Despite reports that organics are suffering at some retailers, a huge organic farming complex in Hampshire is thriving in these tough times.
Laverstoke Park at Overton in Hampshire is a 2,500-acre site which features a 133-acre site at Lymington for brassicas, salads, leeks, onion, potatoes and parsnips. All vegetables are propagated at the glasshouse site.
The three one-acre wide-span glasshouses were previously used for growing chrysanthemums and the soil improved with a programme of green manure, compost teas and biodynamic preparations to bring the soil back to life.
The glasshouses have a specialised water supply system which uses two collection ‘lagoons’ which hold one million litres of water.
The roofs can provide 11 cubic metres of water an hour in a typical UK rainfall situation. This water is then combined with that from the bore-hole to provide better quality and reduce costs. The flexible irrigation systems can be adapted to specific crops.
A further major development is the new bio-mass boiler from Heizomat that was installed in February last year. This 17-tonne piece of modern equipment produces 1.5 megawatts of heat for the hot water system in the glasshouses and uses fuel-efficient wood chips sourced from a local waste company.
