A Bedfordshire chilli grower has won a £1,000 grant from the county’s growth fund to develop her business into a pick-your-own (PYO) vegetable centre.
The Bedfordshire Growth Fund award recipient, Joanna Plumb of Edible Ornamentals, based at Cherwood Nursery in Chawston, already grows 40 different varieties of chilli on the three-acre site in Bedfordshire - the UK’s chilli-growing hot spot.
Plumb prepares a range of chilli sauces at her on-site kitchen and these are distributed to a local Waitrose store, farm shops and farmers’ markets.
However, her aspirations are for greater growth. She said: “Customers from far and wide come to us for fresh chillies and young chilli plants, as well as the sauces, but I want to build on our success.
“My vision is for Cherwood Nursery to become Bedfordshire’s first PYO vegetable centre. Families will be able to visit, borrow wellies and a wheelbarrow and revel in the experience of picking not only fresh chillies, but also aubergines, peppers, courgettes and sweetcorn.”
Edible Ornamentals has been trading since 2001 and is a member of Tastes of Bedfordshire, which supports and promotes local food producers. Planting is in full swing and Plumb calculates the season’s first crops will be ready for picking in June.
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