About Us

Whitehouse Farm is a small family enterprise growing & supplying freshly picked cherries from our four acre orchard directly to our customers through our Farm Shop and when possible, local Farmers' Markets. With fourteen varieties of dessert cherries, all ripening at different times in the season, the harvest typically extends from late June to early/mid-August.

2003 - The Dream

Back in the early 2000s, after years of managing a fruit farm in Sussex; Robert Fovargue had the opportunity to advise Cider Growers in Somerset. With the prospect of the family relocating to Somerset, Robert saw an opportunity to grow & supply fresh cherries to the region. After quite a search, the family stumbled upon a small ex-dairy farm just outside Chard that met the main requirements for this endeavour and so the saga began!

Early 2004 - Drainage

The first major step, before planting any trees, was to install adequate drainage as cherries are very prone to ‘wet feet’. Permeable flexible drainage pipe was laid all over the orchard in trenches 18 yards apart, 30 inches deep and backfilled with shingle.

2004 to 2007 - Planting & Establishing

After the field was drained, planting of the orchard soon followed with the entire family chipping in, starting with the windbreaks surrounding the orchard and then eventually the cherry trees themselves.

2008 - Hoops & Wires

Once the trees had become established the next stage was erecting the hoops and wire-work over the trees to support the netting & covers needed to protect the crop from the birds & rain.

Early 2009 - Rain Covers

The next stage before our first harvest was to protect the crop from exposure to the heavy rainfall Somerset typically sees by installing rain covers. In wet seasons especially, without the covers, the majority of the crop would split and subsequently rot.

Summer 2009 - First Harvest

Our first cherry season was largely spent working out what to do and getting the word out there that Somerset finally had some fresh local cherries for sale! We tried all kinds of things to see what worked, from selling in lay-bys to the Donyatt Duck Race! By the end of the first harvest, we had established a small but loyal customer base that became our foundation.

2010 - Second Harvest

Having learnt from our first harvest, we significantly improved the Farm Shop and how we operated in general.

2011 - Farmers' Markets

As the trees matured our crop yields grew to the point where in 2011 we were able to start taking our cherries to local markets, where Robert acted the part of the mad cherry farmer!

2012 - Frost Guard

To protect the blossom, we invested in a "Frost Guard" system. We also bought a weather station which sets off an alarm when the temperature drops close to zero. One of us then rushes out in the middle of the night to fire up the machine which blows warm air through the orchard, preventing frost damage which could otherwise destroy part of the potential crop.

2013 - Pruning

While pruning is something we do every year, 2013 was the first year a significant amount of wood had to be removed from the trees as they were approaching their 8th birthday.

2014 - More Planting

To help with pollination, we decided to plant some extra varieties in-between our existing trees down the centre of some of the rows... with the help of our new pup 'Saphie'.

2016 - Grubbing & Solar Panels

During this harvest a new pest, Spotted Wing Drosophila, emerged in the UK; it devastated ‘Penny’, so we grubbed them and replanted with more Regina and Summersun. We also invested in a set of new solar panels as part of our efforts to move toward more sustainable farming methods, helping to offset the farm's power-hungry cold store & other demands.

Spring 2020 - New Farm Shop Construction

Following the Coronavirus outbreak, we decided to completely redesign the Farm Shop with social distancing and efficiency in mind, and improving on what we had learnt over the past 10 years. Once the decision on how the farm was going to deal with COVID, Edmund spent most of May designing the farm shop and then with Robert, spent pretty much all of June constructing it, right up to, and a little bit beyond, the start of the harvest.

Summer 2020 - Bumper Crop

Thanks largely to a wonderful spring during the first lockdown we had the most amazing crop in 2020. The challenge was then to not let the crop go to waste with most farmers' markets still closed and some people still frightened to leave their homes. Thankfully, ITV West Country News decided to do a report on our bumper crop and we were quickly overwhelmed with customers!

2021 - Fibre Punnets

As part of our commitment to sustainability, we finally took delivery of our first batch of fibre 1kg punnets. Made from the same material as egg boxes, using 100% recycled fibres and are 100% recyclable, these are a marvellous alternative that is not only better for the environment but also appears to keep the fruit fresher for longer! We had hoped to get these new punnets in sooner but the pandemic delayed our plans.

2022 - Post Pandemic

With things starting to get back to normal we were able to fully stock out the shop again with cherry related items and Sophie's crafts. We were also able to partake in the Somerset Food Trail, holding two orchard tours on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year. In the spring, as part of our efforts to move toward more sustainable farming methods, we invested in an electric lawn tractor for our cherry orchard which will save an estimated half a ton of CO₂ per year.