The Farm

1,000 acres of agricultural land on the outskirts of oxford, serving the local communicty and the environment

The farm

How we farm

The most wonderful thing about farming is seeing the seasons change and watching something small grow into something delicious and nourishing. 

At Rectory Farm we grow arable and horticultural crops over 1000 acres of land. The land in this part of the world is sandy at the top (by the PYO fields) but heavy clay at the bottom. Asparagus love free-draining sandy soil, and so we grow ours in the sandiest land (close to the appropriately named Sandhills area of Oxford).

We grow all our crops conventionally, using plant protection programmes when we need to produce the very best quality crop. We use a network of underground irrigation pipes across the farm which deliver water from our storage irrigation reservoirs to our potatoes, strawberries, raspberries and all our other PYO crops. 

Environment

Across our farming practices we are working towards the NFU’s Net Zero goal (achieving a balance between the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere) by 2050. 

We ask you to help us reduce waste by purchasing all of our fruit and vegetables: even the wonky ones taste just as good! We sell a lot of ‘seconds’ in the shop (like discounted trays of jam strawberries and raspberries) during the busiest cropping periods, and we also use a lot of ‘imperfect’ fruit in our café for smoothies and baking. Bring your own punnets and carrier bags with you whenever you visit, and only pick and buy what you need. 

Across the wider farm we are planting hedgerows, grass margins and wildflower mixes to create more wildlife habitats for all creatures that call Rectory Farm home.

Our plans

Farm life never stands still, and we are constantly innovating and developing – all with serving and supporting the local community in mind.

We are currently planning to grow more flowers for PYO, and to continue to expand our range of food and drink from small, local producers in the Farm Shop. Underpinning all our projects and plans is our overall commitment to protecting this very special parcel of land for future generations. 

 

cheese hamper

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.