YOUNG Oscar and Daisy Todd can’t get enough strawberries and gooseberries these days. They are out picking their own at the Farmer’s Cart, on the Malton side of York, with their mum, Cath, and for them it’s not just a tasty day out, its fun too – with a capital F.

It wasn’t always like that though. When Cath bought fruit from the supermarkets Oscar and Daisy weren’t keen at all. The occasional orange maybe, but five a day? – no way. Then she introduced them to Pick Your Own (PYO).

They haven’t looked back since.

Cath says it’s because shopping here is different. It’s more relaxing, a day out in the country and with fruit and veg this fresh, you really can tell the difference.

Of course, PYO is nothing new, but the days of shabby hand-painted signs trying to entice you down a muddy lane guarded by barking collies are long gone.

Now, neatly laid out shops sell a bewildering array of locally-sourced goodies from pates and steaks to cheeses and cakes. Best of all, if you’re happy to get your hands dirty, there are bargains to be had.

At the Farmer’s Cart, owner Ed Sykes will let you take a punnet of fruit and veg away at half price if you pick your own.

Who could resist?

But Ed says that’s only half the story. Coming here, he says, allows people to learn about traditional farming methods.

“We’re telling a real life story to show people how food is produced. Over the last five years, people have become a lot more aware, and possibly because of the recession, people are beginning to cook more, and they want fresh ingredients. We also host school visits because we feel strongly about the need to educate children about where their food comes from.”

PYO farms are all about reducing food miles and, in the wake of the e-coli scare in Germany, they have never been more relevant. Rather than taking someone else’s word for it, you can see, smell and taste what you are getting.

The Farmer’s Cart has been going for nine years now. With 150 acres, it wouldn’t compete commercially but the economies of scale allow Ed to work with traditional methods.

The only treatment he uses is a residual cap that prevents weeds coming through while allowing seedlings to flourish, plus seaweed and manure. He doesn’t use insecticides either, preferring meshing to stop pests getting at his crops. And by using age old crop rotation, legumous plants replenish the soil’s nitrogen levels.

It’s the nearest thing to organic farming you will find – but without the hefty running costs.

“When something comes straight from the ground the sugars haven’t turned to starch so the flavour is as fresh as it can be,” says Ed. “Then there is the satisfaction of picking your own food as well as the peace of mind that it has been grown just a few minutes away from where you live.”

Pat Thompson comes here every month, rain or shine, to chat with her friends over a cup of tea and a scone in the café. Her fruit patch failed this year because of the harsh frosts, so armed with a punnet; she is picking raspberries to freeze for the winter.

“If I can’t grow my own this is a really important place, because I don’t go to supermarkets. They’re fine for families, but not for me,” she says.

The PYO season runs from May to October and starts with asparagus. Strawberries are at their best in June, while raspberries will last all summer long. There are blackcurrants to pick, carrots to pull as well as broccoli, beetroot and broad beans. And at places like The Farmer’s Cart, there are the piglets to see, tractor rides to take and soon even go-karts to ride.

Elliott McQuillan, from Fridaythorpe, is only two and a bit young for pulling carrots or speeding around in go-karts, but that doesn’t mean he’s left out.

Ed is putting the finishing touches to his new Piglet Adventure Farm Park and for Elliott that means one thing; bouncy pillows. “I think this is a lovely place to come to,” says his mum, Clare.

“Apart from the play area it’s somewhere you can see what you are buying, and to me that is very important.”

You can’t beat freshness for a healthy diet so, if like Oscar and Daisy Todd you’re not that partial to supermarket fruit, a visit to a PYO farm might change the way you think.


Where to go

Fancy a day picking your own fruit and veg? Then try these farms near York. It’s always best to phone first.

• The Farmer’s Cart, Towthorpe Grange, Towthorpe Moor Lane, York, YO32 9ST. Opening hours: Monday-Saturday: 9.30am to 5.30pm. (01904 499183).

• The Balloon Tree, Stamford Bridge Road, Gate Helmsley, open 9am-6pm Monday to Saturday, 10am-5pm Sunday (01759 373023).

• Bluebell Farm, just off the roundabout on the A1237 York towards Askham Bryan. Open: 10am to 6pm weekdays and 9am to 5pm weekends. (01904 798426).

• Pearsons Soft Fruits, Strawberry Fields, Friars Hill, Sinnington, YO62 6SL. (01751 433380).

• Oaklands Farm, Stockton-on-the-Forest, open 9am-7pm (01904 400193).

• Woodside Farm, Appleton Road, Acaster Malbis, open 9am-7pm Monday to Saturday, 10am-6pm Sunday (01904 704646).

• KH Stonehouse. Paddock House Farm, Scagglethorpe, Malton YO17 8EA. (01944 758614).