Our guide to British horticulture

Did you know...

• British farmers produce 3.5m tonnes of fruit and vegetables every year – on 153,000 hectares of land.
• In addition, British farmers grow 14,000 hectares of plants and flowers.
• The farm gate value of UK fruit, vegetables, plants and flowers is around £3.5bn.
• The UK horticulture industry employs approximately 40,000 permanent workers, plus 70,000 seasonal workers each year. UK growers meet strict health and safety and welfare requirements through the Red Tractor and Ethical Trade Initiative assurance schemes. These regulations and standards are in place to not only protect worker welfare, but also to give you peace of mind that your food has been picked in an ethical environment. 
• Self-sufficiency of Fruit & Veg continues to decline each year.  Britain currently produce around 56% of the vegetables we consume and 16% of the fruit we consume.
• The government’s Eat Well Guide recommends 40% of our diet should be made up of fruits and vegetables – this is equivalent to 7-a-day.  Currently, UK consumers only eat on average 3 portions of fruit and veg a day.
•  One of the fastest growing sectors of UK horticulture is vines for wine production.

Innovation in horticulture

While some fruits and vegetables may be more abundant during certain seasons, farmers use a variety of methods to help extend the growing season. Not only does this mean that you can enjoy British produce for longer, it also reduces the need to import. Methods used by British farmers include:

Glasshouse technology

Glasshouses allow produce to be grown and controlled in a microenvironment where the temperature can be managed. Farmers are now utilising glasshouse technology even further by using LED lighting and renewable sources of heat.

Plant breeding

Plant breeding involves the farmer looking at the genes of different plant species and identifying which ones are the strongest. The farmer would then crossbreed two or more plants together to create a new crop that has a mix of those strong genes and traits that the farmer earlier identified. Sometimes plant breeding is done to make sure the produce has better hardiness at the end of the season and will last longer. 

Polytunnels

A polytunnel is a tunnel like structure, covered in plastic sheeting that is similar to a glasshouse. It allows the plants to grow in a much warmer temperature while protecting them from frost and weather damage to extend the growing season.

Environmental measures

Some farmers plant trees and hedges near growing crops to provide more shelter and protection from the weather.

Did you know...

• ​On average everyone in Britain eats nearly 9,000 peas per year.
• There are 35,000 hectares of peas grown in the UK each year, equivalent to about 70,000 football pitches. This produces about 160,000 tonnes of frozen peas - that's 2 billion 80 gram portions.

• We Brits eat our way through £290 million or 700,000 tonnes worth of carrots every year – that’s approximately 100 carrots per person.
• Each year 22 billion seeds are planted in Britain, producing around 100 carrots per year for every member of the population.

• Strawberries are high in fibre, low in calories and sugar, and contain no fat.

• The British blackberry season begins in July, reaches its peak in August and continues until the first frosts in November.

• Just one cup of raspberries contains 12% of your RDA of Vitamin K which supports healthy bones.

• British blueberries are available from June until September and the start of the season usually features the Duke variety. To guarantee local fruit can be supplied until late September, growers have planted special varieties for full flavour and a greater shelf life.

• 100g of cherries provide 25% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C.