British strawberries could soon be on supermarket shelves all year round - whatever the weather.
Producers hope new “vertical” growing techniques should extend the British strawberry season from March to November throughout the winter months.
The strawberries will be produced in vertically stacked beds indoors, with plants watered using a hydroponic feed. It means the berries will grow in water, without soil, with plants layered on top of each other in a series of tiers.
The system, hailed as more eco-friendly than normal methods, uses 95 per cent less water and reduces global imports.
The strawberry season was only six weeks long 25 years ago, but industry investment has extended this period to up to nine months. Around 70 per cent of all strawberries now sold in the UK are homegrown. But lack of natural daylight limits the season beyond November.
Lincolnshire based Jones Food Company, which is set to open the world’s biggest indoor vertical growing farm near Lydney, Glos, later this year, is producing the strawberries with UK fruit grower Berry Gardens. The first crop is likely to be in the shops by winter 2023.
Latest figures show Britons are buying more fresh strawberries than ever before. Last year we spent £772million on them, 10 per cent up on 2020.
Jones Food Company boss and founder James Lloyd-Jones said: “British agriculture has traditionally been limited by seasonality but this collaboration looks to get us to a point where UK consumers can buy fresh homegrown strawberries throughout the winter and year round.
“Vertical farming not only benefits the environment but also the economy. Out food supply chain is under significant stress, rising costs of energy, fertiliser and food are all regular and consistent concerns, so vertical farming is undoubtedly a vital part of the UK’s farming future.”
Nick Allen of Berry Gardens, based in Maidstone, Kent, said: “Like most of the industry we are actively looking for ways we can become more sustainable across our business.”
