East Kent Fruit Society Soft Fruit Walk

Article taken from The Fruit Grower Magazine

By John Guest

In June around 50 east Kent society (EKFS) members attended a soft fruit walk at High Lowe Farms at Mereworth in Kent.  This family business has a 120 year history of strawberry growing since Marion Regan’s great grandfather Bernard Champion planted the very first strawberry crops for Champion Brothers at Barons Place Farm.  Between 1984 and 1915 more land was taken on at West Peckham, East Peckham and Mereworth in Kent.
If there is a UK ‘strawberry queen” that title must surely belong to Marion Regan who has been at the head of High Lowe Farms since 1996 when she took over from her father Hugh Lowe.  Hugh had managed the family business since 1954, increasing the soft fruit production and becoming a highly influential and respected figure in the UK soft fruit industry.

Today Hugh Lowe Farms extends to 670ha with 100ha of strawberries, 50ha of raspberries and 520ha of arable crops.  The arable land allows for the rotation of soil grown strawberry and raspberry crops and the soil is improved by ploughing in green manure crops.  EKFS Chairman Alex Cooke welcomed members to the Soft Fruit Walk and introduced Tom Pearson, Farms Director at Hugh Lowe Farms, who has overall responsibility for all the crops grown.  Tom briefed EKFS members and hosted the farm tour, assisted by Lance Mansell, Glasshouse and Cane Fruit Manager.  Jon Regan, a Director of Hugh Lowe Farms and Marion’s husband, accompanied the EKFS members and supported Tom and Lance.  The soft fruit operation is huge and impossible to see in one evening.  Concentrating on visiting two of the prime production areas allowed EKFS members an in-depth understanding of the commitment to high quality soft fruit production at Hugh Lowe Farms.  The company grows strawberries and raspberries in soil and substrates.  Over 3,000 tonnes of strawberries and 700 tonnes of raspberries are grown in polytunnels and under glass.  While half the production is in artificial substrates, the balance is rotated with arable crops on land close to the main farmyard and pack house at Mereworth.  Substrate grown strawberries and raspberries are in pots or bags filled with coir, which can support several crops before being recycled and used as a soil conditioner.  The first stop for EKFS members was the glasshouse raspberry production unit at Ashes Lane, Hadlow.  Hugh Lowe Farms have rented the glasshouse since 2005 and have recently purchased the freehold allowing for further investment on the facility.

As a member of Berry Gardens, Hugh Lowe Farms has access to the Driscoll range of strawberry and raspberry varieties.  New variety development is paramount in the very competitive world of soft fruit production.  In the glasshouse raspberry production unit, the yield of Driscolls Maravilla had reached 20 tonnes/ha by 23 June.   Planted in 2013 as a primocane in pots, the first crop was harvested in the autumn of 2013 and in 2014 a floricane crop of 20 tonnes/ha in the early summer was followed by ‘grow through’ primocane, delivering an autumn crop of 15 tonnes/ha.  The scale and intensity of the raspberry production in pots in overwhelming, but Lance told us that the prime reason for producing under glass is to “fill the shoulders” of the season or, in other words the main season.  The yields under glass are only about 20 per cent above those of the field crops and the cost of heating and maintain a glasshouse negates high margins.

From the Maravilla production area, EKFS members were taken to the primocane Driscoll Margarita which will replace the Maravilla when cropping has finished and become the next production phase in the autumn.  The existing pots of Maravilla will be taken out and will continue production in a field environment.

Next on the itinerary was a visit to polytunnels producing pot-grown strawberries.  The variety being grown was Driscoll’s Jubilee, planted in coir substrate in square pots on a gutter support system, which can accommodate growbags as well as pots, delivering a flexible management system.  A novel structure at the end of each row allows a support tape to be easily positioned.  When tabletop strawberry production started in the UK, Hugh Lowe Farms is a very large and successful business and it was not possible in the time available to see more than a snapshot of the business, but the glasshouse raspberry production and the polytunnels of Jubilee strawberries demonstrated the very high standards contributing to the success of Hugh Lowe Farms.  In addition to cutting edge production techniques, the company takes seriously the issues which concern their customers.  Biodiversity flourishes on the farm, the whole of which is in the Environmental Stewardship Scheme.  The business supports LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) and works closely with the Ken Wildlife Trust, the RSPB and the Campaign for the Farmed Environment.  Bio-controls are employed to combat pests and diseases, and the business supports carbon saving, water efficiency, waste reduction, community engagement and ethical employment practices.  The company’s website states: “Hugh Lowe Farms is committed to biodiversity – this is a balanced farm.  Over 75% of the land is either in arable crops and resting in the rotation between soft fruit crops, or is uncropped but managed for wildlife as grassland, margins or trees.”