Cumbrian farmers have dedicated acres of land to growing fruit and vegetables this year with support from a new initiative called Home Grown Here.
The scheme is seeing a range of produce grown in the county, from peas and potatoes to apples and rhubarb. It is being enjoyed by consumers through retailers, cafes, restaurants, hotels, farm shops and veg box schemes.
It is the brainchild of the Eden-based growers’ co-operative VistaVeg and funded by the National Lottery Community Fund as part of the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership’s emission reduction programme.
Lynn Barnes, of VistaVeg, said: “Cumbria has long had an enviable array of local meats, cheeses, preserves, pies, baking, confectionery and drinks, but very few fruit and vegetable producers. This project aims to offer something new to the local supply chain, making it much easier for Cumbrian businesses and ultimately residents and visitors to source locally grown fruit and vegetables.”
Keeping home grown produce in the county will reduce food miles, encourage people to eat seasonally, involve less processing and packaging and reduce waste by picking to order and reusing boxes.
“Many of the crops being grown this season require hand-picking, which means more people will be out in the fields in place of machinery,” said Lynn.
“That’s better for the environment, and it means more jobs and consequently more money being spent in the local economy.”
This year, 26 farmers and growers expressed an interest in growing at least one edible acre over the next five seasons.
Four farms were selected to begin sowing this spring, with another scheduled to plant fruit trees.
A total of 17 acres has been brought into first-time vegetable production, in addition to a planned 12 acres of mixed fruit trees and grazing.
Henry Scholefield, of Aikbank Farm, Calthwaite has just started picking his acre of peas which he sowed in May.
The crop is heading off to local buyers each week, who collect from the farm. French beans, carrots, beetroot, turnips, swede and potatoes are in the pipeline from other farms.
“I decided to get involved in the project as I was looking for a way to diversify the business and liked the idea of more locally produced food being consumed in Cumbria,” said Henry.
“Peas were a crop which suited our cropping rotation and require very few artificial inputs.”
The next step for the scheme is to set up a new website through which wholesalers and businesses will be able to see what Cumbrian produce is available and source it directly.
The intention is for Home Grown Here to evolve into a grower’s co-operative to provide advice, skills sharing and networking opportunities to its grower members, a tool ring to share equipment, bulk purchasing of seed, plants and soil testing, personalised branding and a route to local markets.
Anybody who would like paid work picking this season or farmers interested in growing a crop next season should contact Lynn on 07584 251352 or email lynn@vistaveg.co.uk
