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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Sweeter strawberries after 'perfect' spring
Record-breaking spring sunshine and "perfect" conditions are producing larger and sweeter strawberries, says one West Sussex grower. Provisional Met Office figures show the UK experienced its warmest spring on record and its driest in over half a century in 2025. Bartosz Pinkosz, operations director at The Summer Berry Company, said daytime sunshine and cooler nights in March, April and May "positively influenced our growing conditions". The company, based at Groves Farm near Chichester, uses reservoirs to help protect against droughts. Mr Pinkosz said: "What we have observed this year is the perfect conditions to develop ideal berries, which are bigger, tastier, and with better shelf life." The Summer Berry Company has 300 acres of polytunnels, according to Mr Pinkosz. The company also has 62 acres of glasshouses for producing a winter crop of the fruit, and says it supplies most major UK retailers. Despite the bumper 2025 crop, Mr Pinkosz warned that climate change "potentially has a negative impact on growing fruit". "No fruit, in my experience, likes too hot conditions or too wet conditions," he said. The company has, however, designed new varieties of strawberry, which it hopes will allow it to keep producing berries in harsher conditions. Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. UK's spring was warmest on record, Met Office says Pleas to 'use water wisely' to avoid hosepipe ban Farmer's yield concerns after no 'meaningful rain' 'Difficult year' for farmers as annual show begins Met Office
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Sweeter strawberries after 'perfect' spring
Record-breaking spring sunshine and "perfect" conditions are producing larger and sweeter strawberries, says one West Sussex grower. Provisional Met Office figures show the UK experienced its warmest spring on record and its driest in over half a century in 2025. Bartosz Pinkosz, operations director at The Summer Berry Company, said daytime sunshine and cooler nights in March, April and May "positively influenced our growing conditions". The company, based at Groves Farm near Chichester, uses reservoirs to help protect against droughts. Mr Pinkosz said: "What we have observed this year is the perfect conditions to develop ideal berries, which are bigger, tastier, and with better shelf life." The Summer Berry Company has 300 acres of polytunnels, according to Mr Pinkosz. The company also has 62 acres of glasshouses for producing a winter crop of the fruit, and says it supplies most major UK retailers. Despite the bumper 2025 crop, Mr Pinkosz warned that climate change "potentially has a negative impact on growing fruit". "No fruit, in my experience, likes too hot conditions or too wet conditions," he said. The company has, however, designed new varieties of strawberry, which it hopes will allow it to keep producing berries in harsher conditions. Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. UK's spring was warmest on record, Met Office says Pleas to 'use water wisely' to avoid hosepipe ban Farmer's yield concerns after no 'meaningful rain' 'Difficult year' for farmers as annual show begins Met Office
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Chichester grower sees larger strawberries after 'perfect' spring
Record-breaking spring sunshine and "perfect" conditions are producing larger and sweeter strawberries, says one West Sussex Met Office figures show the UK experienced its warmest spring on record and its driest in over half a century in Pinkosz, operations director at The Summer Berry Company, said daytime sunshine and cooler nights in March, April and May "positively influenced our growing conditions".The company, based at Groves Farm near Chichester, uses reservoirs to help protect against droughts. Mr Pinkosz said: "What we have observed this year is the perfect conditions to develop ideal berries, which are bigger, tastier, and with better shelf life."The Summer Berry Company has 300 acres of polytunnels, according to Mr company also has 62 acres of glasshouses for producing a winter crop of the fruit, and says it supplies most major UK the bumper 2025 crop, Mr Pinkosz warned that climate change "potentially has a negative impact on growing fruit"."No fruit, in my experience, likes too hot conditions or too wet conditions," he company has, however, designed new varieties of strawberry, which it hopes will allow it to keep producing berries in harsher conditions.
Irish Daily Mirror
20-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish supermarket strawberry warning as experts 'not seen this in 19 years'
Strawberries are a staple in Irish homes, especially during the sunny spells we've been enjoying lately - perfect for picnics, desserts or just a fresh snack. Ireland takes pride in growing its own delicious strawberries, which are famous for their juicy sweetness and fresh-from-the-field flavour. But when you're shopping in supermarkets across the country, you'll often find a choice between homegrown Irish berries and imported ones from the UK and other countries. For those buying imported strawberries from the UK, an alert has been issued this summer about a so-called "giant" bumper crop in England. The strawberries this year are reportedly huge, with growers admitting some may not even fit in your mouth. UK growers told The Guardian that they have "never seen anything like it." Bartosz Pinkosz, operations director at the Summer Berry Company, said: "We had the darkest January and February since the 70s but then the brightest March and April since 1910. From March onwards it was really kind of perfect for tunnel strawberries. The berries are between 10% and 20% larger." He added that their plants are yielding "giant" 50g berries you "cannot fit in your mouth", Birmingham Live reports. Nick Marston, chair of British Berry Growers, said: "We're seeing very good size, shape, appearance, and most of all, really great flavour and sugar content, which is what consumers want when they buy British strawberries." He also cautioned: "I'm always a little cautious of saying strawberries are 20% bigger because there's an average involved and some crops will be slightly smaller than others. But I think it would be fair to say the very nice sunshine, the cool overnight temperatures, are ideal for fruit development. The slower the development of the fruits, the more time to expand the cells and create the bigger berry. What we are now seeing is something I have never seen in 19 years, which is consistently larger berries." Marston also raised concerns about water shortages that could affect some growers, saying: "It has been a perfect start to the strawberry season for us ... I have genuinely never seen a harvest produce such large berries consistently. Some are supersized - growing to the size of plums or even kiwi fruits." Closer to home, Jimmy Kearns, owner of Kearns Fruit Farm near Enniscorthy, told the Sunday Independent that Irish strawberries are expected to ripen earlier this summer thanks to the current dry spell. He said: "This year has been exceptionally good and we expect we could have a fresh crop ready for the shops two weeks earlier than usual. "I reckon we will be picking in the tunnels in early May. Irish people will be looking forward to their fruit, because the Spanish crop has really suffered from terrible storms, and growers in Egypt and Morocco have also had a bad season." Vincent Murphy of VM Fruits in Clonroche, Co Wexford, said the "perfect" weather with plenty of daylight "makes the plants happy". Around 80% of his crop is bought by Dunnes Stores, and he predicts roadside strawberry stands will be appearing earlier this year.
Metro
19-05-2025
- Business
- Metro
Supersize strawberries 'as big as kiwi fruit' set to hit shop shelves
The UK's exceptionally sunny spring is about to make an exciting change to your supermarket shop: strawberries so big, you may struggle to eat them. An unusually bright start to 2025 means they're naturally supersized this year, so you won't even have to pay extra for these chunky strawbs. Growers have said the fruits are ending up 10 to 20% larger than average, and with British strawberry season about to begin, your supermarket shop may soon look a little different. Bartosz Pinkosz, operations director at the Summer Berry Company, said: . 'Last week marked my nineteenth year of working in the berry industry – and during this time I have genuinely never seen a harvest produce such large berries consistently. Some are supersized – up to 30% larger than previous years, growing to the size of plums or even kiwi fruits.' The average is still 30g, he said, so not all the strawberries you see will be monsters – but it's promising if you love a traditional bowl of strawberries and cream while watching Wimbledon. Duncan Robertson, the founder of Dogtooth, a company making robot fruit pickers which are already in action on UK farms picking berries 24/7, told Metro they had seen some very large berries 'on occasion' this year. He said his robots are prepared for any size of strawberry, and could even work more efficiently if berries are bigger. 'The robot has been optimised to work with berries of all sizes – and because the time taken to pick a berry is nearly independent of its size, larger berries mean that the robot can harvest more kilograms per hour,' he said. But he warned that the largest berries might mean the robot has to slow its arms down or risk 'flinging fruit at passers by'. 2025 has seen an exceptionally sunny spring, the Met Office said, and this has been good for growing. Most regions have seen far less rainfall than usual, with bright days and cool nights: April was the sunniest on record for the UK since records began in 1910. Strawberries grow best in mild and sunny conditions, between 15 to 25°C, so the UK's weather so far has fit the bill. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Nick Marston, chairman of British Berry Growers which represents UK strawberry farmers, said: 'This year's early season strawberries are looking exceptional in both flavour and form. The warm weather, high light levels, and active pollination have come together beautifully. We're expecting a strong yield and outstanding taste quality this season.' Peter Judge, group managing director at S&A Produce, added: 'The warmer, sunnier bursts interspersed with cooler snaps earlier in the year allowed the crop to develop slowly. This has supported the creation of strong root systems, which create a really strong engine for the plants to grow fantastic fruit with excellent levels of natural sugars.' While big and sweet strawberries will probably be welcome, it also means that millions of households have already been put on notice for a potential drought, due to the sparse rainfall, however. Chris Weston, the leader of Thames Water, said the company is doing 'all we need to' to prepare for potential water shortages. More Trending Three years ago the firm came 'dangerously close' to running out of water for its 16million customers during record summer heatwaves. Explaining the weather, forecasters said 'large areas of high pressure, often extending from the Azores or mainland Europe, have lingered over or near the UK for extended periods since late February. 'High pressure typically brings settled, dry weather, and while it's not unusual to see such pressure systems in spring, their persistence this year has been more pronounced than usual. 'This spring, the jet stream has taken a more meandering path, often looping north of the UK. This has allowed high pressure to remain in place for longer stretches, effectively blocking the usual progression of weather fronts.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page.
