IT may still be April, but Scottish-grown tomatoes and raspberries are set to return to supermarket shelves – two months earlier than last year.
Traditionally summer crops, the fruits will be stocked by grocery chain Waitrose thanks to deals with farmers pioneering ways to bring the growing season forwards.
Scotty Brand, the only commercial producer of tomatoes in Scotland, will deliver to the upmarket chain this week thanks to Hawick farmer Jim Shanks.
His £2 million system uses waste from his dairy herd to fuel an anaerobic digester to power a greenhouse system which uses high-tech glass to allow more sunlight to penetrate, bringing the crop to maturity earlier.
Meanwhile, early season raspberries from Aberdeenshire are expected within less than a fortnight.
Grower Ross Mitchell heats polytunnels on his Castleton Farm land by the coast with biomass boilers to beat low temperatures.
The developments come one month after the retailer began selling Scottish strawberries, another crop traditionally available in the summer.
Nicki Baggott of Waitrose, which has seven Scottish branches in well-off areas, said: “The recent sunny weather has led to a shift towards lighter-style eating so we warmly welcome the arrival of our first home-grown raspberries.
“This is such a great time of year for cooks as spring heralds the start of British seasonal fruit and veg.
“Our raspberries will be joining Ayrshire potatoes and Scottish tomatoes, all of which will be appearing on our shelves in the next few weeks.”
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