Scottish strawberries to hit shelves three months early

Manager Kenny Shellard with the first crop of the year at Windyhills Farm near Arbroath as new techniques see the Scottish strawberry season stretched. Picture: Paul Reid

Farmers in Angus believe they have set a new record in Scotland with their earliest ever crop, which is due to go on sale in stores from today.

The harvest at PJ Stirling, one of the country’s largest fruit growers, was produced by piping heat from a new biomass furnace into glasshouses to encourage growth during the winter – long before the traditional strawberry season starts in Scotland from late May.

Owner Peter Stirling, who first tried burning wood chip from trees on his farm near Arbroath last year in an effort to boost production more sustainably, said that expanding such techniques further could help to grow strawberries north of the Border year-round.

Berries are already a multimillionpound industry due to their promotion as “superfoods” and extending the season will help Scottish farms meet rising demand and compete with harvests grown in England and overseas.

Mr Stirling said: “This is our earliest ever supply [to supermarkets] and we believe it is also the earliest strawberry harvest in Scotland.

“By investing in bio-mass and producing early, and late, crops we would estimate that we will produce an extra 150 tonnes of strawberries this year.”

Ongoing work across Scotland developing different heating methods and new varieties of berries which can take more heat without losing shape or taste was bringing Scotland nearer to a year-round crop, he added.

Waitrose, where the first of PJ Stirling’s harvest is due to go on sale today, said advancing glasshouse technology and climate change had also just extended the British season to a new record – starting in mid-March last year and continuing until early this January.

The store’s berry buyer, Nicki Baggott, predicted that British strawberries would be grown year-round by 2020.

She said: “Strawberries are available throughout the year because we also import them, but we’re really excited because we’ve just had our longest British strawberry season.

“We hope we’ll have our longest Scottish season too this year, with the earliest crop this week and late crops expected as well.”

The Scottish season traditionally runs from late May to October, while better conditions south of the Border have typically seen the season in England start sooner and last longer.

Last year crop specialists at the James Hutton Institute received £1.3 million from the UK government to help Scottish producers develop improved varieties of homegrown berries to meet rising demand for soft fruits as the health benefits they are associated with – due to the antioxidants they contain – prove a big attraction.

Better growing techniques in the industry, including the increasing use of polytunnels have already helped to double strawberry and raspberry production in Scotland over ten years to around 25,000 tonnes of strawberries and 3,000 tonnes of raspberries in 2014.