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Our Farming

With eight farms totalling over 600 hectares, reducing our environmental impact and encouraging wildlife is really important to us.

Today we are growing and packing over 60 different types of produce including vegetables, fruits, salads and herbs. We are one of the largest growers of fresh herbs in the UK and since starting to grow chillies in 2010 have also become one of the largest growers in this specialist crop.

Our production sites are based in Kent, Essex and Bedfordshire and include organic land, polytunnels and modern glasshouses.

We are specialist growers who over the years have developed both growing techniques and varieties to provide our customers with the best quality and flavour.

 

Growing with the times

At Watts, we aim to move with the times, tastes and cooking habits. And this informs what we grow.

As you can imagine, producing around 60 crops requires an extensive rotation. This helps us balance crops which build fertility with those that demand nutrients.

We believe that if a variety can be grown here in the UK, then we should grow it, rather than importing from around the world. In addition to this we are also constantly investing in new ways to extend the UK season length so that we can make the most of British season.

How we look after our wildlife...

The bird life on a farm is a key indicator of the level of biodiversity and so we go to extra special lengths to encourage nesting birds.

The RSPB visit us each year and monitor the numbers of birds which are of high, medium and low conservation concern.

We are fortunate to have so many birds that are of a high concern nesting on our farms.

They include the Corn bunting, Cuckoo, Sky Lark, Song thrush, Starling, Yellow wagtail and Yellowhammer.

How we reduce Our Impact on Wildlife:

  • Maintaining Hedgerows

    We'll only cut our hedges on one side each year. This means that the nesting birds are better protected from predators such as magpies and birds of prey.

  • Leaving Stubble over winter stubble

    This is an important source of food for birds. Even we have a large rotation, many of our crops are harvested all at once. Leaving some small areas of stubble is an easy way of providing an early winter refuge for field living animals.

  • Sky lark plots

    Skylark plots are undrilled patches in winter cereal fields. They have been proven to boost nesting and foraging opportunities for skylarks. Skylark plots increase the number of chicks that skylarks can rear in winter cereals.

  • Looking after bees

    We are liaising with our local beekeepers to ensure that our land is managed to help our bee population thrive.

  • Beetle Banks

    Beetle banks are grass mounds, about two metres wide, that run through the middle of large arable fields. Beetle banks boost numbers of farming friendly insects and spiders on arable farmland provides essential over-wintering habitat for many insects and spiders. As some of these insects will move into the crop in spring and eat crop pests, such as aphids, beetle banks may also reduce the need for insecticides.