Grower New Forest Fruit has used modern techniques to extend the British season
Waitrose has begun stocking British asparagus this week – eight weeks earlier than usual.
The extra-early asparagus, which went into stores from 26 February, is the result of advances in growing techniques that have enabled Waitrose’s supplier to extend the British season.
Grower New Forest Fruit, supplying via Primafruit, has supplied the retailer with the early crop. It can be found exclusively in 15 Waitrose stores for £3.50 this month, with stock availability building from March, into April and full availability expected by the end of April/May.
Sandy Booth of New Forest Fruit explained: “We’ve been developing our asparagus plantation and using microbiology to create the richest possible compost for our asparagus. By keeping the roots warmer throughout the winter, we’ve been able to deliver the earliest-ever harvest for Waitrose.
“By using recycled compost from our strawberry crops, we’re able to reuse around 4.5 million litres of leftover matter and use microbiology to create the richest possible compost for our asparagus.”
The launch comes as Waitrose reports vigorous consumer demand for the crop. “We’ve seen phenomenal demand for asparagus at Waitrose already this year with sales up 50 per cent,” said the supermarket’s vegetable buyer Sam Witherington, “We know how much our customers enjoy home-grown British asparagus, which is why we’re delighted to be the first retailer to have this year’s harvest on our shelves.”
Underlining the popularity of the product, the retailer revealed that compared to this time last year, searches on Waitrose.com for ’asparagus’ are up 120 per cent and ’asparagus tips’ are up 99 per cent.
On Waitrose.com over the past month, searches for asparagus recipes are up 133 per cent, with ‘Asparagus, salad onion & basil risotto’ rising 200 per cent, ‘Green panzanella with poppy seed croutons (with asparagus)’ up 50 per cent, and ‘Asparagus with green harissa & tahini’ up 32 per cent.
