Last week, growers of the Norwegian Gartnerhallen Cooperative harvested 200 tonnes of new potatoes. Ninety percent of these were sent to their client on the day of harvest. "We do everything in our power to shorten the distance from field to table", says Knut Salve Lunden. He is responsible for the new potatoes sector. His farm is in the Grimstad region, on the southern coast of Norway. There he cultivates Juno, Solist and Hassel potato varieties. Within a few hectic hours, 25 tonnes of potatoes leave the packing plant in Reddal.
Good potato season
The Norwegian season lasts for about two months. In the north of the country, potatoes were only sown recently. This means new potatoes will be available into early autumn. The drought still caused problems here and there. However, the combination of the long winter and warm spring was beneficial for potato farmers. "We planted in March and April. Usually, it takes two months before the potatoes are ready to be harvested. Now, this only took 50 to 55 days. We normally use fibre cloth to protect the plants against night frost. This year, due to the late spring, we had no problems with night frost. This is good for the new potatoes", concludes Lunden.
Source: gartnerhallen.no