The UK market is showing unprecedented interest in white asparagus.
Flamingo UK and the Chinn Family launched their Wye Valley white asparagus on Elsey & Bent’s stand in Borough Market last Saturday.
John Chinn said he was “thrilled with the enthusiastic reception” for both his white and green asparagus - which the Flamingo team were barbecuing and handing out from Elsey & Bent’s stand - and that a lot of people were asking about white spears.
He said: “We did roadshows for Marks & Spencer last year and we kept getting asked by people why they couldn’t get white asparagus grown in the UK.
“And judging by sales on Saturday, there is clearly significant demand.”
The grower is now running a trial with M&S and has two hectares dedicated to white gras production.
Chinn believes that his is the only farm producing white asparagus in the UK.
He grows in the Wye Valley, where the harvest of both green and white spears has started early this year, despite the cold weather.
His farm is on sunny, south-facing slopes, and product is grown with the help of polythene cloches.
White asparagus is produced by mounding up soil and covering the mounds with a layer of black as well as clear polythene to ensure no sunlight enters.
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