Pumpkins

Availability: Early October

How to pick: We will snip all the pumpkins before your visit so they are ready to for you to pick off the ground. Cutting the pumpkins by hand means that you get a pumpkin with a long handle and no machine damage or scarring. Fill your own wheelbarrow and then pay for your pumpkins at the payment huts or in the Farm Shop when you’re finished.

Ready picked: If picking is not for you then we have a skilled team of professionals in the fields who pick our best every single day. You can find our ready-picked vegetables in the Farm Shop fridges. If you would like to order a large volume of fruit or vegetables for an event, we’ll be happy to help. Please contact us using our contact form or call the shop on 01865 358 309.

What we grow: This year we are growing Racer pumpkins: orange lanterns which usually weigh between 4-6kg, Harvest Moon pumpkins: also orange but a little smaller at 4kg, and the very large Renegade pumpkins which come in at a whopping 8kg. We are also planting Crown Prince squash: dark grey bluish in colour and super tasty. We are also growing a selection of colourful gourds for picking.

How we grow: All of our pumpkins are grown in our Oxfordshire fields and not under poly tunnels, so they have been soaking up plenty of sun over the hot summer of 2022 and have fantastic colour as a result. These pumpkins are top grade, and far superior to the fruit (yes, fruit) you’ll find in the supermarket – great to carve and delicious to eat!

Plan your visit to Rectory Farm pick your own.

Recipe Ideas

Pumpkin Laksa

Ingredients:

Half a Crown Prince squash
Tenderstem broccoli
Lemongrass 2 stalks
1 can of chickpeas
1 large onion, chopped
Egg noodles, cooked
Chicken stock – 400ml
Chilli – red and green
Coriander
Mint
Ginger
Garlic
Paprika and chilli powder/flakes
Salt and pepper

Method:

Slice the pumpkin in half and scoop out the guts and seeds. Save the other half for other recipes!
Cut the pumpkin into long wedges, drizzle with olive oil, and season generously with paprika, salt, and pepper. Cook the pumpkin at 200°C for 45 mins or until tender.
Empty the aquafaba from the chickpeas (store and use as a vegan alternative to egg in other recipes), then pour onto a baking tray. Drizzle with oil, and then season with paprika, chilli powder/flakes, salt and pepper. Place in the oven and cook for around 30-40 minutes or until crunchy. Add some tenderstem broccoli to the tray halfway through.
In a large pot heat 2 tbsp of oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until beginning to brown.
Add the lemongrass, chilli, garlic, and ginger and cook for 1 min.
Add the stock and half of the cooked pumpkin and simmer for 5 mins.
Take out the lemongrass, add a few leaves of mint and coriander and blend until smooth. Add more stock for a thinner soup and add more pumpkin for a thicker soup.
Time to assemble, spoon the laksa overtop of the egg noodles and garnish with broccoli, chickpeas, pumpkin, mint, and coriander.

Also available today

Potatoes

Available: now

Sacks of our Saxon, Jelly and Mozart potatoes are available in the farm shop from the autumn. Read more

Asparagus

Available: PYO open now

The English asparagus season traditionally runs from St George's Day until Midsummer. Read more

farm shop

We sell all our own homegrown produce when in season - including several varieties of our own potatoes - picked and on the shelves within a few hours. We work hard to source the best quality local products from Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and The Cotswolds. In our fridges you’ll find local meat, pies and sausage rolls from Eadles Farm in neighbouring Beckley village, chicken, lamb and beef from D'Oyley's Farm in Stadhampton, award-winning organic cheeses from Nettlebed Creamery, and traditional farmhouse Cotswold Butter – plus all manner of condiments and cooking sauces, baking supplies, biscuits, pantry essentials, free range eggs and milk from Oxfordshire farms and dairies. Our bread arrives each morning from Oxford’s Natural Bread Company and Degustibus artisan bakers in Abingdon.

help us to reduce waste

Please try wherever possible to bring your own containers and carrier bags when you visit our Farm Shop and PYO. We offer a discount on all our PYO fruit and vegetables when you bring your own container - do good and save money!

Lots of small containers for PYO are better than one large one, as soft fruit will easily bruise and squash at the bottom of a deep container.

Use our "bring your own weigh station" to weigh your containers before picking – we can then deduct these from the weight of your fruit when you come to pay at the end.

Remember to bring your own 1 litre bottle for milk or buy a Rectory Farm glass bottle in the shop.

pick your own

Come and pick your own Oxfordshire fruit, vegetables and flowers from our 45 acres of colourful produce, all grown just for you.

You can enjoy Rectory Farm produce practically all year round - it simply doesn't get fresher than picking your own. Start with asparagus brunches and rhubarb tarts and crumbles in April, and then enjoy a long summer of strawberries, artichoke, broad beans, courgettes, raspberries, redcurrants, blackberries and blackcurrants.

Autumn brings a hearty crop of sweetcorn and pumpkins, and our many varieties of potatoes are available to buy all year round, from baby salad potatoes to red and white spuds perfect for baking, mashing, roasting and boiling.

Find out more

PYO

The Rectory Farm picking season runs from April - October, starting with asparagus and finishing with pumpkins.

Our strawberries ripen up at the start of May and finish into September. Check out our PYO page to see what's in season when, and for lots of recipe ideas.

Plan your visit

Enjoy a day out at Rectory Farm picking all your favourite fruit and vegetables to take home and enjoy. Remember to bring your own punnets and carrier bags to help us reduce plastic use.

Visit the shop from March - December to stock up on kitchen essentials and all our ready-picked fruit and vegetables if you’re short on time.

rectory farm cafe

Join us for coffee and locally baked pastries, a pot of tea and a slice of homemade cake or a cool ice-cream topped with a flake.

We have both indoor seating and outdoor seating (covered and uncovered) and plenty of space for families and groups to gather and catch up over good food and drink.