Simon Lewis, Wight Salads

A visit to the farm run by Wight Salads on the 19th June* as part of LEAF’s Open Farm Sunday campaign is a great opportunity to discover everything there is to know about growing tomatoes – as the company grows over 180 different varieties! Wight Salads has specialised in growing tomatoes since the 1980s and the company is also a member of LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming), the organisers of Open Farm Sunday. LEAF is a registered charity that assists farmers and producers, to manage their farms as efficiently and sustainably as possible which as a result, helps them to produce good food with environmental care.

Visitors to the Wight Salads tomato farm on the 19th June will have a unique chance to take guided tours of a glasshouse to find out about the strong environmental ethos behind the business, including the ways in which the company conserves valuable resources like energy and water. The farm sources water naturally from bore holes and uses a drip irrigation system to ensure the tomatoes only receive the amount of water they actually need. This also helps to ensure the tomatoes are as flavoursome as possible.

The tomatoes are grown either conventionally or organically – but the two systems are interrelated and support each other for maximum efficiency. For example predator insects are used to control pests across both systems and the whole growing process is fully recyclable with a state of the art compost facility, which was opened last year by the Isle of Wight’s High Sheriff, Alan Titchmarsh. 

Aside from gaining an excellent insight into modern farming, visitors will also be able to meet the growers and taste many of the different varieties of tomatoes they grow on the farm.

Contact: Simon Lewis, Wight Salads, Main Road, Arreton, Newport, Hampshire PO30 3AR
Website: www.wightsaladsgroup.com
Tel: 01983 867 022

For more information visit www.farmsunday.org and for up-to-date campaign information, follow us on Twitter – twitter.com/openfarmsunday

* The event at Wight Salads is on the 19th June due to the Isle of Wight Festival, most Open Farm Sunday events elsewhere across the country take place on 12th June.

To arrange a visit to Wight Salads or an interview contact:
David Gough or Laura Bates
Open Farm Sunday Press Office   
T: 01189 475956 M : 07884 353 474  
E: david.gough@ceres-pr.co.uk / laura.bates@ceres-pr.co.uk