The start of Wimbledon means that summer is finally here, and what better way to celebrate than with the obligatory strawberries and cream while watching your favourite players at the Tennis Championships! As a leading supplier to Wm Morrison’s, we are working hard to provide the freshest produce possible, and here we take a closer look at our patented strawberry growing process.

 

Starting out strong

It all starts in early spring for our soft fruit, as we plant our strawberries in well-irrigated, nutrient dense grow bags. We regularly monitor our soil pH and nutritional density to ensure each plant has the very best start.

 

 

From plant to punnet

Due to the sheer quantity of fruit that we produce and process, we require vast teams of pickers with an expert eye for quality. Each strawberry plant is checked daily for fruits, and their quality and size must be carefully assessed even before the fruit is picked. Once our trained teams are satisfied that a strawberry has reached full maturity and optimum taste, it is handpicked from plant to punnet ready for processing within our pack house.

 

Same day dispatch

Once picked from the strawberry plant, the strawberries are then taken to the pack house where they undergo rapid cooling to maintain the maximum fruit quality. Our pack house can process over 8,400 punnets of fruit per hour, and each piece of fruit is handpicked here on our farms. Every punnet of strawberries is weighed, checked and labelled ready to be dispatched to the supermarket within hours of picking to provide the freshest produce possible.

Want to know more about our strawberry produce or join the national brands that enjoy our soft fruits?

Please don’t hesitate to drop us a line at: hello@ecdrummond.co.uk