Clock House Farm, a Kent-based fruit grower, has launched a new containerised plant propagation business, Linton Growing, designed to improve its self-sufficiency.
The 30-hectare propagation area, focusing on strawberry, raspberry and blackberry production, will provide the grower with access to “best in class” plant stock and improve produce supply to customers.
The new operation provided a vertically integrated operation that offered a direct route to procuring plants that had been grown in accordance with Clock House Farm’s controls and protocols, the business said.
The propagation site would also enable Clock House Farm to explore new varieties and deliver “optimum results in terms of flavour, size, shelf life and disease resistance”.
“In the last few years we have focused our efforts on creating a strong foundation to enable the further growth and development of our business. Accessing the best quality plant stock is obviously integral to the farm’s continued success and we are keen to safeguard this aspect of our operations and to not be reliant on any third parties,” said Clock House Farm MD Oli Pascall.
Previously, the farm had bought in mainly finished plants with the majority coming from overseas.
“We also recognise the growing importance of being able to reassure our customers of the provenance story behind the fruit that we supply. Having full control of every aspect of the seedling to supermarket journey is a key strand of Clock House Farm’s business strategy, providing us with the opportunity to apply our technical growing expertise and innovative, sustainable farming practices to ensure Clock House Farm’s hallmark commitment to quality permeates every aspect of the production process, affording added reassurance to our customers,” he added.
Linton Growing will also attempt to diversify its production beyond soft fruit plants to include shrubs and native trees. Some of these will be planted across Clock House Farm’s eight farm sites to encourage biodiversity.
Linton Growing has 35 members of staff including irrigation specialists and seasonal workers, along with the expertise of the wider Clock House Farm management team.
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