The Griffiths family grow over 30 varieties of tomatoes at Nutbourne Nursery in West Sussex. A quite extraordinary range of colours, flavours, shapes and textures.
Gary and his father, a South London greengrocer, bought the nursery in 1978 and a year later Gary grew his first commercial crop. Since then an innovative approach to growing has driven Nutbourne’s success. In 1989 Gary switched from conventional pesticides to biological controls and ten years later he started growing the range of specialist tomatoes that have made Nutbourne Nurseries a favourite with so many chefs.
Gary works closely with his customers and their feedback is crucial in trialling and selecting the new varieties that are introduced every season.
There is an almost obsessive attention to detail that is really only achievable in a small family business. Every part of the process – growing, harvesting, quality control, packing, delivery – involves a family member.
British tomato growing has undergone something of a revolution in recent years with growers concentrating on varieties that deliver flavour rather than volume. Nutbourne Nursery are firmly at the forefront of this revolution and we think they’re probably the best tomato growers in the UK. More importantly, so do our customers.