In the first episode we visit the fertile fenland of Lincolnshire, the vegetable capital of Britain. Gregg Wallace, a former greengrocer, and Philippa Forrester, science expert and home grower, join farmer Andrew Burgess at the start of the main potato harvest to see the struggle to grow, and gather in potatoes, still our favourite vegetable. The also experience how broccoli is picked and packed and a greenhouse where tomatoes can be harvested year round
Gregg and Philippa join farmer Tom Bradshaw at the start of his frantic wheat harvest. Stefan Gates reveals the biology behind the magic of seeds and how they germinate. Philippa explores the extraordinary precision and speed of the oil seed rape harvest that must be gathered in before a rain storm which could ruin a year's work. And we explore the grain harvest behind whisky, one of Britain's biggest exports.
We visit a pioneering cherry grower in idyllic Herefordshire. Gregg and Philippa join farmer Andy Hunt as his workers struggle to pick 40 million cherries by hand in just a few short weeks. Stefan Gates reveals why winter chill, pollination and ripening are so critical to a good crop. Gregg takes part in the Scottish strawberry harvest to discover if they can claim the sweetest strawberries in Britain. And Philippa discovers how blackcurrants must be harvested by extraordinary machines in a matter of a few hours before they ferment on the trees.
In this episode, the team reports from the east of the UK, where pioneering sweetcorn farmer Peter Barfoot has spent decades turning exotic veg into regular British fridge fillers, growing vegetables that many thought couldn't be grown here in Britain. This region's sunny climate and fertile soils has earned it a reputation as the bread-basket of Britain. Also in this episode, Gregg helps out with the winter sugar beet harvest and reveals just how much sugar is produced from our home soil. Philippa finds chillies so hot they need a health warning and visits the Tiptree strawberry fields to try a sweet treat – the Little Scarlet strawberry, used for making a very special jam, a favourite with James Bond. And newcomer to the harvest family, dairy and fruit farmer James Manning, visits a futuristic lettuce farm controlled by robots to see a cutting edge drilling machine that plants seedlings faster than the eye can see.
The team report from the north of the UK, where the Hay family in Perthshire, Scotland, are anxiously awaiting a dry spell to roll out their combine harvesters. Having recently pulled their last ever potato harvest, the Hays have now switched to cereals, in particular oats, the rising star of British grains. The climate and landscape can make this region notoriously difficult to farm, yet well-watered soil and long daylight hours also help make world-class produce. Gregg visits fruit grower Ross Mitchell, who is taking advantage of Scotland's long summer days to produce world-class blueberries. Philippa meets Robert Doig, a seed potato grower, and learns why Scotland's seed potatoes sell all over the globe. And James Manning visits Robert Craig, a Cumbrian dairy farmer who believes that meticulous attention to the growth of his rye grass can yield premium quality milk.
The team reports from the west, where three generations of the Thatcher family are about to begin harvesting their cider apples. The rolling countryside of the west of Britain gets more rainfall than the east, which is why these undulating hills and sweeping valleys are so lush—perfect for growing world-famous cider apples. The west is also a land of ingenuity and farming innovation. Gregg meets mushroom mogul Ronnie Monaghan at the largest mushroom farm in Europe where 30 tons are harvested every day. Philippa visits Gloucestershire farmer Jake Freestone's fields of blooming oilseed rape to witness the army of hungry insects he has to contend with. Finally James Manning heads to Shropshire, where Stephen Jones has been painting the countryside vivid yellow—this time with Quinoa, the latest super food to hit Britain.
