Our story
We’ve been growing tomatoes at Pollard’s Nursery since 1977, honing our craft to ensure millions of people enjoy our tomatoes at home.
Our passion for great quality, fresh food is at the heart of everything we do.
From our original plot of just 2.5 acres, we’ve grown to be one of the largest tomato nurseries in the UK. Whatever our size, we’ve never lost sight of the importance of quality, teamwork and innovation. As we’ve grown our team has grown with us. Our most important asset is our people and we’re proud that collectively we have more than 200 years of growing experience.
And with our roots stemming from a family business, quality has always been at our heart. Building on our core values, we’ve made a conscious decision to focus on flavour and grow the very best tasting tomatoes.
Customer comments
Nothing makes us happier than hearing from our customers. Here’s a selection of the many lovely comments we’ve received. Get in touch to share your #fridayfeedback
Get in touchOur tomatoes
Roterno: Large and round, with a deep red tone and soft juicy texture. Ideal sliced with mozarella and fresh basil then drizzled in olive oil.
Sunstream: Medium-sized with a wonderful thick texture and sweet flavour. Try them halved, sprinkled with salt and topped with feta and olives.
Piccolo Cherry Tomatoes – Sweet – not sugary – and balanced with tartness, our piccolo tomatoes have an intense flavour and aroma. Ideal for snacking or a wonderful addition to salads and sauces. Also delicious (and beautiful!) roasted on the vine.
Arlinta: The perfect medium tomato, its balanced flavour makes it versatile enough to add depth to any dish.
Ruby Jewel: Big and bold red, its thick juicy texture makes it ideal for stuffing, roasting or popping on the BBQ.
Twixia: Intensely sweet and succulent with a unique dark caramel colour, perfect as a snack or in a salad or a pasta dish.
How we grow
The process starts in December, when we bring new, young plants into our greenhouses. High-tech computer systems control the temperature, humidity and watering of our greenhouses, 24 hours a day. They make sure we always keep the perfect growing conditions, in the most efficient ways. And in line with our commitment to low-carbon farming, we pump the waste CO2 from our production process back into our greenhouses to be absorbed by the plants.
We also use predatory insects to control pests. Not only does this mean we can avoid using harmful pesticides, it means we can use bumblebees to pollinate our plants too. Hives of up to 80 bees a time sit in our greenhouses, taking care of pollination as nature intended.
We also make the best possible use of rainwater to irrigate our tomatoes, collecting it from the greenhouses and storing in our own 14000m3 reservoir. Our reservoir even has its own reed beds to encourage wildlife like swans and ducks to nest.
By March, we’re ready to harvest our first tomatoes. By September, our plants will have reached maturity. In all, we have more than 33 miles of healthy plants by the time they’re fully grown, every year. And they’re crammed full of delicious tomatoes, ready for harvesting every other day!
Seal of approval
We’re proud to have been certified by LEAF since 2004. LEAF farms are working, commercial farms that practice Integrated Farm Management (IFM). This means that they communicate, discuss and demonstrate environmental best practice amongst other farmers and play a critical role in promoting sustainable farming to wider groups such as politicians, industry and students.
Accreditations and environmental impact