Herefordshire farm rents fields in Cornwall to extend Tenderstem broccoli season to Christmas

A farm based in Herefordshire’s rented out its fields in west Cornwall to make sure home-grown Tenderstem broccoli doesn't run out over Christmas

It's out of season at the moment - and at this time of year it's usually imported from Kenya or Spain.

But AS Green and Co are set to supply Tesco with 40 tonnes of the vegetable ready for people's Christmas dinners.

Caroline Green, of AS Green, said: "We also grow Tenderstem broccoli at our main site in Herefordshire but have rented land in Cornwall in order to try and extend the British growing season which we've achieved this year.

"This is the start of a three-to-four-year trial and we are still learning as we go but the early signs have been very good.

"We decided to grow in Cornwall as it has a warmer climate with milder night-time temperatures and a better growing soil for this crop.

"In the past, we've been able to grow it until 20th November, but our aim was to reach Christmas. We put a lot of science into picking the right site in order to make this happen."