The UK’s blessed with a sunny spring, offering ideal conditions for cultivating strawberries of an unusually large size, as reported by local farmers. Bartosz Pinkosz, boasting nearly two decades of experience as the Operations Director at the Summer Berry Company, claims this is a first in his extensive career. The secret to the giant fruits? A splendid mix of abundant sunshine and refreshing cool nights. From January’s darkest days to the brightest March and April since 1910, conditions have been nothing short of perfect for strawberries, leading to berries that are 10% to 20% larger than usual.
At the Summer Berry Company’s farm in Colworth, West Sussex, the usual size is a modest 30g per berry, but sizes have ventured into “giant” territory, reaching as much as 50g each—too large, in fact, to easily fit in one’s mouth. Nick Marston, the Chairman of the British Berry Growers, echoes this sentiment, highlighting the exceptional size, shape, appearance, and overall quality of the strawberries this year, thanks in part to the ideal weather conditions that have allowed for slower, more thorough ripening.
However, while celebrating the bounty of this year’s crop, Marston also expresses concern over the potential for drought this summer, due to the persistently dry weather. The situation is closely watched, particularly by growers in the south-east, who can mitigate with water-saving practices like drip irrigation. Despite this looming threat, the prospects for the coming Wimbledon in June remain bright, with tennis fans potentially set to enjoy these plump and succulent strawberries once again, following a less fruitful season last year due to wet and dark conditions.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/may/18/giant-uk-strawberries-weather-growers
