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Sustainability

Bees & Insects

Our tomato plants need pollination so we introduce bumblebees to our glasshouses. Cucumbers and peppers are self-pollinating so don’t require our little buzzy friends to help them. Each hive is delivered containing a minimum of 80-180 bees. Over the next four weeks this little bee population grows to 250-350 bees. Whilst the amount of hives will vary during the season, we need hundreds of hives in each glasshouse to pollinate all the 450,000 tomato plants inside. We use a UK native variety of bumblebee.

Pesticides can be costly both in financial terms and to the environment, so instead of using pesticides as a standard we prefer to grow using a system of ‘predator control’ to manage problems such as greenfly and we introduce ‘good’ insects into our glasshouses that are placed amongst the crops. These ‘good’ insects then eat the pest insects that can harm the crops. We monitor to ensure pest levels are under control and adjust the predators we use accordingly.

Latest News

Awards Season at Thanet Earth

14 July 2025

In June we were awarded 'Retail Supplier of the Year' at the Fresh Awards, and last week we were presented with a top conservation award

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£20 Million Construction Begins on Thanet Earth’s Seventh High-Tech Glasshouse

20 May 2025

Thanet Earth has officially commenced construction on its seventh glasshouse, marking a significant expansion in its state-of-the-art horticultural operations. The new development will add 6.5

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Thanet Earth Staff Volunteer at Monkton Nature Reserve

30 April 2025

Thanet Earth staff traded an afternoon of working hours to volunteer at Monkton Nature Reserve

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