History

Leonard Ironside’s nursery was established in the 1960s, when a Folkestone greengrocer decided to move up to Farthing Common where he would be nearer to the sun up on the hills to produce tomatoes. In fact the Common is just higher up in the mists, but that didn’t stop the nursery becoming a thriving small horticultural business. Leonard Ironside’s son took over the business in the 1970s and eventually retired and sold out in 1998 to the current owners, Brian and Lorraine Watts, who have a long history of tomato growing behind them.

Brian Watts came from Lancashire where he worked at Fairfield before graduating in Horticulture at the University of Bath. He then worked in Shrewsbury for a tomato growing co-operative and later for Van Heyningen, originally a Dutch company but who became the largest tomato growers in the UK.

Brian and Lorraine now run and manage the four and a quarter acre site. There are four greenhouses covering 17200 square metres.

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Leonard Ironside Tomatoes, Hempton Farm Nurseries, Farthing Common, Lyminge, Folkestone, Kent, CT188DH
Tel: 01303862256 | Fax: 01303863347 | Email