The effects of one of the wettest starts to a year on record are being felt by growers across the country, with the worst hit areas in the southwest and midlands experiencing severe flooding. Some parts of the UK saw rain every day between the 1 January and mid-February.
As well as making it impossible to harvest some crops, the conditions have also delayed cultivations, drilling and planting. John Hammond of Nottingham-based Hammond Produce told the BBC that incessant rain had left some of his fields “in places absolutely impassable for harvesting vegetables”.
“We’re lucky to have a range of different soil types in Nottinghamshire that’s allowing us to continue harvesting and continuing to put fresh produce on the shelves,” he continued. “We grow carrots and parsnips that we need to harvest all year round, we’re harvesting cabbages, so it means that where we’re digging carrots and parsnips, we’re having to choose the fields very, very carefully, because the machinery just sinks and we simply can’t get the crop out of the field.
“With the cabbages, we’ve got a limited choice of fields, and we have to harvest where the cabbages are ready, and we’re needing to tow the harvester with a second or third tractor. It’s all hand-harvested, so the harvest teams are getting wet through every day.”
It isn’t just field growers who are affected. The Guardian reported that Hillier Nurseries, was struggling to plant new trees and get them out of the ground to sell in Hampshire. Fran Barnes, chief Executive at the HTA, told the newspaper, “Just months ago, the country was facing water restrictions. It is deeply frustrating that yet again we are experiencing floods, with inadequate investment in storing that water and a lack of investment in water infrastructure to give this country water resilience. Despite the current flooding, there is no certainty that we won’t face water restrictions again in six months’ time.
“It’s an issue facing our sector. Trying to grow trees and plants in drought or flood is incredibly difficult. Ironically, many of these growers are producing the environmental horticulture that our country will rely on in the future to mitigate the impacts of climate change and to help us achieve net zero. The right trees in the right places can alleviate winter flooding whilst also providing summer cooling.”
Cherry Tree Nursery in Bournemouth, which is run by charity Plants and Minds, told the BBC that ten of its polytunnels had been temporarily flooded and its car park damaged. Nursery assistant Heather Lewis said, “It’s had an impact on all of us – on the team members, on the nursery and on the footfall. Our team members are adults with life-impacting mental health issues and it’s just thoroughly miserable working constantly in wet, muddy conditions.
“Ten of our polytunnels were flooded, for the first time in 35 years, because we are so close to the River Stour, so the tidal water came into the nursery. It did disperse relatively quickly so fingers crossed there’s not too much serious impact on the plants.”
Her comments came as the Environment Agency (EA) issued almost 250 flood alerts and warnings across the county. Floods minister Emma Hardy recently visited Langport in Somerset to see the impact of flooding on the local community, meeting with EA officers and hearing how they are operating defences in the area and supporting local residents.
