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FUNDAMENTALS for PRODUCING TEA in the UK
As a result of my study tour my “best current thinking”
about the cultural possibilities/requirements of growing tea
in the UK is as follows:
1) Warning.
Any one contemplating the cultivation of tea
should be clear at the outset on the fundamentals. You will
be attempting to grow a world commodity that is largely
selling at below production costs. The climate in other
areas is more favourable for standard tea production.
There is no infrastructure, research,
agronomy support or model of any kind.
2) Soils
The agronomy of Tea in Britain is mostly
conjecture. We know from trials at Tregothnan that it grows
in average climatic conditions and requires the same acid pH
(4.5 to 6.5) conditions as anywhere else in the world.
Isolated specimens (not cropped) are found across the UK
except in areas of high pH and regular extreme cold such as
high land. We do not need to seek high hills for
cultivation; this is a common misconception. Agri-climatic
ideals for fine tea in other tea regions of the world tend
to occur in cooler highland elevations. Tregothnan has
adjusted an area of soil of pH 7 to pH 6, the underlying
soils are acid.
3) Climate
a) It is probably best to keep away from salty coastal
winds, away from areas of usual spring frosts, and away from
areas of less than 1100mm rainfall. Seeking high Minimum
summer temperatures is apparently as important as avoiding
low winter minimums.
b) In principle it is possible to grow tea in ‘broad-acre’
scale; the known limiting factors are lack of proven clonal
material for our climate and doubts over the summer
temperature minimum to allow multiple plucking.
c) Potential growers are urged to consider the marketplace,
as a premium is required for viability. Entering production
on the back of initial establishment of tea in new areas of
the world face a consistently high failure rate. Again,
looking to the wine industry offers lessons.
4) Plant Sourcing
Plants are not available in quantity in Europe. Small
numbers are held by researchers and Horticulturalists; from
these we have propagated sufficient stocks to start
feasibility trials. As tissue culture and other clonal
techniques are adopted we aim to quickly expand our chosen
cultivars. It may be that cultivars previously untried in
the UK, such as grown in the former Soviet Union may offer
hardier teas for the UK.
5) Garden size
a) Across the world teagardens vary in size from 0.2 ha to
thousands of hectares. Currently rationalisation in India is
forcing many large estates to abandon to subsistence farmers
who can use family labour to operate and actually live in
the gardens.
b) A typical density of 10,000 per hectare is likely to
work. |
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