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.
TORTEVAL SCARECROW FESTIVAL 07 Aug 2010 - 08 Aug 2010
Contact Sue Brooks +44 (0) 1481 268116
This very popular event takes you through a beautiful area of the south west of Guernsey. Follow the trail and pick your favourite sc...
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RHS EVENT: FOLIAGE, FRUIT & FLOWERS FOR AUTUMN INTEREST 25 Sep 2010 - 25 Sep 2010
Venue: La Petite Vallee Rue du Putron, St Peter Port, Guernsey GY1 2TE 10.30am - 12.30pm Prices: RHS members £10.00 Non members £12.50 (including refreshments) Book by 24/09/...
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