Cauliflower and broccoli plantings in Lincolnshire are running about a week behind schedule as many growers cannot get onto their land and the delays are threatening availability in September.
“We are planting now for crops to be ready in mid-to-late September,” said Nigel Clare of Marshall Brothers. “We have been relatively successful at continuing to plant as we have a wide land bank of different soils and can move onto sandier soils with good drainage. That has helped somewhat, but we are still a week or so behind.”
The problem is exacerbated as acreages scheduled for planting now are greater than those planted last month, to account for increased demand for brassicas in the autumn.
Other issues facing the sector are that crops already in the ground are not growing as fast as usual. “There is a lot of water retention on some land and plants there are under water,” said Clare. “So we are likely to see issues in early- to mid-September with regard to the frame and size of plants.”
Clare estimates that 10-40 per cent of broccoli crops being harvested in Lincolnshire this week could be lost to wet rot and that there will be sporadic supply of the product and cauliflower, with varying quality a problem from July to October.
Tim Mudge of the Processed Vegetable Growers’ Association said 100mm of rain fell in 24 hours over Sunday and Monday. “Field-scale production of any crops is going to be affected,” said Mudge. “I have never seen so much rain.”
Rainwater is washing away nutrients in the soil, vital for growth and quality. This is being felt on spinach production in Norfolk with very pale leaves as a result of excess water. “There is leakage in the spinach crop and there will be real issues with spinach supply over the next two weeks,” said Clare. “The water content is so high it is causing us problems with drying.”
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