Sterling Suffolk, the new tomato nursery being built at Great Blakenham in Suffolk, says that it is on track to plant the first crops this winter with a view to harvesting the first on-the-vine tomatoes from mid-February 2019.

The first 5.6 ha phase of what is eventually intended to be an 17 ha site, including glasshouses, packing facilities and offices, is now well under construction and according to the company the 8.3 m tall structure will be ‘the most environmentally efficient glasshouse in the UK.’

Originally the nursery planned to use surplus heat from a new waste disposal incinerator being built nearby, but in March 2016 it said that government changes to the Renewable Heat Incentive meant that this option could not be investigated immediately.

Sterling Suffolk Ltd Director Cliff Matthews told the Ipswich Star: ““This is agriculture on an industrial scale. There is an art and science to growing tomatoes and we have a very good expert involved, Richard Lewis, one of the best in the UK. We aim to produce 50,000 vines per week. It is more about the taste than the quantity. These will be top of the range quality.”

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

The post First tomato crop at Sterling Suffolk to be planted in December appeared first on Hort News on 18 July 2018.