Anchor Nurseries Ltd
Anchor Nurseries began in 1958 when the nursery on Thearne Lane in Woodmansey, East Yorkshire was bought by Edward Baarda. In February 1959, it received its certificate of incorporation. Anchor Nurseries mainly grew Lettuce, Tomatoes, & Cucumbers in the early years. Sadly Edward Baarda died only 2 years into the formation of the Company; as a result it was left to his son-in-law Arie Broekhuizen to take the reins
From 1982, Anchor Nurseries decided to focus its efforts wholly on Cucumbers. To help the company specialise in the growing of cucumbers, investment was made into building new glass, and improving the heating and irrigation systems into ensuring that Anchor Nurseries could grow cucumbers to the best quality with the least cost.
In the late 1980’s the Nursery was passed on from Arie to his son Trevor Broekhuizen. Trevor had always had a good background in growing, as he was involved in the family business from an early age. Trevor spent a year straight after finishing school in Holland, learning from continental growers on how to grow the best crops. When Trevor returned and took control he accelerated the growth of the company, rebuilding all the original greenhouses, and continuing to increase the nursery in size
In September 1999, Two CHP engines were installed at Anchor Nurseries, which are still in place to date. The CHP engines burn gas, and as a result produce heat and CO2 which helps increase yields in the glasshouse. The engines also produce electricity as a by-product, which is sold back to the national grid, which helps the national grid meet the electricity demands.
In 2003, it was decided that the pack house had become outdated, and the company decided to redevelop the pack house to ensure it was ready to meet the required standards set by the supermarkets. As a result, the pack house line was further mechanised, 2 Chiller units were added, along with increased space for storage. This ensured that the company could continue to improve the quality of its product.
In 2012, the Company went ahead with building a biomass boiler, with the aim of cutting down on the amount of gas being burnt on the site. Particularly, as Gas prices had rocketed in the previous years
In 2012, Trevor’s son James entered the Nursery full time, after completing his degree at the University of Hull. James like Trevor had spent a large part of his childhood growing up around Cucumbers, and in the greenhouses. As a result, he had a good grounding in horticulture which allowed him to become the Nursery Manager in the same year.
The company continues to grow Cucumbers hydroponically under Glass. Three crops are grown per year, the first planted in January, the last finishing in November. The company has seven greenhouse areas, spanning seven acres, as well as a modernised pack house, with the capacity to label, shrink-wrap, box, and store cucumbers to ensure they are produced and sold at the best quality. Anchor Nurseries employs fourteen permanent staff with an additional twelve seasonal staff.
Anchor Nurseries has had a long passion and history for growing British Cucumbers. The company continues to look for new ways to innovate and ensure that British Cucumbers are grown to the highest quality, with the greatest efficiency, and supplied to the British Market for years to come.
