The first outdoor Jersey Royals of the new season have already been planted on south-facing côtils – and farmers are crossing their fingers that the weather in the opening months of the new year will be kind.
Workers from Master Farms began planting on some of their fields in Grouville on 27 December.
Farmer Phil Le Maistre said: ‘We usually aim to start planting during the final week of December, and we have good seed stocks for planting.
‘The area that’s being planted is only in about 1% of our land – the south-facing côtils get the most sun, which increases the soil temperature and should reduce the chance of frost.
‘We had such a wet autumn – what we need now is some dry weather, and then in February, when the potatoes start to emerge, we hope that there won’t be any severe frosts. When we had the “Beast from the East” in 2018 that had a very bad effect.’
Mr Le Maistre said he hoped that if the weather was favourable, the first outdoor Royals from the initial planting could be lifted at the end of March or during the first week of April.
The majority of other growers have not yet started planting, and in most cases are awaiting the return of staff from Christmas and new year holidays.
Didier Hellio, of Manor Farm in St Ouen, who alongside wife Christine won the Ambassador of the Year at the 2019 Pride of Jersey Awards, said: ‘We’re waiting for staff to return and are aiming to get out in the next week or two on the early slopes around L’Etacq. We hope the conditions will be ok – it hasn’t rained much in the last few days, but the fields are still a bit mucky and haven’t yet drained very well.’
In contrast to the problems experienced in 2018, the 2019 season saw near-perfect conditions, with a relatively dry winter followed by the right amounts of sunshine and rainfall to ensure good growth.
However sales were negatively affected by cold, wet conditions in the UK during April and May which left consumers less likely to stock up with Jersey Royals on their shopping trips.
