Cauliflower, Savoy and spring green cabbage and kale are all in production at the moment in Cornwall while preparations are being made for new season planting.
“This has been a winter of frustrations,” said Greville Richards, CEO at Southern England Farms “Looking back at the last 12 months, from planting in February 2023 this has been the most difficult year that I have known. There has been a lot of rain, we didn’t see the flooding that growers in Scotland and Lincolnshire experienced and our over wintered crops will see us out until the end of May, but I have certainly seen it looking a lot better.”
Growers in Scotland and Lincolnshire have lost a percentage of their over-wintered cauliflower which was planted in July. These areas stop in December and start again mid-March but much of what was planted last year has died off in the floods.
“Here in Cornwall we can grow cauliflower 52 weeks of the year, there is a lot of demand for it and cauliflower from and Spain at the moment, but Spain also has its own problems such as water and labour. In the UK we saw a surge in inflation in 2022 and 2023, Spain is beginning to see it now.”
Cabbage also has good demand and Cornwall can grow spring green cabbage 52 weeks of the year, while pointed cabbage is only available from May to December then the UK looks to Spain for supply.
“We have customers who are asking for more spring green cabbage in place of pointed cabbage, everyone is looking at reducing their carbon footprint by importing less. We have seen our sales soar by 2/3 this year and we will expand production in 2024. I think more retailers will start to follow suit.”
Southern England Farms will again be planting Bellaverde broccoli in February, they have been growing this for a few years now. It is similar to other long-stem broccoli varieties but with no licencing agreements. The Bellaverde is well suited to the climate in Cornwall where there are no extreme temperatures and plenty of water for irrigation.
For more information:
Greville Richards
SEF
Tel: +44 1736 850066
Email: grev@sefltd.com
www.sefltd.com