This year's lamb's lettuce campaign is now approaching its peak. "Normally, demand increases sharply from calendar week 50. Despite changing eating habits, many people still want lamb's lettuce on their table at Christmas. In gastronomy in particular, lamb's lettuce from regional open-field cultivation continues to be highly valued," says Markus Kirn, who cultivates the leafy vegetable in Ingelheim, Germany, on approximately five hectares and mainly supplies it directly to restaurateurs, food retailers, and farm shops in the area.
Crispy fresh lamb's lettuce in the tried and tested 150g bag.
According to Kirn, the first quantities of this year's season were harvested at the end of September. "So far, we have enjoyed good quality with beautiful, large florets and very little waste, thanks above all to the frost-free and mild winter so far. If there is frost and temperatures are below zero, we have to put a considerable amount of extra effort into pre-cutting the product and protecting the lamb's lettuce with fleece. In this respect, climate change is particularly beneficial for us in lamb's lettuce cultivation."
Normally, lamb's lettuce can be harvested until March, followed by the first strawberries in April. Thus, the two crops complement each other quite well, explains Kirn, who also grows apples, plums, and sweet cherries. "Last year, however, we were forced to end the season as early as the end of February, mainly due to the dark winter and the corresponding lack of light. The last crops were therefore simply too small. They could have been marketed, but we would have needed considerably more produce to get to the 150 grams per package, which would hardly have been lucrative in relation to the already high costs."
Markus Kirn and Margarete Jost are jointly in charge of the fruit-growing business Wiesenobst GbR. Kirn also volunteers on the board of the VSSE.
Right to exist for regional lamb's lettuce
After the Christmas holidays, demand for lamb's lettuce traditionally drops noticeably. From February onwards, the first lettuces and the like from Dutch and Belgian cultivation are already entering the market. Currently, the outdoor lamb's lettuce is mainly in direct competition with Italian, French, and local produce from protected cultivation. Kirn: "The food retail trade here mainly adopts a two-pronged approach and also offers a cheaper alternative to our regional premium products. Although our products are comparatively quite expensive, they are almost ready to eat, whereas the customer still has a lot of work to do in the kitchen with machine-harvested entry-level products. In this respect, they are two completely different items, both of which have their right to exist." For a premium item such as regional lamb's lettuce, price is obviously not the most important purchasing criterion, the producer continues. "On the contrary: we have had to increase our prices again by around €0.50/150g pack due to the renewed increase in production costs, and we have still been able to increase our sales. This indicates that consumers are getting used to the higher prices and accepting them accordingly."
Mixed strawberry season
This year's strawberry season ended just in time for the start of the lamb's lettuce harvest in September. According to Kirn, who grows the berries on around ten hectares, about half of which are in the tunnel system, yields this year were rather mixed. "The marketing situation was consistently good and there was no significant price collapse this year. What we found particularly challenging, however, was the lack of tonnage for almost all varieties in our portfolio. Only the two varieties Verdi and Sonsation did quite well in terms of harvest results," he concludes.
For more information:
Markus Kirn and Margarete Jost
WIESENOBST GbR
An den Wiesen 6
55218 Ingelheim
Tel: +49 06132-8084
[email protected]
www.philaroma.de