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British farm has grown an estimated 11,000 watermelons this year, setting what a supermarket hailed as a new UK production record despite a rainy July.
Nick Molesworth, manager of Oakley Farms in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, said the exotic fruits “are not that easy to grow”, adding that the British climate “can also be challenging”.
But the grower has tested different methods to be able to get more fruit per plant and is set to double its previous production record, up to 11,000 this year from around 5,500 in 2020.
We have tried several different methods of growing the watermelons and are now getting more fruit per plant so the hard work is starting to pay off
The farm is the UK’s biggest producer of watermelons and also grows pumpkins and courgettes, which are both members of the cucurbit family, the same as watermelons.
Oakley Farms is a supplier to Tesco, which described the 11,000 watermelons as “the largest yield ever produced in Britain”.
Mr Molesworth said: “We started growing them after Tesco approached us and offered to work with us on the project and it made good sense as the crop would fit in perfectly between production of courgettes in late spring and pumpkins in early autumn.
“We have tried several different methods of growing the watermelons and are now getting more fruit per plant so the hard work is starting to pay off.
“They are not that easy to grow and the British climate can also be challenging but we’re very pleased with this year’s crop.
“Growing watermelons is a natural evolution for our business.”
The crop was produced with the guidance of melon-growing expert James Cackett.
Mr Cackett, who works as a fruit technical manager for Tesco, has spent the last 15 years working with both seed houses and British growers on developing varieties that are right for the UK climate and soil.
He said: “This is a massive achievement by Oakley Farms as their previous production record was around 5,500 watermelons a few years ago so to double that inside two years is fantastic work.
“Growing watermelons in Britain is still a small and developing industry with just a handful of producers scattered around the UK.
“When we first started selling them, in very small quantity, about 10 years ago shoppers were curious whether such an exotic-looking fruit could ever be grown over here.
“But they are now very popular with shoppers wanting to support British growers and each year demand gets stronger so it doesn’t take long for the entire crop to sell out.”
Oakley Farms and Tesco have worked together on watermelon production for seven years and while the rainy July has slowed production, experience from previous years has made this a record-breaking year in terms of volume.
The watermelons will be on sale in Tesco stores priced at £3.49 each for the standard size and £2.50 for the mini size.
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