Guernsey’s Horticultural Heritage
Guernsey has, over time, grown a variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers reflecting the changing markets and circumstances. Probably best known for the ‘Guernsey Tom’ the tomatoes heyday has long since passed, although tasty local tomatoes can still be found in shops and on hedge stalls, where locals sell their excess vegetables from their gardens.
Guernsey’s horticultural industry goes back over 200 years when the first greenhouses (glass houses) were erected and, what were then delicacies, were supplied to the wealthier families for their dinner table, or tender plants were ‘brought on’ for the garden.
The first commercial crops were flowers and grapes, which were exported to the UK from the 1830’s due to the improvement of transport routes. Grapes were at this time the most important crop and still today greenhouses are referred to locally as ‘vineries’.
Local boat builders and carpenters skills were put to good use with the construction of glazed wooden ‘lean-tos’ which were traditionally erected against gable walls of farmhouses and cottages. As demand strengthened growers built full span greenhouses, and later on, cast iron heating pipes were added to the glasshouses, extending the season for local growers.
Grape vines were usually planted outside, growing through holes into the greenhouse. This enabled the plant to take up moisture from outside and meant less watering for the grower. It also freed up space to have a secondary crop, with tomatoes being a popular choice, and eventually taking over from the grape crop. The Islands economy came to rely on thousands of pounds worth of income from the tomato for another one hundred years.
More recently flowers have been the main crop, although the industry is not as buoyant as it once was, and horticulture no longer plays such a major roll in the island’s economy.
AUTUMN WALKING FESTIVAL 04 Sep 2010 - 12 Sep 2010
Contact Guernsey Information Centre on +44 (0)1481 723552
Various walks will be on offer during our Autumn Walking Week, offering walks on many aspects of Guernsey life. Take...
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ARTWORKS WITH UK ARTIST BARRY HERNIMAN 30 Sep 2010 - 03 Oct 2010
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Join us on any one or all of our beautiful Bailiwick islands for a full day of painting, socialising and a cuppa. Trees will be the main...
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