logo
Will 2025 be a sweet year for strawberry growers and consumers?

Will 2025 be a sweet year for strawberry growers and consumers?

Yahoo18-05-2025

The UK's strawberry season is off to a "stonking start", according to one grower, with warm days and cooler nights meaning they are sweeter than usual.
Marion Regan, managing director of Kent-based Hugh Lowe Farms, told the BBC that a "glorious spring" this year had contributed to a "really good crop" of the fruit.
That is good news for strawberry lovers, including those attending Wimbledon this year - one of Hugh Lowe Farms' clients.
This spring is currently ranking as the driest in over a century, according to the Met Office, with the Environment Agency recently warning there is a "medium" risk of a summer drought.
Ms Regan, who has been growing strawberries for more than 50 years, said she was noticing that this year's were a "good size" so far but that the "most marked thing" was their sweetness.
A combination of warm days and cool nights are known to make strawberries sweeter. The lower night temperatures allow them to rest and put the energy they have gained during the day into producing more natural sugars.
However, Ms Regan said it remained to be seen what the rest of their growing season - which lasts until November - would bring.
Asked about the warnings over potential drought conditions, she said that she, like all good soft fruit growers, have irrigation systems in place to mitigate the effects of extreme weather and to ensure their crops get a steady supply with water.
Nevertheless, some help from mother nature would not go amiss.
"All farmers could do with the rain, it would be nice," she added.
Pauline Goodall, a strawberry farmer from Limington in Somerset, told the BBC earlier this month that a warmer than average start to May was having a noticeable effect on the timing of this year's harvest.
"They're just ripening at a phenomenal rate," she said of her strawberries.
The Summer Berry Company, based in Colworth near Chichester, recently said that the warmer weather had helped increase its production to 200 tonnes – 50 tonnes more than by the same time last year - and that the plants were producing "lush-sweet tasting fruit".
This all bodes well for consumers keen to get their berry fix over summer, but how should we be making the most of these sweet flavours?
While some people may prefer to keep it classic with cream, there are other options available for those who are looking to be more adventurous.
According to the BBC Food, a little black pepper or balsamic vinegar helps to give them more flavour, while pairing them with some form of chilli can help balance the flavours out.
This year marks a very different start to the strawberry-growing season than in 2024, when the fruit was delayed in ripening following one of the wettest winters on record. Scientists have said climate change was a major factor in this weather.
It is also well-established that human-caused climate change is making spells of hot weather more likely, and that hot days have become more common in the UK.
Over the decade 2014-2023, days exceeded 28C more than twice as often as the 1961-1990 average, according to the Met Office.
BBC Weather forecaster Chris Fawkes said the coming week should provide some good strawberry-growing weather with long spells of sunshine and cool nights.
A few showers could come in the first half of the week, and some could turn to thunder and hail, which would not be welcomed by growers although the risk to individual farms would be very low.
A change in weather patterns next weekend and the following week would lead to rain becoming widespread, which would "probably welcomed by farmers given that this spring is likely to be the driest in over a century", he added.
Four ways your plants could be affected by hot spring weather
'Warm weather means strawberries are Easter ready'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

When and where Saharan dust storm and 'blood rain' could hit the UK this week
When and where Saharan dust storm and 'blood rain' could hit the UK this week

Yahoo

time17 hours ago

  • Yahoo

When and where Saharan dust storm and 'blood rain' could hit the UK this week

The UK's topsy-turvy weather is set to continue this week, with forecasters hinting at the possibility of 'blood rain' heading to UK shores. A brief blast of heat is expected for much of the country later in the coming days - only to quickly be replaced by torrential rain. And, what's more, it is predicted the downpours will bring with it some Saharan dust. Here, Yahoo News UK looks at exactly what Saharan dust is and what it could mean for the coming days. It's a mixture of sand, detritus and dust from the Sahara Desert that have been blown thousands of miles by strong winds in the upper part of the atmosphere as far north as British shores. However, for it to end up on the ground, it needs to be carried there by a meteorological vehicle, such as rain. According to the Met Office, Britain's official forecaster: "As raindrops fall, they collect particles of dust on the way down. Then when the raindrops land on something and eventually evaporate, they leave behind a layer of dust." This is sometimes referred to as 'blood rain'. According to Met Office forecasters, there are currently "hints of a little bit of Saharan dust in the atmosphere on Thursday and perhaps Friday". Thunderstorms forecast for later in the week will "potentially wash any sand out of the atmosphere". Heavy rain is currently expected to start in Northern Ireland, western Wales and south west England on Wednesday night, before moving north and east over Thursday. This is then predicted to be followed by a second band of rain following the same pattern over Friday and Saturday. However, downpours are also expected to be preceded by high temperatures, reaching almost 30C in parts of southern and central England. Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Mike Silverstone, said: 'After largely benign weather early in the week, some intense, thundery showers will move in on Wednesday evening. "These thunderstorms are being triggered by some warm, humid air that is moving into the UK from the south. The intense rainfall could see 20-40mm accumulating over just a few hours, which could cause some disruption. "While there are no severe weather warnings issued at the moment, it is possible thunderstorm warnings may be issued this week.' The most obvious impact most will see from 'blood rain' is a reddish residue left on cars, pavements and garden furniture. In 2022, Saharan dust left a red tinge to snow at ski resorts in the French Pyrenees, while staff at Legoland in Germany had to deploy jet washers to hose down attractions before visitors arrived. BBC weather presenter Carol Kirkwood advised the public to keep an eye out for "impressive sunrise/sets" as a result of the phenomenon. However, it can also have more serious consequences, particularly for people with respiratory conditions, such as asthma, COPD or bronchitis. 'If there's a lot of air pollution in the air [and] if you have a pre-existing lung condition, those fine particles can get into your airway and irritate airways that may already be inflamed," said Karen Spillett, deputy head of health advice at Asthma and Lung UK. "If you're out and about and you have a reliever inhaler, make sure you've got that reliever inhaler with you.' She added: 'If you do start to get symptoms — that might be coughing, wheezing, tightness across your chest, feeling a bit more breathless — you can take that reliever inhaler and that can hopefully help with your symptoms.' One of the last widespread instances of Saharan dust affecting Europe was in March 2022, when parts of Germany, Spain and France all found themselves blanketed with a layer of red debris. But it has also struck more recently, such as last month, when the phenomenon left a brown haze hanging over Athens, the Greek capital. And last year, dust clouds over Italy saw temperatures in June approach 40C. Closer to the dust's starting point, in Africa, a dust storm in Senegalese capital Dakar shortly before Christmas reduced visibility to less than 500 metres.

Spring storms challenge Four States farmers
Spring storms challenge Four States farmers

Yahoo

time18 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Spring storms challenge Four States farmers

CRAWFORD, Co., Kan. — Last night's weather moved through parts of the region, impacting farms crops in the Four States. Owners of Misty Morning Farms say the 'excess moisture' from spring-time storms, impacts and contributes to the struggle in-season produce like tomatoes, potatoes, and cucumbers see. Owner Charlie Phillips says other factors like high winds and lack of sunshine, can also cause damage. But he says they've been in business for about ten years and are from the area, so they anticipate the impacts of the weather here in the Four States. And while weather can bring setbacks to their crops, it's something they've learned to manage. 'Mother Nature is always in control, but, you know, we do have fairly decent drainage or we try to have better drainage with our stuff. We still lose product or crops because of the excess rainfall, right now it's you know, there's only so much you can do when it rains, you know, every other day,' said Charlie Phillips, Misty Morning Farms Co-owner. Phillips says they plan to open a store – on their farm – sometime in the near future – right now rain is hindering that process so they will continue to sell their produce at area farmer's markets. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Blast of North African Heat to Bake European Capitals This Week
Blast of North African Heat to Bake European Capitals This Week

Bloomberg

time2 days ago

  • Bloomberg

Blast of North African Heat to Bake European Capitals This Week

Europe is set for unseasonably warm and humid weather this week, as a stream of hot air is funneled in from North Africa. The heat is already hitting Iberia, with parts of Spain climbing to as high as 40C (104F) on Monday. The warmth will spread north over the week, potentially bringing the highest temperatures of the year to the UK, France, Germany and Italy, according to MetDesk meteorologist Daniel Gardner-Declaudure.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store