We’ve now stopped harvesting asparagus at Bothen Hill. It hasn’t been an easy season – we started on 3rd April which was actually one day before the start of last year’s harvest – so it’s been a good 8 weeks. During that time we’ve seen very hot dry conditions during the day with frosts some nights and certainly very unseasonally cold nights which has not encouraged the asparagus to emerge.

One of the reasons that asparagus is special is that it has a short growing season, so you really do have to make the most of it when it’s here. There will be other UK growers who can manage to continue for longer than us – traditionally the season is St George’s Day (23rd April) to the longest day (21st June) but for now thank you to everyone who bought Bothen Hill’s delicious asparagus this year.

We’ve now started harvesting our asparagus for the 2025 season. The recent warm weather has definitely helped – towards the start of the season, we tend to pick every other day, and as the days get warmer we will start to pick daily. The asparagus is available for sale at the farm gate (we’re open on Friday mornings until noon), and the Asparagus Station, located outside the house and open 24/7, is now up and running. the Station is cash only, although we do take cards at the farm gate on a Friday morning. Our asparagus is stocked by Fruits of the Earth in Bridport, Washingpool Farm Shop just outside Bridport on the B3162, Fruit & 2 Veg in Beaminster and Modbury Farm Shop at Burton Bradstock.

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The countdown to Christmas has already started – please see our Christmas Details and Christmas Ordering pages.

Please do try and get your orders in early – it helps us hugely to plan our picking and packing schedules and also ensure that we always have sufficient for everyone.

In short we’ll be open for Farm Gate sales as usual on Friday 20th.

We’ll be open from 8.30 am to 4 pm on Monday 23rd for collection of orders and till noon on 24th December. We’ll have some fresh produce available on both days, but if you can order it will really help, and save you time as well.

Sausages will only be available to order on Monday 23rd and Tuesday 24th.

Thank you for your support.

Next Friday, 30th August, we’ll be holding a Cake Bake sale in conjunction with our Friday morning farm gate, to raise funds for Fortuneswell Cancer Unit in memory of Piers Garner.

Piers, who many local people will know, and his wife Steph who works for us, previously ran Bridport Record Centre/Bridport Music. Since the business was sold, Piers has been an integral part of the team here at Bothen Hill in his capacity as mender of anything non agricultural and general handiman. He’s repaired scales (many times), other electrical items (numerous times), door locks, hinges and turned his hand to decorating and other tasks. Fortuneswell Cancer Unit was the charity chosen by Steph and family for donations and we’d like to support them with a great Cake Sale. Please do come along and bring your friends and neighbours, to support this local cause.

It’s that time of year again when the asparagus has decided it’s time to finish so Friday 14th June will be our final day for availability.

However, new season’s veg are now starting to appear, we’re picking broad beans and this week sees the arrival of the French beans too.

In the tunnels the tomatoes are just starting to ripen, hopeful that this will continue and they will be available next week 21st, also courgettes.

Watch the ordering page to see what else is available.

Updated 22 April

Asparagus is growing, albeit rather slowly, but definitely as delicious as ever! Find it here at the Farm Gate every Friday morning until noon, or from the Asparagus Station outside the house 24/7 with honesty box

Also currently available at Fruits of the Earth in Bridport and Fruit & 2 Veg in Beaminster – watch this space for more retail outlets to come on board as the season progresses and quantities increase.

We’re delighted that the first of the asparagus is now being harvested here at Bothen Hill. This Friday, week ending 12th April, it will be available from the farm gate between 9.00 am and 12 noon; thereafter it will be available 24/7 from the asparagus station outside the house with honesty box, priced currently at £5 per bunch. As the season progresses we’ll be supplying our regular retail outlets – we update this post and make announcements on social media when this happens.

We’ve already arrived at Easter – as many of you will know Hungry Gap arrived early but we have struggled through – just. We’re now seeing new season’s produce coming along and already have PSB, Tenderstem (from the tunnel) and rhubarb. Hopefully the asparagus won’t be far behind.

In the meantime we’re open as usual on Friday 29th March for farm gate sales until noon; as well as the above we have a supply of seasonal veg, as outlined on our ordering page, freshly picked or dug so come along and select your weekend vegetables.

We’ll be open on Friday 22nd December for farm gate sales and collection of orders. Saturday 23rd is collection of pre orders only.

We’ll then be shut on Friday 29th December and will re-open for farm gate sales on Friday 5th January 2024.

Please see our ordering page for vegetable availability.

Wishing all our customers, past, present and future a very Happy Christmas and Healthy New Year from the team at Bothen Hill.

The asparagus season is now coming to an end at Bothen Hill. We will be picking for the last time during the week ending Friday 16th June and will have some available at the farm gate that day. If you want to order please email us by noon on Thursday 15th – first come first served!

It’s been a fairly challenging season for the asparagus this year, it may have continued if we’d had some rain, but that was not to be; hopefully it will come along soon and then we’ll be hoping for sunshine to build up the crowns ready to produce next season. Thank you for supporting us by buying our award-winning asparagus.

The recent sunny weather, and increased tempretures at night, means that the asparagus is now appearing in quantity.

The Asparagus Station here at Bothen Hill is stocked 24/7 so you can pick up delicious fresh asparagus any time and use the honesty box for payment. In addition it’s available every Friday morning until noon at the farm gate, together with other seasonal vegetables.

We’re very fortunate to have a group of loyal shops who also stock our asparagus; you can buy from Washingpool Farm Shop and Fruits of the Earth in Bridport, Modbury Farm Shop at Burton Bradstock and Fruitn2Veg in Beaminster – we aim to keep them well stocked with freshly picked asparagus as required.