Our Kitchen Garden

Actually a vegetable and originally from China, rhubarb has been cultivated for nearly 2000 years. Early season rhubarb is ‘forced’ using clay pots, producing whiter, sweeter stems. Rhubarb is available from March to June

An important source of Vitamin C, especially during the Second World War. Approximately 95% of British grown blackcurrants go into making Ribena.

One of the most popular fruit we grow; separated into two distinct crops; summer and autumn. The largest producer of raspberries is Russia; growing nearly 20% of the world’s crop.

There are over 7500 varieties of apple worldwide. At Mount St John we grow 40 varieties in a mixture of fan, espalier, cordon and stepover forms. Apples are available from autumn all the way to winter. The majority of apples are usually ready to pick in October.

One of the least hardy fruits to grow up North, our singular tree is grown up a south facing wall and protected by a fleece covering over the winter. Early blooming (February), means that pollination is done by hand using an artist’s paintbrush.

Grown in the glasshouse at Mount St John, physalis is great for garnishes and to add to salads or puddings. Lovely tart flavour. Grown between August and December. A native plant of Peru and Colombia it is actually a member of the nightshade family. Requiring a warm climate. In France it is known as ‘amour en cage’ or ‘love in a cage’.

New to Mount St John in 2021, these are a highly versatile fruit used in both sweet and savoury dishes. Varieties grown are Black Butte, Reuben and Karaka Black. In the wild blackberries are one of the most valuable plants in our native woodlands as each plant can support as many as 150 species of invertebrate.

We grow over 25 pear trees at Mount St John of 8 different varieties. One of the most interesting is the Nashi Pear ‘Tama’, originally from Korea which is actually round rather than the traditional pear shape. The optimum harvest season for pears is between September and October.