of what you can expect from different parts of a strawberry season... I've made a little video guide.

I hope the video helps explain what I struggle to communicate in my written updates. And even if it doesn't help, I hope you enjoyed Linda's little cameo!

James Bulmer
​8th July 2019