Broadwater Farm

Thanks

broadwaterfarm — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:22:34 +0000

A big thanks to our team this year for an excellent harvest. We have picked over 8500 bins, that`s over 2500 tons of apples and pears.

The quality has been very good and the atmosphere amongst our team has been strong.

I wish the very best to all who have participated and hope to see you all again sometime.

Thanks again

Peter and the Broadwater Team

New Solar Power For Broadwater Farm

broadwaterfarm — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:15:22 +0000

Commissioned in the last week of July 2011, the new solar array on the cold stores at Broadwater Farm is a big step towards our aims of reducing our dependence on fossel fuels.

It is hoped that the 84kw system will provide enough electricity to maintain the cold store temperatures of the 1000 tonnes of storage that the building houses.

Peter Checkley, Farm Manager said, "Tree fruit is already one of the most sustainable foods available. It's achiles heal, however, is the cold storage that is required to provide year round availability. This new solar project goes a long way towards solving this problem".

Dates for 2011 Announced

broadwaterfarm — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:53:20 +0000

The dates for 2011 have now been announced and there are two options available.

If you are looking for work this summer/autumn and would like to be part of our team, please complete the application form on this website (see 'how to apply' page).

Working at Broadwater Farm in 2011

broadwaterfarm — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 11:23:39 +0000

Although the 2010 Season has now come to an end, we are still planning 2011, so we cannot accept any applications until the course dates have been announced, which will be in early January 2011. So, if you are interested in working at Broadwater Farm next year and would like to be part of our team, please complete our online application form once the course dates have been published.

Looking forward to the new season

broadwaterfarm — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:09:43 +0000

It has been a long hard winter at Broadwater Farm. We are all thoroughly fed up with the cold weather, but with Spring just around the corner and the promise of warmer and sunnier days ahead, maybe things will start to look up soon.

The first crop to flower will be the Plums in early April, followed by the Pears both of which we are hoping for lots of bulging white blossom. Finally in the second half of April will come the Apples, which, with their beautiful pink blossom that fill the air with a sweat aroma is a stimulating sight. April is one of the best months to be a fruit grower. From then on we watch as the fruitlets swell to become Apples. As long as we look after them and protect them from pests and diseases, we will have a good crop to harvest in September. I hope that, like us the team that have already booked for the first course will be praying for some warm sunny weather in April which will determine how many apples we pick in September.

2009 Picking Season Almost Over

broadwaterfarm — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:04:18 +0000

The harvest season at Broadwater started back in July and is now coming to an end, with just a few varieties of apple still to pick.

During this busy season, Broadwater Farm, and in particular the manager, Peter Checkley, has even managed to appear in a number of TV news programmes and publications and just recently on YouTube (autographs available on request!!).

The farm has also embraced modern technology and joined Facebook, where you will be able to find many more pictures of this year's harvest.

Limited Places Now Available

broadwaterfarm — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 07:28:35 +0000

A limited number of places have now become available on our third course, starting on 17th August and continuing through to 9th October

We would welcome applications from anyone who can commit to the dates of the course.

If you are interested, please complete the application form on our 'how to apply' page.

Fruit is Sizing

broadwaterfarm — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:56:22 +0000

After a very hot spell in the later half of June and recently some heavy rain. Things are looking good at Broadwater Farm. The first Course team are making a very good job of thinning the Gala crop and the fruit is sizing up well. The early flowing and the recent weather will mean that the fruit will need to be picked a few days earlier than normal. We are looking forward to welcoming the second course who will be arriving at the end of the month.

Broadwater has finnished blooming

broadwaterfarm — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:36:03 +0000

This is a "heart in the mouth" time for a fruit farm.

As the blossom drops on to the ground and we wait to see what has pollinated and ultimately, what the crop will be like for the 2009 harvest.

It is still too early to tell and experience tells me that we should never try to estimate a crop until Derby Day, which this year will be 6th June.

However……

The temperature has been good and the blossom has been prolific but we must wait for Derby Day.

Places Are Now Limited

broadwaterfarm — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:54:31 +0000

This year we have had an unprecedented response to our website, the demand for work is high and places are now limited.

Although we do have a few places available on our third course, the management team at Howard Chapman Ltd, have asked us to hold these until we have a better idea of what the crop yields will be.

You are still welcome to apply for work, but please bear in mind that we will not be able to consider your application until mid-May - by this time the blossom should have set and will give us a good idea of our crop numbers and how many pickers we will require.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause but thank you for your patience.