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Sad day for Guernsey
The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used
to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote:
The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. Life doesn't stand still. One has to move with the times including tomato growers. |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 2014-01-24 11:40:57 +0000, Saxman said:
On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote: The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. Life doesn't stand still. One has to move with the times including tomato growers. Indeed but it's still sad. Another British industry hits the buffers though this dwindling of that growing has been going on for years in Guernsey. That doesn't mean it isn't a shame for the island and for those of us who would like to buy British produce that actually tastes of something. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 24/01/2014 12:30, Sacha wrote:
On 2014-01-24 11:40:57 +0000, Saxman said: On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote: The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. Life doesn't stand still. One has to move with the times including tomato growers. Indeed but it's still sad. Another British industry hits the buffers though this dwindling of that growing has been going on for years in Guernsey. That doesn't mean it isn't a shame for the island and for those of us who would like to buy British produce that actually tastes of something. I wonder how much the Grow your own lobby has affected things over say, 20 years. As you say taste is important. I haven't bought shop tomatoes with 'taste' for years. -- Pete C adventure before dementure https://www.facebook.com/pages/Secon...57749060989952 |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 2014-01-24 13:02:02 +0000, Pete C said:
On 24/01/2014 12:30, Sacha wrote: On 2014-01-24 11:40:57 +0000, Saxman said: On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote: The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. Life doesn't stand still. One has to move with the times including tomato growers. Indeed but it's still sad. Another British industry hits the buffers though this dwindling of that growing has been going on for years in Guernsey. That doesn't mean it isn't a shame for the island and for those of us who would like to buy British produce that actually tastes of something. I wonder how much the Grow your own lobby has affected things over say, 20 years. As you say taste is important. I haven't bought shop tomatoes with 'taste' for years. I don't think it's had a really huge effect, though we do see veg plant sales rising year on year. But the Guernsey tom industry was really huge. It was badly hit by rising oil prices and by refrigerated containerisation bringing food in from all over the world. Every so often, I have a longing for tomatoes because I really love them and I buy some. I must be the definition of an optimist because I'm disappointed every single time and still I try occasionally! -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 2014-01-24 13:08:12 +0000, Martin said:
On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:30:06 +0000, Sacha wrote: On 2014-01-24 11:40:57 +0000, Saxman said: On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote: The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. Life doesn't stand still. One has to move with the times including tomato growers. Indeed but it's still sad. Another British industry hits the buffers though this dwindling of that growing has been going on for years in Guernsey. That doesn't mean it isn't a shame for the island and for those of us who would like to buy British produce that actually tastes of something. Only the largest growers are surviving in The Netherlands too. One has set up business in UK in Kent. Dutch tomatoes taste of absolutely nothing. It makes me wonder how on earth they go on selling! -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 2014-01-24 13:37:52 +0000, Martin said:
On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 13:02:02 +0000, Pete C wrote: On 24/01/2014 12:30, Sacha wrote: On 2014-01-24 11:40:57 +0000, Saxman said: On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote: The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. Life doesn't stand still. One has to move with the times including tomato growers. Indeed but it's still sad. Another British industry hits the buffers though this dwindling of that growing has been going on for years in Guernsey. That doesn't mean it isn't a shame for the island and for those of us who would like to buy British produce that actually tastes of something. I wonder how much the Grow your own lobby has affected things over say, 20 years. As you say taste is important. I haven't bought shop tomatoes with 'taste' for years. The shop sold cherry tomatoes have lots of taste. The days of large mushy tasteless shop tomatoes are long gone. For some reason, Ray doesn't like the cherry ones. I think they're fine but do admit they don't taste the same as the larger types. We grow the Tumbler variety in hanging baskets for the Tea Room and for ourselves and every so often you see someone walking past and snaffling one. They can be eaten like sweeties but the flavour is definitely quite different. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 24/01/2014 17:18, Sacha wrote:
On 2014-01-24 13:37:52 +0000, Martin said: On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 13:02:02 +0000, Pete C wrote: On 24/01/2014 12:30, Sacha wrote: On 2014-01-24 11:40:57 +0000, Saxman said: On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote: The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. Life doesn't stand still. One has to move with the times including tomato growers. Indeed but it's still sad. Another British industry hits the buffers though this dwindling of that growing has been going on for years in Guernsey. That doesn't mean it isn't a shame for the island and for those of us who would like to buy British produce that actually tastes of something. I wonder how much the Grow your own lobby has affected things over say, 20 years. As you say taste is important. I haven't bought shop tomatoes with 'taste' for years. The shop sold cherry tomatoes have lots of taste. The days of large mushy tasteless shop tomatoes are long gone. For some reason, Ray doesn't like the cherry ones. I think they're fine but do admit they don't taste the same as the larger types. We grow the Tumbler variety in hanging baskets for the Tea Room and for ourselves and every so often you see someone walking past and snaffling one. They can be eaten like sweeties but the flavour is definitely quite different. Aldi Picollini tomatoes DO taste of something, but not cheap. I've given up all other types |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 24/01/2014 22:37, Martin wrote:
Transport costs must have a negative effect on Guernsey tomato producers. The Dutch tomato business nearly went bust because it produced tasteless large tomatoes. It switched to producing main;y tasty cherry tomatoes. In my local Co-op the other day there were mushrooms from Poland and asparagus from Peru. |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 2014-01-24 21:48:48 +0000, stuart noble said:
On 24/01/2014 17:18, Sacha wrote: On 2014-01-24 13:37:52 +0000, Martin said: On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 13:02:02 +0000, Pete C wrote: On 24/01/2014 12:30, Sacha wrote: On 2014-01-24 11:40:57 +0000, Saxman said: On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote: The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. Life doesn't stand still. One has to move with the times including tomato growers. Indeed but it's still sad. Another British industry hits the buffers though this dwindling of that growing has been going on for years in Guernsey. That doesn't mean it isn't a shame for the island and for those of us who would like to buy British produce that actually tastes of something. I wonder how much the Grow your own lobby has affected things over say, 20 years. As you say taste is important. I haven't bought shop tomatoes with 'taste' for years. The shop sold cherry tomatoes have lots of taste. The days of large mushy tasteless shop tomatoes are long gone. For some reason, Ray doesn't like the cherry ones. I think they're fine but do admit they don't taste the same as the larger types. We grow the Tumbler variety in hanging baskets for the Tea Room and for ourselves and every so often you see someone walking past and snaffling one. They can be eaten like sweeties but the flavour is definitely quite different. Aldi Picollini tomatoes DO taste of something, but not cheap. I've given up all other types I don't know where our nearest Aldi is but I'll look. Thanks for that tip. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 2014-01-25 10:09:06 +0000, Saxman said:
On 24/01/2014 22:37, Martin wrote: Transport costs must have a negative effect on Guernsey tomato producers. The Dutch tomato business nearly went bust because it produced tasteless large tomatoes. It switched to producing main;y tasty cherry tomatoes. In my local Co-op the other day there were mushrooms from Poland and asparagus from Peru. And the asparagus isn't worth it, imo. I believe it's also brought in from Thailand. I'd rather wait for the short but infinitely more delightful English asparagus season! -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote:
The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. (This got lost first time I posted it, probably because I've changed from XP pro to windows 7) Now, come on Sacha. It's by no means another British industry hitting the buffers, rather the tomato industry in the UK is on the up and up, with sites like Thanet Earth and several mega units using combined heat and power plants, and waste heat to heat the houses; if you can call those multi hectare structures houses; to produce all year round tomatoes, and going by some I bought in Tesco last week #; not those stupid little things; they had good flavour for winter tomatoes. When you have these mega houses just down the road so to speak, and not over some very choppy water, and with production 2 or 3 times per sq meter than it used to be in "The good old days"it's time for Guernsey to look for much higher value produce. I remember in my younger day we used to get £1.00 a pound for the first tomatoes, but that never lasted more than a couple of weeks, likewise with the first Strawberries, and that was 50+ years ago. Today no one would pay the modern equivalent price. David @ the side of Swansea Bay where it is yet again raining. |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 24/01/2014 22:38, Martin wrote:
On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 17:16:40 +0000, Sacha wrote: On 2014-01-24 13:08:12 +0000, Martin said: On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:30:06 +0000, Sacha wrote: On 2014-01-24 11:40:57 +0000, Saxman said: On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote: The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. Life doesn't stand still. One has to move with the times including tomato growers. Indeed but it's still sad. Another British industry hits the buffers though this dwindling of that growing has been going on for years in Guernsey. That doesn't mean it isn't a shame for the island and for those of us who would like to buy British produce that actually tastes of something. Only the largest growers are surviving in The Netherlands too. One has set up business in UK in Kent. Dutch tomatoes taste of absolutely nothing. It makes me wonder how on earth they go on selling! There's no problem with the taste with the ones we buy here. You can probably grow the perfect looking and perfect tasting tomato hydroponically anywhere in the world, but at a cost. The perception is (or was maybe) that UK consumers don't care about taste. I only ever buy apples from market stalls nowadays. Odd shapes and mixed varieties but they usually taste fine. |
Sad day for Guernsey
On Sat, 25 Jan 2014 10:09:06 +0000, Saxman
wrote: On 24/01/2014 22:37, Martin wrote: Transport costs must have a negative effect on Guernsey tomato producers. The Dutch tomato business nearly went bust because it produced tasteless large tomatoes. It switched to producing main;y tasty cherry tomatoes. In my local Co-op the other day there were mushrooms from Poland and asparagus from Peru. We tried the imported asparagus. It didn't taste of much at all. Steve -- SwingNN prediction software http://www.swingnn.com JustNN just a neural network http://www.justnn.com |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 2014-01-25 10:46:34 +0000, David Hill said:
On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote: The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. (This got lost first time I posted it, probably because I've changed from XP pro to windows 7) Now, come on Sacha. It's by no means another British industry hitting the buffers, rather the tomato industry in the UK is on the up and up, with sites like Thanet Earth and several mega units using combined heat and power plants, and waste heat to heat the houses; if you can call those multi hectare structures houses; to produce all year round tomatoes, and going by some I bought in Tesco last week #; not those stupid little things; they had good flavour for winter tomatoes. When you have these mega houses just down the road so to speak, and not over some very choppy water, and with production 2 or 3 times per sq meter than it used to be in "The good old days"it's time for Guernsey to look for much higher value produce. I remember in my younger day we used to get £1.00 a pound for the first tomatoes, but that never lasted more than a couple of weeks, likewise with the first Strawberries, and that was 50+ years ago. Today no one would pay the modern equivalent price. David @ the side of Swansea Bay where it is yet again raining. Oh, all the reasons for the growing industry coming to a natural end are perfectly logical ones. And the finance industry has taken over in terms of island prosperity and so forth. I'm having a nostalgic moment. Do you know which tomatoes you bought from Tesco? I have yet to find any worth having! -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 2014-01-25 13:10:27 +0000, Martin said:
On Sat, 25 Jan 2014 13:03:46 +0000, sacha wrote: On 2014-01-25 10:46:34 +0000, David Hill said: On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote: The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. (This got lost first time I posted it, probably because I've changed from XP pro to windows 7) Now, come on Sacha. It's by no means another British industry hitting the buffers, rather the tomato industry in the UK is on the up and up, with sites like Thanet Earth and several mega units using combined heat and power plants, and waste heat to heat the houses; if you can call those multi hectare structures houses; to produce all year round tomatoes, and going by some I bought in Tesco last week #; not those stupid little things; they had good flavour for winter tomatoes. When you have these mega houses just down the road so to speak, and not over some very choppy water, and with production 2 or 3 times per sq meter than it used to be in "The good old days"it's time for Guernsey to look for much higher value produce. I remember in my younger day we used to get £1.00 a pound for the first tomatoes, but that never lasted more than a couple of weeks, likewise with the first Strawberries, and that was 50+ years ago. Today no one would pay the modern equivalent price. David @ the side of Swansea Bay where it is yet again raining. Oh, all the reasons for the growing industry coming to a natural end are perfectly logical ones. And the finance industry has taken over in terms of island prosperity and so forth. I'm having a nostalgic moment. Do you know which tomatoes you bought from Tesco? I have yet to find any worth having! In NL Lidl consistently wins the best fruit and veg award. The nearest Lidl for us is about half an hour's drive away, more in heavy traffic. It's the sort of shopping I'd do if I was going over in that direction anyway to e.g. M&S, Next, Mothercare etc. which are in a nearby complex. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 25/01/2014 13:03, sacha wrote:
On 2014-01-25 10:46:34 +0000, David Hill said: On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote: The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. (This got lost first time I posted it, probably because I've changed from XP pro to windows 7) Now, come on Sacha. It's by no means another British industry hitting the buffers, rather the tomato industry in the UK is on the up and up, with sites like Thanet Earth and several mega units using combined heat and power plants, and waste heat to heat the houses; if you can call those multi hectare structures houses; to produce all year round tomatoes, and going by some I bought in Tesco last week #; not those stupid little things; they had good flavour for winter tomatoes. When you have these mega houses just down the road so to speak, and not over some very choppy water, and with production 2 or 3 times per sq meter than it used to be in "The good old days"it's time for Guernsey to look for much higher value produce. I remember in my younger day we used to get £1.00 a pound for the first tomatoes, but that never lasted more than a couple of weeks, likewise with the first Strawberries, and that was 50+ years ago. Today no one would pay the modern equivalent price. David @ the side of Swansea Bay where it is yet again raining. Oh, all the reasons for the growing industry coming to a natural end are perfectly logical ones. And the finance industry has taken over in terms of island prosperity and so forth. I'm having a nostalgic moment. Do you know which tomatoes you bought from Tesco? I have yet to find any worth having! All I can say is that they were vine tomatoes. Have you noticed that whilst every pack of strawberries from wherever has the variety on the pack the same is not true of most fruit and veg. With around 20 varieties of Sprouts being grown commercially they are not named on the box/pack. The same for tomatoes and peppers. David@ a yet again rainy side of Swansea Bay. |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 25/01/2014 15:01, Martin wrote:
On Sat, 25 Jan 2014 14:02:34 +0000, sacha wrote: On 2014-01-25 13:10:27 +0000, Martin said: On Sat, 25 Jan 2014 13:03:46 +0000, sacha wrote: On 2014-01-25 10:46:34 +0000, David Hill said: On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote: The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. (This got lost first time I posted it, probably because I've changed from XP pro to windows 7) Now, come on Sacha. It's by no means another British industry hitting the buffers, rather the tomato industry in the UK is on the up and up, with sites like Thanet Earth and several mega units using combined heat and power plants, and waste heat to heat the houses; if you can call those multi hectare structures houses; to produce all year round tomatoes, and going by some I bought in Tesco last week #; not those stupid little things; they had good flavour for winter tomatoes. When you have these mega houses just down the road so to speak, and not over some very choppy water, and with production 2 or 3 times per sq meter than it used to be in "The good old days"it's time for Guernsey to look for much higher value produce. I remember in my younger day we used to get £1.00 a pound for the first tomatoes, but that never lasted more than a couple of weeks, likewise with the first Strawberries, and that was 50+ years ago. Today no one would pay the modern equivalent price. David @ the side of Swansea Bay where it is yet again raining. Oh, all the reasons for the growing industry coming to a natural end are perfectly logical ones. And the finance industry has taken over in terms of island prosperity and so forth. I'm having a nostalgic moment. Do you know which tomatoes you bought from Tesco? I have yet to find any worth having! In NL Lidl consistently wins the best fruit and veg award. The nearest Lidl for us is about half an hour's drive away, more in heavy traffic. It's the sort of shopping I'd do if I was going over in that direction anyway to e.g. M&S, Next, Mothercare etc. which are in a nearby complex. OTOH just because fruit and veg are fresh in Lidl NL, doesn't mean it will be where you are. In Lidl Whitby the bread always seemed to be stale. Strange isn't it. Lidl and Aldi both seem to sell more fresh British produce than the big 4 supermarkets. |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 2014-01-25 15:01:32 +0000, Martin said:
On Sat, 25 Jan 2014 14:02:34 +0000, sacha wrote: snip In NL Lidl consistently wins the best fruit and veg award. The nearest Lidl for us is about half an hour's drive away, more in heavy traffic. It's the sort of shopping I'd do if I was going over in that direction anyway to e.g. M&S, Next, Mothercare etc. which are in a nearby complex. OTOH just because fruit and veg are fresh in Lidl NL, doesn't mean it will be where you are. In Lidl Whitby the bread always seemed to be stale. Oh certainly but it is worth having a look as I've read mainly good reports. But as I say, it would be a combined trip, not a dedicated one. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 2014-01-25 15:14:59 +0000, David Hill said:
On 25/01/2014 13:03, sacha wrote: On 2014-01-25 10:46:34 +0000, David Hill said: On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote: The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. (This got lost first time I posted it, probably because I've changed from XP pro to windows 7) Now, come on Sacha. It's by no means another British industry hitting the buffers, rather the tomato industry in the UK is on the up and up, with sites like Thanet Earth and several mega units using combined heat and power plants, and waste heat to heat the houses; if you can call those multi hectare structures houses; to produce all year round tomatoes, and going by some I bought in Tesco last week #; not those stupid little things; they had good flavour for winter tomatoes. When you have these mega houses just down the road so to speak, and not over some very choppy water, and with production 2 or 3 times per sq meter than it used to be in "The good old days"it's time for Guernsey to look for much higher value produce. I remember in my younger day we used to get £1.00 a pound for the first tomatoes, but that never lasted more than a couple of weeks, likewise with the first Strawberries, and that was 50+ years ago. Today no one would pay the modern equivalent price. David @ the side of Swansea Bay where it is yet again raining. Oh, all the reasons for the growing industry coming to a natural end are perfectly logical ones. And the finance industry has taken over in terms of island prosperity and so forth. I'm having a nostalgic moment. Do you know which tomatoes you bought from Tesco? I have yet to find any worth having! All I can say is that they were vine tomatoes. Have you noticed that whilst every pack of strawberries from wherever has the variety on the pack the same is not true of most fruit and veg. With around 20 varieties of Sprouts being grown commercially they are not named on the box/pack. The same for tomatoes and peppers. David@ a yet again rainy side of Swansea Bay. I do all my supermarket shopping online and in the case of Tesco have asked them to show country of origin at least three times. It never happens clearly enough on the online packs. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
Sad day for Guernsey
"Sacha" wrote in message ...
The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. -- Sacha ================================================== === Doing very well on the Isle of Wight :-) http://www.wightsaladsgroup.com/about/facts-figures/ Mike --------------------------------------------------------------- www.friendsofshanklintheatre.co.uk www.hmscollingwoodassociation.com www.rneba.org.uk www.nsrafa.org |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 26/01/2014 09:31, Jimmy Dawkins wrote:
Morrocco now supplies 75% (ish) of ALL tomoatoes bought in Northern Europe.... Where did you get that figure? |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 25/01/2014 23:16, Sacha wrote:
On 2014-01-25 15:14:59 +0000, David Hill said: On 25/01/2014 13:03, sacha wrote: On 2014-01-25 10:46:34 +0000, David Hill said: On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote: The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. (This got lost first time I posted it, probably because I've changed from XP pro to windows 7) Now, come on Sacha. It's by no means another British industry hitting the buffers, rather the tomato industry in the UK is on the up and up, with sites like Thanet Earth and several mega units using combined heat and power plants, and waste heat to heat the houses; if you can call those multi hectare structures houses; to produce all year round tomatoes, and going by some I bought in Tesco last week #; not those stupid little things; they had good flavour for winter tomatoes. When you have these mega houses just down the road so to speak, and not over some very choppy water, and with production 2 or 3 times per sq meter than it used to be in "The good old days"it's time for Guernsey to look for much higher value produce. I remember in my younger day we used to get £1.00 a pound for the first tomatoes, but that never lasted more than a couple of weeks, likewise with the first Strawberries, and that was 50+ years ago. Today no one would pay the modern equivalent price. David @ the side of Swansea Bay where it is yet again raining. Oh, all the reasons for the growing industry coming to a natural end are perfectly logical ones. And the finance industry has taken over in terms of island prosperity and so forth. I'm having a nostalgic moment. Do you know which tomatoes you bought from Tesco? I have yet to find any worth having! All I can say is that they were vine tomatoes. Have you noticed that whilst every pack of strawberries from wherever has the variety on the pack the same is not true of most fruit and veg. With around 20 varieties of Sprouts being grown commercially they are not named on the box/pack. The same for tomatoes and peppers. David@ a yet again rainy side of Swansea Bay. I do all my supermarket shopping online and in the case of Tesco have asked them to show country of origin at least three times. It never happens clearly enough on the online packs. You may find browsing this site will be of interest http://www.britishtomatoes.co.uk/home |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 26/01/2014 09:54, David Hill wrote:
On 26/01/2014 09:31, Jimmy Dawkins wrote: Morrocco now supplies 75% (ish) of ALL tomoatoes bought in Northern Europe.... Where did you get that figure? The FAO stats have Morocco as the worlds 17th largest producer. However Italy (7th largest) produces nearly 5 times as much, and Spain (9th largest) 3 times as much. Russia (12th largest), Ukraine (13th largest) and Portugal (16th largest) also outproduce Morocco, with Greece (18th largest) coming in just after. In North Africa Egypt (5th largest) and Tunisia (15th largest) produce more than Morocco. It all depends on how much is produced for domestic consumption and how much for export, but I would have guessed that Spain was the largest supplier to northern Europe. In the light of these figures I infer that there isn't a dominant supplier. Since Morocco only produces 50% more tomatoes that the Netherlands it would seem that even if Morocco was the only outside supplier and we ignored the rest of northern European production (Belgium production is about a quarter of Dutch production) Morocco couldn't produce more than 60% of the market. -- Stewart Robert Hinsley |
Sad day for Guernsey
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Sad day for Guernsey
In article ,
Janet wrote: In article , says... All year round tomatoes are gonna have to be GM'd...are they not? No, when climate conditions are right,staggered planting can provide that (even under artificial heat and light). Year-round tomatoes were in UK supermarkets decades before genetic modifications. However, the modern supermarket varieties are bred to not ripen normally, and with other characteristics that make snapdragon genes almost a welcome addition! I didn't notice a claim about their taste. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 26/01/2014 10:41, Martin wrote:
On Sun, 26 Jan 2014 10:30:53 +0000, Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote: On 26/01/2014 09:54, David Hill wrote: On 26/01/2014 09:31, Jimmy Dawkins wrote: Morrocco now supplies 75% (ish) of ALL tomoatoes bought in Northern Europe.... Where did you get that figure? The FAO stats have Morocco as the worlds 17th largest producer. However Italy (7th largest) produces nearly 5 times as much, and Spain (9th largest) 3 times as much. Russia (12th largest), Ukraine (13th largest) and Portugal (16th largest) also outproduce Morocco, with Greece (18th largest) coming in just after. In North Africa Egypt (5th largest) and Tunisia (15th largest) produce more than Morocco. It all depends on how much is produced for domestic consumption and how much for export, but I would have guessed that Spain was the largest supplier to northern Europe. In the light of these figures I infer that there isn't a dominant supplier. Since Morocco only produces 50% more tomatoes that the Netherlands it would seem that even if Morocco was the only outside supplier and we ignored the rest of northern European production (Belgium production is about a quarter of Dutch production) Morocco couldn't produce more than 60% of the market. Is this your source? http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/Desk...geID=567#ancor Yes and no. I did look there in the end for Dutch and Belgian production, but the other figures I got indirectly from Wikipedia. On further digging I find that Poland produces about as much as the Netherlands. -- Stewart Robert Hinsley |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 2014-01-26 10:01:55 +0000, David Hill said:
On 25/01/2014 23:16, Sacha wrote: On 2014-01-25 15:14:59 +0000, David Hill said: On 25/01/2014 13:03, sacha wrote: On 2014-01-25 10:46:34 +0000, David Hill said: On 24/01/2014 10:39, Sacha wrote: The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. The stretch of water between England and the islands is one of the significant causes. About 50 years ago, the tomato growing employed more than half the island's population. (This got lost first time I posted it, probably because I've changed from XP pro to windows 7) Now, come on Sacha. It's by no means another British industry hitting the buffers, rather the tomato industry in the UK is on the up and up, with sites like Thanet Earth and several mega units using combined heat and power plants, and waste heat to heat the houses; if you can call those multi hectare structures houses; to produce all year round tomatoes, and going by some I bought in Tesco last week #; not those stupid little things; they had good flavour for winter tomatoes. When you have these mega houses just down the road so to speak, and not over some very choppy water, and with production 2 or 3 times per sq meter than it used to be in "The good old days"it's time for Guernsey to look for much higher value produce. I remember in my younger day we used to get £1.00 a pound for the first tomatoes, but that never lasted more than a couple of weeks, likewise with the first Strawberries, and that was 50+ years ago. Today no one would pay the modern equivalent price. David @ the side of Swansea Bay where it is yet again raining. Oh, all the reasons for the growing industry coming to a natural end are perfectly logical ones. And the finance industry has taken over in terms of island prosperity and so forth. I'm having a nostalgic moment. Do you know which tomatoes you bought from Tesco? I have yet to find any worth having! All I can say is that they were vine tomatoes. Have you noticed that whilst every pack of strawberries from wherever has the variety on the pack the same is not true of most fruit and veg. With around 20 varieties of Sprouts being grown commercially they are not named on the box/pack. The same for tomatoes and peppers. David@ a yet again rainy side of Swansea Bay. I do all my supermarket shopping online and in the case of Tesco have asked them to show country of origin at least three times. It never happens clearly enough on the online packs. You may find browsing this site will be of interest http://www.britishtomatoes.co.uk/home I did, thank you, David. I notice that Wight Salads, which has a very good reputation, has nursery sites all over the place but none in the CIs, which are closer to home! I wonder why not one of those growers/suppliers uses the CIs. Perhaps the industry there has just declined too far. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 26/01/2014 11:27, Martin wrote:
On Sun, 26 Jan 2014 11:03:17 +0000, Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote: On 26/01/2014 10:41, Martin wrote: On Sun, 26 Jan 2014 10:30:53 +0000, Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote: On 26/01/2014 09:54, David Hill wrote: On 26/01/2014 09:31, Jimmy Dawkins wrote: Morrocco now supplies 75% (ish) of ALL tomoatoes bought in Northern Europe.... Where did you get that figure? The FAO stats have Morocco as the worlds 17th largest producer. However Italy (7th largest) produces nearly 5 times as much, and Spain (9th largest) 3 times as much. Russia (12th largest), Ukraine (13th largest) and Portugal (16th largest) also outproduce Morocco, with Greece (18th largest) coming in just after. In North Africa Egypt (5th largest) and Tunisia (15th largest) produce more than Morocco. It all depends on how much is produced for domestic consumption and how much for export, but I would have guessed that Spain was the largest supplier to northern Europe. In the light of these figures I infer that there isn't a dominant supplier. Since Morocco only produces 50% more tomatoes that the Netherlands it would seem that even if Morocco was the only outside supplier and we ignored the rest of northern European production (Belgium production is about a quarter of Dutch production) Morocco couldn't produce more than 60% of the market. Is this your source? http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/Desk...geID=567#ancor Yes and no. I did look there in the end for Dutch and Belgian production, but the other figures I got indirectly from Wikipedia. I started there, but it didn't show Belgium so I looked at the FAO website On further digging I find that Poland produces about as much as the Netherlands. I suppose Jimmy Dawkins claim depends on the source of N Europe's imports rather than production figures. Questions have been asked http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/...DOC+XML+V0//EN According to those figures Moroccan exports to the whole of the EU are less than Dutch production. I found a site that claimed that 90% of Moroccan tomato production is sold to France. How much of France is included in northern Europe? -- Stewart Robert Hinsley |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 26/01/2014 12:25, Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
On 26/01/2014 11:27, Martin wrote: On Sun, 26 Jan 2014 11:03:17 +0000, Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote: On 26/01/2014 10:41, Martin wrote: On Sun, 26 Jan 2014 10:30:53 +0000, Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote: On 26/01/2014 09:54, David Hill wrote: On 26/01/2014 09:31, Jimmy Dawkins wrote: Morrocco now supplies 75% (ish) of ALL tomoatoes bought in Northern Europe.... Where did you get that figure? The FAO stats have Morocco as the worlds 17th largest producer. However Italy (7th largest) produces nearly 5 times as much, and Spain (9th largest) 3 times as much. Russia (12th largest), Ukraine (13th largest) and Portugal (16th largest) also outproduce Morocco, with Greece (18th largest) coming in just after. In North Africa Egypt (5th largest) and Tunisia (15th largest) produce more than Morocco. It all depends on how much is produced for domestic consumption and how much for export, but I would have guessed that Spain was the largest supplier to northern Europe. In the light of these figures I infer that there isn't a dominant supplier. Since Morocco only produces 50% more tomatoes that the Netherlands it would seem that even if Morocco was the only outside supplier and we ignored the rest of northern European production (Belgium production is about a quarter of Dutch production) Morocco couldn't produce more than 60% of the market. Is this your source? http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/Desk...geID=567#ancor Yes and no. I did look there in the end for Dutch and Belgian production, but the other figures I got indirectly from Wikipedia. I started there, but it didn't show Belgium so I looked at the FAO website On further digging I find that Poland produces about as much as the Netherlands. I suppose Jimmy Dawkins claim depends on the source of N Europe's imports rather than production figures. Questions have been asked http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/...DOC+XML+V0//EN According to those figures Moroccan exports to the whole of the EU are less than Dutch production. I found a site that claimed that 90% of Moroccan tomato production is sold to France. How much of France is included in northern Europe? What must be remembered when quoting all these figures is that in this part of the world we consider tomatoes to be those grown under glass or other protection whilst a lot of those grown in the Med ans north Africa are field grown, these tend to be used for processing, canning, juice, soup. purée etc. so don't really impact on those grown in northern climes. David @ the side of Swansea bay where it's no longer raining for a bit. |
Sad day for Guernsey
"Sacha" wrote in message ... The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. I wonder what 2ha of Guernsey is worth? A one-way ticket to warmer, drier climes. |
Sad day for Guernsey
On 2014-01-26 20:49:41 +0000, Bertie Doe said:
"Sacha" wrote in message ... The island's tomato production has almost ground to a halt and it used to be its lifeblood. Thank goodness for the finance industry and I never thought I'd hear myself say that! Anthony Le Page who employs 15 workers on his 2ha glasshouses in the Vale is closing down. I wonder what 2ha of Guernsey is worth? A one-way ticket to warmer, drier climes. Oh certainly a LOT of money, though it depends whether it's used for developing houses for the local or the open market. I'd guess the former, if anything. Property values in the islands are incredibly high. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
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