Many of you will have noticed the strawberries of the New Forest Fruit Farm in the Village Veg shop. You may have also noticed their strawberry snacks bags containing pulse dried strawberries. This  business is on the Beaulieu estate in East Boldre.

 

You would not believe how hi tec strawberries have become. This company has rapidly grown from 50 tons of Strawberries to 2000 tons. The Snacks idea is a brilliant way to use up strawberries that are surplus to requirements and more importantly seconds/mishapes that would normally be thrown away.

 

The operation is a masterclass in maximising the space available and coaxing as long a growing season as possible. The extensive use of polytunnels has made the difference. Inside the polytunnels are a number of extremely clever automations. The rows are raised to tend the strawberries, to follow the sun, and to lay flat out for the strawberries to get maximum light.The watering systems are fully automated and the use of soil contents add to the efficiencies. 

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Looking at other fruit and veg to extend the scope of the business, they have applied the same principles to vines and discovered that instead of taking 5 years to begin producing grapes with normal growing methods, this method enables grapes to be harvested in year 1. They have a brand for their Wines, B58.

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They also apply poly tunnel techniques to asparagus and are producing the Country's earliest asparagus. You can see how far the asparagus polytunnels extend in the photograph below.​

 

A final point is that the soil moves from growing strawberries to growing vines to growing asparagus, optimising the goodness in the soil. They also are  with other soft fruits, raspberries and blueberries. There are up to 450 people working there for much of the year. I think we came away stunned by the sheer scale of the New Forest Fruit Farm operation in Boldre. Many thanks to Jackie Barr for organising the visit and ​to Vlad, a 20 year veteran with fantastic knowledge and enthusiasm for hosting.​

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Many thanks to Ken for finding such a fascinating company on our doorstep.