Maggots Nook Farm

T Wilson and Sons Company have been farming at Maggot Nooks Farm, in Rainford, for over 40 years and they now employ over 100 staff. They grow vegetables on around 1,700 acres of land spanning across Lancashire, Cheshire and Merseyside. On the farm, they grow carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes and leeks, to supply to supermarkets and foodservice customers across the UK.

The carrots, grown at Maggots Nook Farm, are also supplied to primary schools across England for children and staff to enjoy! They are harvested in fields, before being washed, packed and dispatched from the warehouse – normally within 24 hours from the carrots being lifted from the ground! Let’s take a look at how this happens …

1. Carrots are harvested and bought to the packhouse for washing and sorting. 
2. The carrots then go through a final inspection, before they are packed into bags by machines.
3. The Carrots are put on pallets, and stored in a fridge, before they are loaded onto a lorry.
4. The Carrots are then delivered to customers on a lorry.

Weather and Climate

The weather has a large impact on growing vegetables, such as carrots. As Maggots Nook Farm is located in the northwest of England, they normally experience a lot of rain with a bit of sun (and everything in between)!

In some seasons, the climate can be very helpful for growing vegetables, while other seasons make farming conditions very difficult.

In order to supply their customers, the farmers at Maggots Nook Farm have to access their land every day of the year! The weather dictates whether the farmers are either cultivating, planting, sowing or harvesting crops, depending on the season.

Growing Carrots

The process of growing carrots continues throughout the entire year, in a cycle! Once the cycle is complete the process starts again from the beginning!

The Environment

Maggots Nooks Farm is involved in countryside stewardship schemes, which are designed to benefit the environment in a number of ways:

• The farmers plant and sow wild bird seed mixes and rough grasses to encourage wildlife.
• The margins around the fields and designated plots are homes to many insects, birds and mammals.
• A large number of Lap Wings, Grey Partridge and Hares have been sustained through the environmental projects!

Crop Rotation

Crop rotating is one of the most basic techniques farmers can use to assure plant crop success. This is where a pattern of different types of crops are grown in the same area across many growing seasons. For example, one year you might grow potatoes in one field, but the next year you might grow carrots in that field, and the year after you might grow leeks in that field, before returning to growing potatoes again. This would be a 3 year crop rotation.

This helps increase the productivity of the crops and the soil, as it reduces continual reliance on the same nutrients, whilst minimising the chance of developing resistant pests and diseases.