Celeriac: The Ugly One. And Our Most Important One.
Celeriac is the most important enterprise in our business. What began in the 1980s as just a two-acre trial of what was then an unusual vegetable has exploded in popularity.

Today, we dedicate over four hundred acres to growing this versatile root!

How It’s Grown: Precision & Care
Celeriac shares the same species as celery, and similarly, it demands warmth in its early stages. Plants are delivered to the farm in April and May to secure an early August harvest; the first plantings are covered with polythene. This crop also loves water – in fact, we’ve never had a year that’s too wet (until, of course, harvest time!).

Celeriac also needs more space than you might think; we ensure each plant has at least 12 inches square to grow into a good-sized root.

Throughout the summer, we meticulously watch for pests like carrot fly and aphid, and diseases such as leaf spot or sclerotinia. We begin lifting the crop for sale in August.

How It’s Stored: The Challenge
We begin storing the bulk of the crop in November, using both boxes and large bulk stores. In wet conditions, we often cart more soil than crop! Celeriac is notoriously difficult to store.

As we often say, celeriac is the vegetable equivalent of sheep: while sheep spend their lives thinking of new ways to die, celeriac thinks of new ways to rot! Fortunately, we have 30 years of experience and mistakes to guide us.

We expect to successfully store our crop until the following July. In some years, we are self-sufficient, but in others, depending on yields and sales, we seek help from our partners in Holland.

Investing in Quality
To keep up with growing sales and maintain the highest standards, we’ve continuously invested in new technology. Our latest project is the new washing line, which ensures the crop is delivered cleaner and in optimum condition to our customers.

Want to see behind the scenes?

See video footage here: