Warm dry weather last week has not done much to allay vegetable growers’ fears over their summer crops as concern starts to grow for winter lines.
Agronomist Phillip Effingham at GreenTech Consultancy said: “The warm weather restored volumes on broccoli and cauliflower, but it is going to be a very volatile season going forward.” He fears that plantings between April and July have not necessarily gone into the ground in the best conditions.
Effingham said: “The windows for planting have been very varied and growers have just had to plant when they could and in some cases it has been wetter than it should have been. This has led to some lazy roots that have not needed to develop, consequently if it does get warm again, they will be more vulnerable. For example, this could be a bit of a worry for Brussels sprouts.”
In the South West of England, growers are warning that disrupted plantings will mean a shortage of winter cauliflower for the marketplace in December and January.
One told freshinfo: “Plantings went in three weeks late and that will have a dramatic effect on the pre-Christmas and January varieties.” The cool damp autumn that is forecast would also have a detrimental effect on brassica crops. The grower said: “If that happens the cauliflower plants will have trouble making the frame to protect the curds. Some of the retailers are already looking to Spain for their programmes in December and January.”
