To many people, Guernsey is still known as the land of the tomato, as that was the island’s chief export for many years. The “love apple” had taken over from grapes, figs and other crops in a landscape that seemed to be covered by greenhouses, with flowers also a big export.
However, a combination of rising fuel prices, which made heating the glass more expensive, and cheap, fast air travel that brought European growers into the equation in the UK markets, meant that, by the late 1970s, horticulture was in decline.
