The English asparagus season has officially started for Wye Valley, Cobrey Farm manager Ellis Whittel-Williams.
And with UK asparagus fresh-from-harvest last week, retailer Elsey & Bent Ltd held an asparagus spears barbecue demonstration at its stand in London’s Borough Market last Friday.
It may have been raining outside, but inside the taste and aroma was definitely one of summer with the barbecue cooking some of the first English asparagus of the year. Due to mild weather conditions, the asparagus season has been arriving earlier year after year, creating a certain amount of competition between growers and retailers alike.
Supplying mainly to Marks & Spencer, Wye Valley, Cobrey Farm also supplies Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons, as well as many wholesale markets. Whittel-Williams told FPJ: “As far as we know, the only other commercial grower as early as us is Rowe Farms. Our asparagus has just come onto the shelves this week and harvest finished last week.”
Wye Valley, Cobrey Farm is supplying the GijnLim asparagus variety, but will switch to selling the Backilim variety later on in the season. The early asparagus on display has been grown with a cloche - a small polytunnel 45cm high - over it. This is only for protection and does not excel the growing process, insulating the crop so if the temperature drops over-night the spears are protected.
Generating a price of 400p for a quarter of a kilo at Borough Market, the consumption of asparagus seems to increase every year. Whittel-Williams said: “This year looks good. We are harvesting 350 acres of asparagus this year with plans to plant another 100 acres, so by this time next year we will be harvesting 450 acres of asparagus.”
Wye Valley, Cobrey Farm mainly sells potatoes and onions, but the last five years it has been growing asparagus. The vegetables are processed on site at the farm and then distributed to supermarkets and wholesalers. Also pleased with the day was Elsey & Bent Ltd’s owner Peter Fowler. Elsey & Bent Ltd is a high-quality retailer of fresh fruit, vegetables and salads.
Whittel-Williams said of the asparagus promotion: “To get this kind of attention to the asparagus so early in the morning on a rainy day is pretty good. We need to get across that English asparagus is starting very early now.
“It will be more readily available in the coming weeks, but it is out there now, and now is the time to start looking.”
