Topping
After the picking season the plants are topped to regenerate growth.
Weeding
The fight against weeds continues all the year round!
New plants
We put new plants in every year on a 3 year cycle.
The first year of fruiting is their maiden year when they produce a light crop. This is followed
by 2 or 3 main cropping years.
Plants
When the plants arrive from Norfolk the roots have to be trimmed by hand to ensure that the
roots drop straight down from the planter into the soil. We plant in the region of 8 or 10,000 each year, approximately 1 acre. This will include several varieties designed to cover a 4 or 6 week picking season, depending on the weather of course!
Planting
The land is cultivated and planting takes about a day, if all goes
well, using a 2 row tractor pulled planter.
After planting
Afterwards the plants are rolled to firm the roots into the ground.
Irrigation
If it is dry the plants have to irrigated to help them become established.
Strawing
Well before the fruit is ripe, the plants are strawed.
The straw stops the fruit falling on the soil and also keeps in the moisture.
First the straw is fed through the machine down on to the rows.
Then it has to be spread out carefully by hand.
Irrigating
The plants often need to be watered otherwise they become under stress and will not produce good
fruit. Occasionally if it is very hot they are even given a small amount of water at the peak of the
season when they are in full fruit.
Professional pickers come in at 5.30 am each morning to pick for the
shops.
We pick whatever the weather!
Some customers like to buy the ready picked fruit.
Others like to pick their own.
.......and are not put off by bad weather!
|
