Small UK Farmers Moving Into New Niche Crops - Peaches, Olives, Pecans - As Climate Warms

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From a distance it may look like any other farm clinging to the curves of the River Otter in Devon, but Mark Diacono's 18-acre smallholding may just hold the key to the future of food in this country. As spring turned to summer, buds became flowers and flowers became fruit, this little corner of England proved that our changing climate holds some genuinely exciting opportunities for those willing to experiment. "There is nothing like eating one of our peaches," says Diacono enthusiastically. "They are so far away from the things you get in the supermarket. They are right off the radar."

In place of typical English summertime crops Diacono has spent the last four years trialling more exotic plants that he believes could become common across Britain as temperatures rise. "I think the biggest potential is with grinding peppers," he says. "We all have them on the table and you can grow them easily. But we also have apricots, nectarines, hardy kiwis and pecans. Vines are also good." There are even plans for adding pineapple and guava to this exotic roster.

By growing these plants in Britain, rather than importing them from around the world, Diacono believes people can reduce their carbon footprint and still enjoy great-tasting food. "It was actually food rather than climate change that inspired me," he says. "When we bought the land I started looking through food books trying to work out what I wanted to grow – basically the things I liked eating.

"Some of the stuff was forgotten English varieties, like mulberries, but others were crops that you wouldn't think of growing in this country. But climate change is making them easier; as the frosts get pushed back, all sorts of things are possible." The key to his success is picking the right variety of a particular crop, and choosing hardy strains. "We have to take advantage of the climate change we are already committed to, and try to cut back our carbon emissions and become more sustainable in the process," he says.

EDIT

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/crops/5785670/Olives-and-peaches-blossom-in-Britain-as-farmers-adapt-to-climate-change.html