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Total Vent, Australia

Hall Hunter Partnership, UK

Customer: Hall Hunter Partnership

Location: Berkshire, UK

Crop: Strawberries grown in substrate

Tunnel Type: EZvent

Hall Hunter Partnership are one of Haygrove’s longest standing polytunnel customers, having made their first Haygrove polytunnel purchases over 20 years ago. Today they grow berries across 3 sites in the south-east of England and supply leading retailers with 4500 tonnes of strawberries, 300 tonnes of raspberries and 1500 tonnes of blueberries each year. 

Hugh Leach, Agronomy and Trial Coordinator for Hall Hunter Partnership, explains why they are using Haygrove EZvent polytunnels to manage an optimal growing environment on a field-scale. The EZvent tunnels are being used on the Hall Hunter Partnership trial site where they are growing 48 different varieties of Everbearer strawberries, planted at a density of 6 plants per metre. When testing different varieties, climate management is critical to ensure a fair and valid trial is undertaken within the Haygrove polytunnels.

Key benefits Hugh observes from using the Haygrove EZvent tunnels:

The automatic vents mean venting is done at the optimal moment and with sufficient frequency, without accumulating labour costs throughout the season. 
20% decrease in fruit wastage in the leg rows from closing the vents to prevent weather damage
High air volume buffers the temperature changes giving more consistent growing environment. With tunnels retaining the heat on cooler days and staying cooler on hotter days, resulting in one-week earlier picking than in their standard polytunnels.

Lower Hope Farm, UK

Customer: Lower Hope Cherries 

Location: Herefordshire, UK 

Crop: Cherries 

Tunnel Type: Greenhouse 

Lower Hope are a long-standing Haygrove customer. Fruit Manager, Emily Cliff, explains the benefits of using Haygrove Tunnels to cover the cherry crop. 

Lower Hope Cherries began in 1999 and have continued to grow until the present day. Lower Hope have worked with Haygrove to develop their cropping systems and now work with a standard planting of 1.75m between the trees and 1800 trees per hectare.

They aim for a yield of 10kg per tree giving a Class 1 yield of 18 tonnes per hectare. Using Haygrove polytunnels to cover the cherry trees has increased yield, quality and extended the season. The polytunnels protect the cherry trees from frost when they are most susceptible at blossom time and then protect the fruit from rain and wind damage.

When cherry trees are protected by polytunnels, growers can leave the fruit to grow bigger as there is a significantly reduced risk of cracking. An increased fruit size means an increased yield. The Haygrove polytunnels also protect the ripe berries from birds which if not protect can decimate a sweet cherry crop.

Clock House Farm, UK

Customer: Clock House Farm 

Location: Kent, UK 

Crop: Strawberries in Substrate 

Tunnel Type: Ventura 

Substrate Gutters: C160 profile on tabletops

As one of the largest UK berry producers, Nick Deppe Production Director, talks through how they are using Haygrove products to achieve their efficiency targets. 

Clock House Farm were one of the pioneers of growing strawberries in substrate on a commercial field-scale with the first substrate systems being purchased in 1998. By 2006 they had completely converted their production to be out of the soil. 

There are 6 lines of tabletops in each 9m wide Ventura polytunnel, which are split by a central alleyway where machinery can drive. By having an even split of 3 rows either side, the crop can be sprayed in one-pass in either direction, without having to adjust the sprayer settings. The tabletop strawberries are constructed at 1.1m height, a comfortable height for workers to pick well-presented fruit meaning high picking speeds are achieved.

Haygrove’s strong HSO steel has given Clock House the confidence in the strength and stability of the polytunnel to increase the bay width to 9m with 6 rows of substrate gutters per tunnel, whereas previously they worked on a 4-row system in a 6.5m wide tunnel.

Double Skin, Haygrove UK

Customer: Haygrove UK 

Location: Herefordshire 

Crop: Strawberries in Hanging substrate gutters 

Tunnel Type: Serra Series - Double Skin Tunnels 

Substrate Gutters: C160 profile with substrate bags 

Fundamental to Haygrove's innovation is maximising the synergy of our farm and growing systems teams by sharing knowledge across specialisms and hemispheres. The collaboration means we can innovate fast and rigorously test products on our own farms to optimise the natural environment for maximum productivity and quality of crop. For the Serra Series Double Skin Tunnel Haygrove are partnering with GeoGroup to supply this poly greenhouse.

Daniel van der Veen, Head of Innovation at Haygrove, explains why Haygrove have chosen the Serra Series Double Skin tunnel as an alternative for a glasshouse to provide season extension on our own Haygrove farm. The aim is to produce 55 tonnes per hectare of strawberries in a double cropping system at the beginning and end of the season when market prices are highest.

EZvent, Haygrove UK