English Village Salads are about to harvest the first crop of hydroponically-grown cos lettuces in the UK.
The company’s system uses a deep water hydroponic system, to grow winter lettuce in 5-6 weeks rather than the usual 3-4 months.
The system uses a highly-controlled glasshouse environment to ensure consistent quality, using virtually no pesticides.
If the initial trial is successful EVS grower cooperative Snaith Salads plan to put up a hectre of glass ready for production next winter.
Geoffrey Smith, Snaith Salads Grower suggests the new system has huge commercial potential. "During the summer we can produce 3 times more lettuce than in the winter. This system reduces this imbalance, which means we can increase production of UK lettuce during the winter.”
Cos lettuce is the ideal variety in which to use this new system as its higher value and requires less trimming. In light of consumer demand for reducing food miles this is seen as a major step forward for UK lettuce production.
