April in review

April.

The plants are almost ready to be picked, we are preparing them as much as possible

The glasshouse strawberries are ready to be picked and we are also preparing the tunnel crop for the summer peak.

The time has come to start picking our glasshouse strawberries; the first British strawberries for us in Norfolk for 2018.  Malling Centenary is ready first and we are picking in a 227g and 250g for our UK Supermarket customers.  By the end of April our Elsanta crop has started.  We haven’t had great weather after “The Beast from the East” and light levels aren’t too good.  The berries are ready though after a little delay from our usual start and the sweetness is coming through.

By the end of April the sun was out in force and we were picking high volumes of strawberries and the packhouse was extremely busy.

In late March we had to put fleece over the plants in the tunnels due to the cold weather, this helps to protect the crop and bring it on earlier; this month we are removing that to allow the plants to grow and mature.  Then the plants had their leaves tucked in under the tape and string structure we use so that the berries hang free to grow and colour up.  Picking and tucking jobs are paid on a ‘piece rate’ and this is an opportunity to earn great wages.  Most of our other husbandry jobs and jobs around the farm are hourly paid at the national wage level. 

April is when the farm really comes alive, with some of the largest groups of workers we have, the accommodation is full, the atmosphere is buzzing and people are willing to work hard and have fun whilst picking our strawberries