Multinational berry grower-marketer Driscoll’s announced the arrival of its autumn crop of Dutch-grown greenhouse blackberries yesterday (15 September).
Dutch growers Jan and Alfons Diepstraten harvested Driscoll’s first-ever Dutch greenhouse blackberries last spring after several years’ trialling, and have now started picking their inaugural autumn crop, Driscoll’s said in a statement.
This Dutch berry development is part of Driscoll’s strategy to extend the blackberry season in Northern Europe by producing in both spring and autumn in the Netherlands, the firm said.
“We first did some trials on a small scale to see how our blackberry varieties perform in a covered environment. This was a big success,” Lowie Claessens, Driscoll’s Agronomy & Applied Research Manager Northern Europe said in a statement.
“By growing in a controlled environment, in which we can adjust the climate ourselves, we are able to produce large volumes of sweet and tasty blackberries. Our glasshouse production enables us to grow closer to the Northern European market, this way we can deliver berries with a much longer shelf life to our consumers.”
Jan and Alfons Diepstraten were already growing Driscoll’s greenhouse strawberries when they embarked on Driscoll's blackberries.
“I did not expect the first year would already be such a success: not only in terms of volume, but also quality wise,” Jan Diepstraten said. “Now I have to make sure our team of pickers is also at full capacity in winter time.”
