Host: Emma Tacon, The Grange, Rollesby, Norfolk
Date: Tuesday 6th November 2012
Project: Norfolk Food Discovery
It was definitely a 3-pairs-of-socks morning for our visit to The
Grange. That, as well as hats, gloves and as many layers as I could fit on and
still be able to sprint after a child if required. And welly boots - I had a
farm visit last week where the children got caked in mud (see visit to Mill
Farm) and wasn’t keen for that to happen again; whilst I don't mind and the children enjoy it the look on the bus driver's face was enough to tell me not to repeat it...
The bus arrived, the children decamped and we did the inevitable
loo run and had snacks in a large polytunnel which previously was
home to several hundred squash. Through
experience I now know it is essential that the children eat something before we
trek off around the farm; last year I did a farm visit without snacks and the
kids were dropping like flies well before lunchtime.
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| The farm shop at The Grange |
I have always enjoyed visiting the Grange; it’s a
relatively small farm but they grow pumpkins, soft fruit, cauliflower, potatoes and all types of cabbages, to name a few. They are also a massive producer of asparagus. The children get to see a huge variety of
crops growing, many of which are familiar to them. The Grange sell their produce at local supermarkets as well as from their farm shop. One of the activities we run as part of Norfolk Food Discovery (NFD) is a Farmer’s Market so it’s a great place to pick up tips.
I also really enjoy working with Emma Tacon, our host. She is relatively new to the world of school visits but has embraced it with such a lovely manner and she is brilliant at explaining farming practice to the children. I think the children can probably get a sense that there are no frills with this visit, but what you get is a really close look at everything that goes on at the farm.
First port of call on our visit is to look at the farm shop. Emma holds up various vegetables and asks what it is, the group gets most of them although romanesco throws them, unsurprisingly. After this we cross the road to stand on a field of cut barley. Emma tells us when it was sown and harvested and the group thinks of things we use barley to make. One child says "Robinson's fruit & barley drink", something that the majority of the adults have overlooked since it wasn't quite as important as the other two major uses of this crop; Beer and Whisky.
To the children's delight Emma suggests they run to the next stop, a field of fern-like plants at the far end of the barley field. Once everyone is gathered again she asks what they think the plant is. There are various suggestions, one being that it's a berry of some sort - there are red berries on some of the ferns - after a few more guesses Emma tells us it's asparagus.
She explains that asparagus stays in the ground for 10 years and it is handpicked between May and June, although this year’s season was particularly short due to the wet weather.
Our next stop is to take a look at the giant field of strawberries. The Grange sell these at supermarkets but also run a PYO service. To extend their season, they use varieites of strawberry that ripen at different times and fleece to protect the flowers from frosts. Emma uses this opportunity to talk to the children about the importance of bees in the pollination process.
Back to the tour and we pass rows of red cabbages and sprouts and come
to a tractor and trailer in the middle of the field, full of crates of cabbages and curly
kale. Emma rummages about in the back of the truck and pulls out an essential bit of kit; weighing scales. She tells us they have to weigh all the boxes out so that they give the right amount to the people that sell their produce. "Can you see what was growing here?", she says as she points to the left of the truck, "onions!" the group shout. Along with strawberries, they also sell PYO onions - this is the first farm I've ever known to do that, and it makes them incredibly cheap.
Everyone knows the next crop as we look at the sea of orange. Sadly these are the ones that weren't big enough to sell. However, as Emma explains nothing is wasted; the lady in the photo was collecting the small pumpkins so take and feed to their sheep and pigs. She also tells us it was a really good year for growing this type of vegetable, which is good news since it's been a bad year for almost everything else grown on the farm.
Emma asks us why the strawberries are so called as we look at some bales at the side of the field. "STRAW-berries" she emphasises...it takes a little more encouragement on her behalf before we get to the bottom of it; they use the straw from the bales to protect the fruit from getting mouldy and being eaten by slugs, apparently straw is too scratchy for them. We talk about where straw comes from and the difference between that and hay - straw is from wheat whereas hay is from dried grass.
We leave the straw bales and head towards the potato shed via the soft fruits grown at the Grange. Walking along the trained blackberries the children pick some of the fruit and by the end of the row, the evidence is smeared all over their hands, and many of their faces. Emma explains when and how the potatoes were planted and tells us that they were harvested fairly recently. Potatoes in storage are covered with fleece, and we are asked why we think this is. A few sensible answers, including "to keep out rats" but mostly, Emma says, "it's to stop them going green and inedible, but also to stop them getting frozen". She also shows us the grading machine and tells us about someone who used to work on the farm who got their hand stuck in the grading machine...this story keeps the children entertained whilst simultaneously putting them off shoving their own hands into the contraption.
With many tummies rumbling, including mine, we head back to the polytunnel, perched on upturned veg boxes and have our lunch. After this and a well earned cup of tea for the adults, we have a quick game of 'Grow Your Own Grub' - an activity created using food diaries the children wrote at the beginning of the project (I'll explain it at some point in another post), followed by a bit of a run around outside and munching on a few more raspberries. Despite suggestions to the contrary, some of the children stuff their pockets with raspberries 'for later'...
Last bit of the day, and we have a look at the chickens. The farm shop sells eggs all year round and today Herman Primary help collect those eggs. Each child goes into the hen shed and collects an egg from the nest boxes, surrounded by clucking hens (it's raining outside although the children don't appear to have noticed).
At a somewhat slower pace than first thing this morning, we collect bags and lunchboxes and switch wellyboots for shoes. As the kids wait to get onto the bus one child pulls their hand out of their pocket and gasps "I'm bleeding!"...I gently remind them that rather than blood it might be the raspberries collected earlier - pity the poor parent who, in removing tissues from pockets, comes across that delightful handful.
I also really enjoy working with Emma Tacon, our host. She is relatively new to the world of school visits but has embraced it with such a lovely manner and she is brilliant at explaining farming practice to the children. I think the children can probably get a sense that there are no frills with this visit, but what you get is a really close look at everything that goes on at the farm.
First port of call on our visit is to look at the farm shop. Emma holds up various vegetables and asks what it is, the group gets most of them although romanesco throws them, unsurprisingly. After this we cross the road to stand on a field of cut barley. Emma tells us when it was sown and harvested and the group thinks of things we use barley to make. One child says "Robinson's fruit & barley drink", something that the majority of the adults have overlooked since it wasn't quite as important as the other two major uses of this crop; Beer and Whisky.
 | |||||||
| A chance to stretch the legs |
 |
| Checking out the asparagus |
She explains that asparagus stays in the ground for 10 years and it is handpicked between May and June, although this year’s season was particularly short due to the wet weather.
We squelch up the track to have a look at the next crop; a field of sweetcorn. We gather at one end where Emma informs us that we can't go round it, the only way is to go through (bear hunt anyone?). For 5 minutes we lose Herman primary in amongst the tall crop - well almost, I could still hear them squealing with delight as they ran around.
Eventually the children emerge, mostly laden with sweetcorn cobs and big grins. They all begin to peel back the layers protecting the yellow kernels and the floor is awash with discarded peelings. We begin to walk to the next stop, past a field of broccoli, pointed cabbages and savoys, leaving a trail of sweetcorn debris in our wake.
 |
| Sweetcorn peeling |
Our next stop is to take a look at the giant field of strawberries. The Grange sell these at supermarkets but also run a PYO service. To extend their season, they use varieites of strawberry that ripen at different times and fleece to protect the flowers from frosts. Emma uses this opportunity to talk to the children about the importance of bees in the pollination process.
 |
| Brassica-tastic; Savoy cabbage, pointed cabbage and broccoli |
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| Gourd-ness me - the pumpkins that didn't make the grade |
Emma asks us why the strawberries are so called as we look at some bales at the side of the field. "STRAW-berries" she emphasises...it takes a little more encouragement on her behalf before we get to the bottom of it; they use the straw from the bales to protect the fruit from getting mouldy and being eaten by slugs, apparently straw is too scratchy for them. We talk about where straw comes from and the difference between that and hay - straw is from wheat whereas hay is from dried grass.
 |
| Herman Primary Class Photo |
With many tummies rumbling, including mine, we head back to the polytunnel, perched on upturned veg boxes and have our lunch. After this and a well earned cup of tea for the adults, we have a quick game of 'Grow Your Own Grub' - an activity created using food diaries the children wrote at the beginning of the project (I'll explain it at some point in another post), followed by a bit of a run around outside and munching on a few more raspberries. Despite suggestions to the contrary, some of the children stuff their pockets with raspberries 'for later'...
Last bit of the day, and we have a look at the chickens. The farm shop sells eggs all year round and today Herman Primary help collect those eggs. Each child goes into the hen shed and collects an egg from the nest boxes, surrounded by clucking hens (it's raining outside although the children don't appear to have noticed).
At a somewhat slower pace than first thing this morning, we collect bags and lunchboxes and switch wellyboots for shoes. As the kids wait to get onto the bus one child pulls their hand out of their pocket and gasps "I'm bleeding!"...I gently remind them that rather than blood it might be the raspberries collected earlier - pity the poor parent who, in removing tissues from pockets, comes across that delightful handful.
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