Alan Bartlett and Sons supplies fresh UK-grown carrots throughout the year – a feat which requires some careful planning.

The first of the ‘new’ crop is drilled as early as December then the fields are covered with polythene to warm the soil and enhance growth.

The polythene is removed in mid April, when the carrots are watered and fertilized ready for harvesting in June. This drilling and harvesting cycle then continues month after month until the final seeds are sown in June.

In October, the carrots destined to be harvested in the winter and spring are covered in a layer of straw to protect them from frost and maintain freshness through the warmer spring months. This helps to explain why we still grow some of our carrots in Scotland, where it remains cool enough to harvest right the way through into May.

Quality and reliability

At Alan Bartlett and Sons, we like to believe that our continuity of supply is second to none - especially as our farms are 100% dedicated to our pack house.

However, we’re never content to rest on our laurels and are always trialing new carrot varieties to ensure that we deliver the very best quality - along with reliability.

Variety and flavour

To meet the needs of today’s discerning supermarket customers, we also supply Chantenay carrots from June until May and ‘bunching’ varieties from May to December.

As well as being small and sweet, Chantenay carrots are easy to prepare and cook – and particularly good for roasting. Similarly, the bunching varieties have smaller, sweeter roots and rather than being bagged, they are sold in bunches with their attractive foliage still attached.

Given the importance of aesthetic appeal, Alan Bartlett and Sons pioneered in-field automated bunching to reduce handling. The Bunched carrot harvester is the only one in the country like it, and its twice as fast as the conventional method of pulling them up by hand.

We love our carrots. Click here to try our favorite root recipes

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