The Fruit farm is very productive. Aside from the fruit vegetables
grown include carrots, peas, beans, broadbeans and fresh garlic
in season. Tena and the family also make jam and freeze some of
the excess fruit. Fambo potatoes are supplied direct to a Stoke
Fish and Chip shop. Where there were once 4 or 5 full time employees
John now manages the whole farm on his own with the help of the
family and casual local labour. The tractors and ploughs are bigger,
the scale of operation is wider and regulatory requirements are
formidable. His day's work varies from managing the business to
mucking out.
It is a feature of their customer base that some families have
been coming for over 30 years, with grand parents now bringing their
grandchildren and customers set out their picnics on the tables
provided. Tena & John appreciate living in such attractive countryside.
There is no commuting and they enjoy the fresh air and working together
as a family. They have planted lots of trees and there is a pool
which the undisturbed habitat of swans, geese and moorhens. The
River Tern runs through the farm
Tena is asked for advice about cooking fruit and vegetables by
her customers and may produce a recipe book. They have offered work
opportunities to young people from the Grove School and the John
Talbot School in Whitchurch. They receive organised parties of young
children from the local primary schools. |