Good food fresh from the field is what’s on offer from a local farm – and you can really taste the difference, as EMMA DUNN discovered

JUST one taste of the produce at Westmill Organics is enough to convince people how good the farm’s vegetable boxes are.

That’s according to owner Pete Richardson, who has been farming the 30 acres of land at Westmill Farm in Watchfield, on the border of Wiltshire and Oxfordshire, for 20 years.

The 55-year-old and his team grow organic produce, pack it into boxes and deliver it to homes and businesses across Swindon and Oxford.

We visited the farm as part of organic month – the biggest celebration of all things organic, which is taking place this month.

But it’s not just the fact the produce is organic that makes the vegetables at Westmill Organics taste so good.

“You can’t guarantee organic is a better taste. Some organic produce can taste rubbish – it depends on how it’s grown,” said Pete.

“If you don’t choose the right varieties you don’t get the right taste. It also depends what farm it’s from and the soil it is grown in.

“To simply say organic tastes better would be a bit silly, but here at Westmill Organics we are proud of how our produce tastes.

“You have to do the tasting first. We give people a vegetable box and when they taste it, it convinces them how good it is. It’s fresh and it hasn’t travelled very far.”

Organic farming recognises the direct connection between our health and how the food we eat is produced. Artificial fertilisers are banned and farmers develop fertile soil by rotating crops and using compost, manure and clover.

Pete previously worked as a conventional farmer but said organic farming felt more intimate than sitting on a combine harvester.

He has now been organic farming for 20 years.

“My mother was an organic farmer. I just wanted to grow proper food rather than commodities like wheat and oil seed rape,” he said.

“I enjoy people enjoying food from the field. With organic farming there is a real connection with the earth.

“The people I work with are a great bunch. Some farming is quite lonely but with this many people in the field we have a good time.”

Pete is a member of Thames Organic Growers and has been involved with the Soil Association for many years.

Westmill Organics grows every type of vegetable you could ask for – except for aubergines, which can bring veg spider mites to a farm.

The vegetables available depend on what’s in season, but the range includes potatoes, onions, carrots, courgettes, tomatoes, sweetcorn, runner beans, beetroot, green peppers, chilli peppers, pumpkins and leeks.

The farm is impressive to look at. There are thriving rows of tomatoes, peppers and salad leaves in polytunnels near the entrance, as well as lines of neatly planted cabbages nearby.

Among the people who work at Westmill Organics is Boann Lambert, who has been working there since February 2013.

She said: “We welcome our customers here to come and look at where their vegetables are actually grown. One of our main selling points is that we’re a very small team who do it for the love of it. We want our customers to know how and where their veg is grown.

“I once had a comment from a mum which always sticks in my head. She said her children love it when our veg box arrives at the door. She said they were excited to see what’s in it and they actually eat it because they say they can taste it. You really can taste the difference.

“It’s fresher and richer. A carrot tastes like a carrot rather than a scrubbed orange stick.”

The veg is picked on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, packed on Wednesdays, and delivered on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

“Within 48 hours at the most your veg is delivered to your door. That makes a lot of difference to the taste,” said Boann.

At this point in the conversation, Boann picked a Sun Gold tomato off the plant in front of her and held it out for me to taste.

Surely a tomato just tastes like a tomato, I thought to myself. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. This was more of a sweet treat than anything I’ve tasted from the supermarket.

When I bit into it, there was an explosion of juice and a slight tang, but as I kept chewing it became moreishly sweet. Certainly the best tomato I have ever tasted.

“There is a lot of love that goes into the veg, there really is,” said Boann.

As well as veg boxes, Westmill Organics has a veg hut with an honesty box at the entrance to the farm. They deliver bespoke orders to cafes, restaurants, community groups and to special events. Juicing boxes are also available.

For more information or to arrange a visit to see the veg growing visit www.westmillorganics.co.uk, phone 01793 783569 or email info@westmillorganics.co.uk.

 

THIS month is Organic September – the UK’s biggest celebration of all things organic.

Building on the success of the 2013 campaign, which saw a sales increase by nine per cent during September, this year’s theme is once again Small Changes, Big Difference.

Consumers are encouraged to make one small change to their shopping habits in order to make a big difference to sustainable food, animal welfare or the environment. Some of the small changes people can make include switching to organic milk, eggs, apples, choosing an organic moisturiser or even buying an organic cotton t-shirt. For example, if 20 families switched to organic milk, another cow will be free to range on clover rich organic pastures.

By telling the Soil Association what organic product they’ve bought this September, consumers could also be in with the chance of winning a year’s free supply of electricity from Good Energy, a 100% renewable electricity company, who are supporting this year’s campaign. For more information about how to enter, visit www.soilassociation.org/win.