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Its time to get healthy for the New Year!

The festive season is over and now is the time to keep to those new years resolutions and eat healthier this year. As we know Berries are packed full of vitamins so why not try something new this January?

In the spotlight: Blueberries

January will be the perfect time for stocking up on blueberries. Supply continues from South America and January will see the arrival of sea freighted blueberries from Chile on the shelves in all the major retailers. At this of the year availability is good and the fruit is great value.

Why not try a blueberry Smoothie!

We are also sourcing blueberries from Morocco in small volumes. This is an exciting new project, and we will see more volume coming on stream in the next few months.

Other Berries.

We are also sourcing blueberries from Morocco in small volumes. This is an exciting new project, and we will see more volume coming on stream in the next few months.

Strawberries.

We have large volumes of strawberries being supplied form Egypt and also from Israel and Morocco. We are supplying many varieties to our customers. We also continue to develop new varieties of strawberries though our Redeva breeding program. Many of our specially bred Redeva varieties are proving to be very strong and are popular with customers and growers alike. Towards the end of January and early February we will begin to look to Spain for strawberries, ensuring we are always importing produce from the freshest season.

Raspberries

As with the UK, Spain has been experiencing colder and more variable weather conditions than usual. This means that their production of raspberries has been affected, however there is still some availability coming through. The main varieties are Brilliance and Glen Lyon. Everybody will be watching the weather as any frost could damage the crop.

Rhubarb

Rhubarb, another winter favourite is also suffering from the cold weather. At this time of year we rely on forced Rhubarb, from Holland and also from the UK. In the UK, in the main Rhubarb growing area of Yorkshire, the heavy snow has meant that the root stocks have not been able to be lifted and taken inside to start the forcing process. The root stocks which grow outside before being brought inside to be forced are frozen into the ground. In Holland, frozen ground is also causing issues with supply. Small volumes are still available so look out for it in the shops for cooking those winter warming puddings!

Once the thaw comes it should mean that availability will be back on track for February.

Blackberries

On the other side of the world, in warmer climes we are sourcing blackberries from Mexico and Guatemala. The variety that is grown in these areas is called Tupi and at the moment tastes really good and is very sweet. They are perfect for eating out of the punnet, or in a smoothie, yet still great for cooking in pies for these cold winter months.

A few highlights from 2009.

July 2009 saw the first harvest of a new variety of dessert eating gooseberries for the Summer Fruit Company. These gooseberries are much sweeter than the normal green varieties and can be eaten fresh. Gooseberries are a great source of vitamin C so look out for these in shops this summer.

Exciting trials also were also underway at the Summer Fruit Company. One of which was featured in the press at the end of the summer.

We have been investigating the use of Thermal Pest Control. We are always looking at ways to help our growers reduce the impact on the environment, while providing top quality fruit at an economical price.

The idea behind the Thermal Pest Control is that the plants are blasted with 100 ?C jet of hot air which istransported by a trailer with gas burners that heat the air.

This action is thought to trigger a reaction in the plants making them more pest and disease resistant. This blast of air can also physically reduce the number of harmful insects in the immediate area, but does not affect the larger insects such as bees.

The hope is that this process can eliminate the use of traditional pesticides, thereby reducing the environmental and economical issues associated with them.

Trial plots of Blackberries and Raspberries applied with thermal pest control showed very promising results, and we are looking forward to more trials next year.