We have started 2022 with some exciting changes (new toys!) at Dragons Garden. To meet customer demand we have recently installed some new kit/expanded our existing set up. Our products now have a retail presence on two continents, with a substantial amount of the retail packing done at Dragons Garden and new product launches on […]
New kit and capabilities at Dragons Garden Read More »
What is a yumberry? The Chinese name is yangmei 杨梅, the Latin name is Myrica rubra and the English name is red bayberry or waxberry. “Yumberry” was coined by an American nurseryman in 2003 who thought yangmei sounded like “yummy” and set the yumberry name in use.
It is barely believable 25 years have passed since my business partner Kirby Wang and I discussed starting a joint venture in fruit growing and processing over a few beers in Qingdao. That was in 1999 and here we are in 2024 celebrating 25 years of Dragons Garden Ltd. From humble beginnings with a leased
Berry Ltd spring news 🍓 25 years of Dragons Garden 🥂 Read More »
Dear Reader, Last month I had the pleasure of visiting Yunnan, China’s large south western province, with Dragons Garden’s MD Kirby Wang. Starting in Xishuangbanna we travelled to Menghai, Pu’er (famous for tea), Zhenyuan, Jingdong, Jianshui (famous for teapots) and Kaiyuan. The purpose of the trip was to visit our sources of cultivated blueberries in
My last trip to China was in November 2019, and it was great to be back. So how are things in the Middle Kingdom since the Covid Pandemic? The first thing is the new flight route. Instead of heading up to 60 degrees North over Helsinki and then traversing Siberia the new route from Europe
June 2023 China Trip Read More »
We would like to have a short discussion on Chinese Hawthorn (Lt. Crataegus pinnatifida), also called Mountain Hawthorn 山楂 (pinyin: Shān Zhā). Hawthorn is a very popular edible fruit in China but not consumed much outside China. The Chinese use it in a variety of deserts and sweets and also jam and wine. It is
Hawthorn, a prized little fruit high in vitamin C Read More »
Major problems in Los Angeles, the Suez Canal and now Yantian have been massively disruptive to global supply chains but lesser widespread congestion should not be overlooked. Yantian, one of China’s busiest ports, stopped accepting new export containers in late-May because of a Covid-19 outbreak. Initially this was supposed to be only a few days
What the freight: June 21 – Widespread congestion Read More »
It’s fair to say that the last 12 months have been a challenge on all sorts of fronts, but one thing remains on the up in 2021, and that is organic farming. Growth of organic sales in the UK in 2020 was up at a record increase of 13%, vastly outperforming growth in non-organic, and
Organic Farming at Dragons Garden Read More »
Those of us in the fruit industry are no strangers to the impact of adverse weather conditions, but the severe frost episodes seen across France and nearby countries earlier this month have been particularly disastrous in many of Europe’s fruit growing areas and have had a devastating effect on harvests, particularly stone fruits. The French
Fruit Prices to Soar After European Frost Disaster Read More »
We’re now several weeks post transition period and like many others, we are starting to see what business actually looks like, this side of Brexit. Though experiences differ subject to our industries and the way we run our businesses, we thought it might be quite interesting to share how we’ve been impacted, now that reality
BREXIT: The story so far – are the teething problems over? Read More »
We are always looking for ways to run our factory more efficiently with less waste generated. A few years back we replaced our coal-fired boiler with a hydrogen boiler. Coal-fired boilers were the powerhouses of Chinese factories for years, and although we had a fairly low-emission boiler it was time to retire it. The only
Sustainable power and water at Dragons Garden Read More »
