Monthly Archives: January 2017

HTA to continue ‘Plant of the Moment’ for 2017

The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) has announced that its successful ‘Plant of the Moment’ campaign will continue through 2017.

Launched at the start of last year, the consumer campaign was designed to run for two years from January 2016 to December 2017. Month by month this promotional plant calendar highlights planting ideas as well as plants at their best to help customers create gardens that are full of colour and interest throughout the year.

The campaign includes a calendar of themes, such as creating a winter wonderland and ‘berried’ treasure, which was designed in collaboration with consultant and journalist Adam Pasco and agreed with UK growers and retailers.

For 2017 the campaign begins with a winter wonderland theme including the top four plants for producing winter flowers: Witch Hazel (Hamamelis varieties); Oregon Grape (Mahonia varieties); Winter Flowering Viburnum (Viburnum x bodnantense) and Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger).

Photo Caption: Witch hazel is one of the highlighted plants for January

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

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New powder helps keep fruit fresh

A Californian company, Apeel Sciences, is developing a new naturally-derived post harvest coating which will keep produce fresher for longer and help reduce waste.

Edipeel is entirely invisible, tasteless and edible. When it is applied to the surface of plants, it provides a protective layer that reduces the oxidation and transpiration that cause produce to wither and become discoloured. The product itself is made from vegetable waste.

In an interview, James Rogers, CEO and founder of Apeel, explained that while the product, which has been approved by the USA’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is distributed as a powder in packets, it is applied as a dip or a spray. ““We rip [the packets]open…and then we reconstitute them in liquid form. In that liquid form, we can then dip fresh produce in that solution or spray that solution onto a surface of a piece of produce. When it dries, it leaves behind this imperceptibly thin barrier of plant material on the outside of the produce,” he said.

The company has raised $40 million to develop the technology and is also working on a pre-harvest version to reduce pesticide use.

Photo Credit: Apeel Sciences

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School children barely eating 1 of 5-a-day

A quarter of secondary school age children eat less than one portion of veg a day, according to a recent survey by the Food Foundation. The claim came in its November Veg Facts briefing which also highlighted issues such as the increasing reliance on fresh produce and the need for labour to harvest UK vegetables.

Anna Taylor, from the Food Foundation, told the Sunday Times, “We are facing a massive diet-related crisis among our young people. They are eating the same level of veg as in the 1970s. The five-a-day campaign has had no impact.

“The combination of higher food prices and pressure on UK horticulture production, in a situation where our children are already eating much too little veg, threatens to make our children’s diets even worse than they already are.”

Laura Sandys, former MP and Chair of the Food Foundation added, “Our food system makes it too hard for us to eat enough veg. 5 A Day is a great consumer awareness campaign but it has had no impact on our consumption of veg, which has gone down in recent years. Veg needs a major facelift with the best brains in advertising needed to make it a super desirable treat.”

Photo Credit: Flickrv

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