Staffordshire farm encourages families to discover the field-to-fork journey

Lower Drayton Farm, near Penkridge, is giving visitors to its PLAY@ farm attraction the opportunity to harvest seasonal vegetables grown on the family farm as part of its annual Harvest Hoedown, which returns for its third year this September.

Families can hop aboard a tractor and trailer for a ride out to the growing fields, where crops including carrots, potatoes, courgettes, beetroot and sweetcorn are being harvested. Visitors pick their own produce to take home and turn into family meals.

New for 2026 are courgettes, a versatile crop which can grow into a marrow if left to mature. While the plants have similarities to pumpkins, courgettes develop much more quickly and continue producing throughout the season, with new fruits growing as others are harvested – and the crop has been particularly well received during the opening weekend of Harvest Hoedown.

The expansion of the farm’s horticultural crops has also been supported by investment in robotic technology to sow and hoe the crops, helping Lower Drayton Farm experiment with growing an increasingly diverse range of produce.

That diversification has its roots in Richard’s early career. Following university, he undertook a postgraduate graduate scheme in Fresh Produce Management, gaining hands-on experience with different crops and growing businesses around the country – from apples in Kent and flowers in Lincolnshire to asparagus in Herefordshire.

Today, he is using that experience to help give visiting families a better understanding of how food is actually grown. Richard said:
“We’ve had government officials visit the farm who haven’t known how potatoes grow, so if we can give children that understanding from an early age, we’re giving them a great start.

“One of the things that surprises families is seeing the different shapes and sizes that vegetables naturally grow. We’re used to seeing produce in supermarkets after it’s been graded, sorted and packed, so children can think that every potato, carrot or courgette comes out of the ground looking exactly the same.

“We encourage families to pick a large and a small example and take them home to cook – then see whether they can taste any difference.”

The experience is designed to make the journey from farm to dinner table tangible for children. Visitors are encouraged to bring a reusable supermarket ‘bag for life’ to carry their harvest, something that has prompted another running joke in the fields. Richard added:

“We tell them it’s just like going to the supermarket – except this time they’re actually picking the food themselves!

“The produce tastes fantastic because it’s incredibly fresh. It hasn’t travelled on a lorry or spent time moving through a supply chain; it’s gone straight from our field to your fork. When families leave with their bags full, we often ask what time dinner will be ready – and joke that we’ll join them then do the washing up!”

For Richard, seeing children making that connection is particularly rewarding. Harvest Hoedown has attracted families from a wide variety of nationalities and backgrounds, with visitors sharing different ways they use and cook the crops being grown.

“Food is something that brings people together,” he said. “We’ve loved seeing families from so many different backgrounds out in the fields. People recognise different crops, tell us how they’d cook them at home and share ideas with each other. That’s exactly the kind of connection with food and farming that we want to encourage.”

The farm is helping families continue the field-to-fork journey at home, too, by teaming up with farmer and food blogger Milly Fyfe of No Fuss Meals for Busy Parents. Milly has created simple, inspirational recipes using the seasonal vegetables available during Harvest Hoedown, giving families ideas for turning their freshly picked produce into easy meals at home – including Spag Bol with ‘secret’ courgette.

Richard added: “Picking the vegetables is only part of the experience. We want children to make that connection all the way from seeing a crop growing in the field, to harvesting it, taking it home, cooking it and ultimately eating it. Milly’s recipes show families that cooking with fresh, seasonal produce doesn’t need to be complicated.”

Harvest Hoedown forms part of a full day at PLAY@ Lower Drayton Farm, with vegetable picking and the tractor and trailer ride included alongside the attraction’s indoor and outdoor adventure play and animals.

The field-to-fork experience continues into October, when visitors to the farm’s standalone PYO Pumpkins event can choose ticket options which include picking farm-fresh vegetables alongside their pumpkin. As with any real harvest, exactly what’s available depends on growing conditions and what fellow visitors have already picked – when a crop is gone, it’s gone.

Harvest Hoedown runs at PLAY@ Lower Drayton Farm on selected dates until Monday 21 September 2026. Families are advised to wear suitable outdoor footwear and bring a reusable bag for their produce – for further information and tickets, visit playatthefarm.co.uk

PYO Pumpkins runs on selected dates from Saturday 26 September to Saturday 31 October 2026, with tickets from £6 per person and selected ticket options including a pumpkin and farm-fresh vegetable picking. Visit lowerdraytonfarm.co.uk/pumpkins for full details and booking.