Cooler spring temperatures have delayed the start of British strawberry season this year, but growers say the wait will be rewarded with berries packed with exceptional flavour.
According to British Berry Growers, the cooler spring slowed the ripening process, allowing strawberries to remain on the plant for longer and develop a richer taste profile with balanced natural sweetness.
The result is a crop of large, juicy, and flavourful berries, with growers describing this year’s British strawberries as “worth the wait.”
Nick Marston, chairman of British Berry Growers, says: “The start of the British strawberry season is always a highly anticipated moment, and while the cooler spring has meant consumers have had to wait a little longer this year, the quality of this fruit is outstanding.
“An extended maturation period helps ensure shapely strawberries and enhances their flavours during development, with the cooler temperatures allowing our berries to build up incredible sweetness and size.
“Our growers are harvesting berries of significant size, boasting superior quality and good sugar levels. As the phrase goes, ‘good things come to those who wait’.”
The cooler conditions followed a spring characterised by dry weather, sunny intervals and chilly overnight temperatures, according to recent analysis from the Met Office1.
Many southern counties, where a high number of British berry growers operate, also recorded their sunniest April on record.
The abundance of sun, paired with careful watering by growers during one of the driest Aprils in years, has seen an exceptionally high quality yield this season.
Nic Leeds, director at Berry World’s Withers Farm in Herefordshire, said: “The season is slightly later than last year as a result of the cooler weather conditions but this has created an ideal environment for steady, balanced fruit development. The result is that consumers will see sweeter, juicier and in some cases, larger berries.”
To keep on top of the changeable British weather, berry growers are embracing both new technology and ecological methods to ensure the best possible harvest – and lengthen the British strawberry season.
Growers like Dyson Farming are using advanced technology like vertical farming systems to grow strawberries year-round in Lincolnshire.
Other growers across the UK are using AI technology to support forecasting, while also embracing biological controls like companion planting; growing additional plant species alongside berry plants to attract pollinators and natural pest predators, reducing the need for intervention with pesticides.
Lucie Redwood, commercial manager at Dyson Farming, said: “At Dyson Farming, we engineer the growing environment using advanced robotics, intelligent systems and renewable energy to produce British strawberries all year round.
“By applying technology at every stage, we’re able to deliver consistent quality and extend the availability of a truly iconic British product.“
British strawberries are now available in major multiple supermarkets, across the UK.
