Growing the future

Marks and Spencer paid a visit to the UK’s first Centre of Excellence in glasshouse growing, based in Hadlow, recently to see the variety of tomatoes being grown.

Marks and Spencer paid a visit to the UK’s first Centre of Excellence in glasshouse growing, based in Hadlow, recently to see the variety of tomatoes being grown.

The Thanet Earth Centre of Excellence @ Hadlow College officially opened in June, and aims to inspire and train the next generation of UK salad and vegetable growers

Using Hadlow College’s state-of-the-art glasshouse, the College’s horticultural students benefit from working directly with Thanet Earth, the UK’s largest glasshouse salad supplier, to develop their skills and grow tomatoes in a commercial crop environment.

Jane Phillips, Senior Agronomist for Salads at Marks and Spencer, visited the site to sample some of the many varieties of tomato, and discuss ways to supply the newest and best tomato varieties to the supermarket.

Alan Harvey, Head of Horticulture at Hadlow College, said: “We consider ourselves very lucky at Hadlow to be able to host such visits in our Centre of Excellence and would like to thank both Thanet Earth and Marks and Spencer for their time and contribution. We are just about to start the new academic year and will be training students in these fantastic facilities and hope our Horticultural degree students will be designing and running projects in the Centre of Excellence.”

The Thanet Earth Centre of Excellence @ Hadlow College is a groundbreaking partnership between Hadlow College, leading industry grower Thanet Earth, and research and innovation organisation Growing Kent & Medway.

The facility plays an integral part in horticulture courses at the College and features cutting edge technology, including:

• Suspended gutters running hydroponics for the tomatoes.
• LED and high-pressure sodium lighting.
• Vertical growing farm.
• Latest environmental control computers – PRIVA.
• Propagation unit using mist and sensors.
• Dedicated space for individual glasshouse research.
• Outdoor standing down beds for shrub and herbaceous plant production.
• New structures for seasonal bedding plant production.

Students work alongside practitioners from Thanet Earth to develop their skills and produce hydroponic tomatoes.

To find out more about the Thanet Earth Centre of Excellence @ Hadlow College, visit the Hadlow College website.