JCLM Farming expands its strawberry propagation facility at Ouse

A strawberry propagation facility at Ouse has doubled its annual plug plant capacity to five million after an $80,000 expansion.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff officially opened JCLM Farming’s stage 4 misted tip facility, which features an extra 12 polytunnels erected over a hectare.

The company has wasted no time, with JCLM Farming managing director Jack Beattie saying it had already finished planting at the new facility.

“It’s doubling our capacity in misted tips compared to last season,” Mr Beattie said.

“That means there are twice as many clients we can provide to, which allows us to keep up with the strong demand from our customer base.”

Mr Beattie said it had already shifted its focus to stage 5, which could add up to an additional 10 million misted tips per year.

“We aim to get to 20 million plants per year.”

The expansion at JCLM Farming was in response to surging demand Australia-wide for strawberry plug plants.

“Our focus continues to be on generating value for our customers,” Mr Beattie said.

“There’s a strong move across the global industry away from soil plants and into plants grown in substrate – plugs, mini-trays or tray plants.

“Our customer base has very well accepted the plant types we’ve distributed in recent seasons.

Mr Beattie said he travelled extensively throughout Australia and internationally to investigate industry-leading strawberry propagation facilities and replicate the best set-up for his central Tasmanian location.

“At our specialised nursery we focus on the high-intensity propagation of strawberry tips.

“Once we have propagated these tips, they are grown out into established plug plants, mini-trays or tray plants.

“It’s quite a lengthy process – sometimes over a year, depending on plant type. “Foundation material is planted in grow bags in the tunnels in August, tips are harvested and placed into potting media in trays in January and February, and finished plants are then dispatched from March through to the following January.”

The tunnels the JCLM farming uses are outfitted with steel trough tabletop systems, elevating plants to improve circulation and remove the risk of soilborne diseases. 

“Tunnel features allow us to maintain an average temperature of four to six degrees Celsius above ambient, which is ideal for plug plant propagation,” Mr Beattie said.

“We have also installed a 4-metre-high wind net around the entire facility.”

Mr Beattie said first plants from Stage 4 will be dispatched to strawberry growers in autumn 2027.

As part of the expansion, we upgraded our water storage and irrigation system to allow us to get the most out of the growbags.

 “Essentially, we will use 20 per cent less water to grow 20 per cent more plants.”