Manure becomes UK’s ‘brown gold’ as sales rocket in homegrown veg revolution

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    Britain is turning to poo in a bid to beat the supermarket fruit and veg crisis.

    Sales of manure have rocketed by 300% in recent weeks as green-fingered families refuse to live without a decent salad.

    Thousands are snapping up the ‘brown gold’ for their gardens and joining the grow-your-own revolution.

    READ MORE: Fruit and veg prices hiked by desperate market traders as government says 'eat turnips'

    They could be rolling in lettuce, onions and radishes within just six weeks, according to manure supplier Michael Watmore.

    It comes as supermarket shelves lay bare of many veggies due to poor weather in supply regions like Spain and Morocco.

    He said: “We’re selling a lot of manure, a lot of compost because people are growing their own stuff.

    “It’s coincided with the shortage of salad crops.

    “Sales have increased by two or three hundred per cent – and you can quote me on that.”

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    The wholesaler, who runs Watmore’s Turf and Topsoil in Runcorn, Cheshire, is now shipping out hundreds of tons of horse manure every day.

    But he’s unlikely to run out of the popular fertiliser any time soon.

    He added: “Horses keep on pooing and it’s a problem for stables to get rid of it – but now it’s a product which is at a premium. There’s money in muck, done right.”

    It comes after supermarkets warned the current shortages of fresh veg could last until early May.

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    Shoppers have faced empty shelves and rationing when looking for products like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and salad leaves.

    But Michael said amateur gardeners are often surprised at how easy it can be to grow your own produce.

    “The easiest way is to go and buy three or four pallet collars for about £5 each,” he said.

    “Put them in a stack, with about half a ton of top soil and manure in there. In six weeks you’ll have radishes, salad leaves, onions, whatever you want.”

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    The government blamed current crop shortages on “poor weather in Spain and North Africa where they are produced.”

    Environment Minister Therese Coffey was widely mocked for suggesting Brits eat turnips instead.

    But UK-based farmers insisted the problem was their sky-high energy bills, which meant salad crops were no longer cost-effective to grow.

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