British berries: Minimum damage, maximum yield

Consumers are, rightly, demanding ever higher standards of reliability of supply and quality of soft fruit. To meet these demands, it is no longer realistic or economic to grow soft fruit in the UK without protection from the weather.

As a result, the majority of British berries are grown under temporary ‘mini-greenhouses’ known as ‘polytunnels’. These provide protection and warmer temperatures for the plants so that they can cope with the vagaries of the British weather.

And it’s not just berries that are grown in this way – many other crops such as potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, lettuce, peppers, spinach, tomatoes and flowers are also cultivated using polytunnels.