The Quinoa Farming Calendar
Introduction
With it's high nutritive value, Quinoa is becoming increasingly recognised as an important food source and significant benefits in food security for present and future generations.
We have been growing a form of quinoa on our farm in Essex for Bird Food and conservation markets for over 25 years. Originally brought over from South America by Francis Nicholls, part of J.K King & son to investigate the suitability of the British Climate for growing Quinoa. After successful trials, we have now produced a commercial product for UK consumption
Over the past few years, we have seen a huge rise in demand for quinoa within the British consumer market. Not a native crop to Britain, this sudden rise in demand had negative implications on people in South America, who were being deprived of what is one of their staple foodstuffs, as more and more quinoa was being reserved for export. So at Fairking Great British Seeds, having established a consumer market for British Grown Quinoa, we set about trying to find a variety that we could grow here that wouldn’t have the bitter flavour of our first crops.