Locations: Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex
Produce: Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries
The family-run Hall Hunter Partnership (HHP) is located in Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex, and is a leading UK grower of top quality berries for supermarkets including Waitrose, Marks and Spencer, Tesco and the Co-Op. During the harvest season the farm employs more than 2,000 workers spread across eight production sites, five farms and three plant nurseries.
The strawberries grown are available to pick from March-December, raspberries and blackberries follow from April-November and blueberries from June-October.
The varieties of berries are chosen carefully in order for the farm to continually improve the quality of their produce for their customers. When choosing a variety of berry to grow, Harry and his team look at flavour, shelf life and appearance.
The majority of the berries are grown in poly-tunnels or in glasshouses, however around 40% of the blueberries are grown in open poly-tunnels and glasshouses because they are hardy berries and they increase pollination. Both poly-tunnels and open poly-tunnels provide the ideal growing environment and enable the farm to grow top quality fruit protected from weather damage.
HHP are fully accredited members of LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming). The farms grow crops in fields with many predatory insects managing pests such as aphids. To support these communities of insects, the farm fields are separated with hedges and beetle banks. In addition wildflower areas and woodland have been incorporated in order to support as wide a variety of birds and mammals in each field.