Grapes
There are now at least 400 working British vineyards, producing about 2.5m bottles of wine a year. Most are in the south and east of England but warmer winters and hotter summers mean they are steadily creeping northwards - as far as Yorkshire so far, where there are now four. The last official count suggested just less than 809 hectares (2,000 acres) now under vine, but, says Julia Trustram Eve of the English Vineyards Association, "We reckon that acreage has increased 25% just in the past three years. We are getting so many inquiries and it's starting to get through to farmers that there are real alternatives to traditional crops." Even the French are taking notice. One established French grower has set up in Hampshire, where the soils and climate are not far off those of the Champagne area, and another Champagne house is in Britain this week in search of somewhere to invest. Climate change is bound to extend the range in which commercial vineyards can be established.
Environmental impact Saves food miles.
Borage
If in June you see fields of bright blue star-shaped flowers on bristly stems, it will probably be borage - an ancient herb that grows right across Europe as a weed, but has now been renamed "starflower" by the farming industry and is being cultivated on a big scale in Britain for the health food and alternative medicine markets. Its advocates claim that it is a "diuretic, demulcent, emollient, anti-rheumatic, refrigerant, diaphoretic, expectorant and anti-depressive", and borage is used in aromatherapies, toothpastes, cosmetics, pet foods and even Pimm's drinks. Nearly 10,000 hectares are being grown this year, according to Alison Hamer of the National Non-Food Crop Centre.
Environmental impact Slight - no pesticides are needed.
Willow and other 'biomass' crops
Get used to 12ft-high swaying grasses and mile upon mile of fast-growing trees in lowland Britain. The biggest change in the countryside in the next few years will probably be in "biomass" crops, which can be used to make electricity. More than 2,000 hectares of willow and poplar trees, and 5,000 hectares of elephant grass are in the ground this year - a huge increase on 2006 - and they will all be burned in power stations and smaller-scale heating units. Farmers like the new crops because they need little attention and can be harvested every two or three years, but mainly because the EU is offering a premium price for them.
Environmental impact The environmental advantage lies in their replacing fossil fuels, but a lot depends on how far they have to travel to be burned. On a large scale, they will be taking away land that was traditionally used for food crops. That food might now come from abroad, stacking up the miles ...
Hemp
You can expect to see at least 1,416 hectares of cannabis being cultivated in Britain this year, but don't get overexcited. It contains practically no tetrahydrocannabinol, the property that gives marijuana its potency, and is being grown as an industrial crop. It is in demand for food and oil supplements, insulation, horse bedding, fabrics, paper and, apparently, 25,000 other uses. However, the crop has been stigmatised, sidelined and denied by governments for so many years that it is taking notoriously conservative farmers a long time to switch, even though the ban on hemp cultivation, imposed in 1971 under the Misuse of Drugs Act, was overturned in 1993.
Environmental impact Aficionados say that it is the perfect sustainable crop for Britain - it can thrive in British soil with little water, and it needs no pesticides or other chemicals.
Bog myrtle
The Vikings supposedly used this jolly herb to get high before going into battle, the Celts used it to flavour beer and it is still used by people who know where to find it as an insecticide to ward off the fearful Scottish midge. But what was only ever harvested wild from the rocky, boggy ground of the Scottish highlands is about to go big time, with Boots committed to growing 50 hectares this year and hoping to cultivate nearly 3,000 hectares eventually. It's being renamed "sweet gale oil" and, say the chemists, is going to be used in skincare products. William Milliken, research associate at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, is a fan: "Bog myrtle is a wonder herb. It is firmly planted in Scotland's history of medicinal plant use. People have used it to treat ulcers, intestinal worms, aching muscles. It's even used as an alternative to hops in beer."
Environmental impact Practically nil.
Strawberries
The English strawberry season used to be short and sweet: around 400 hectares were cultivated, hordes of people descending with baskets on fields in June or July to pick their own. No more. We now grow at least 2,025 hectares of strawberries, almost all in plastic polytunnels, to the great delight of supermarkets, which don't have to import the fruit, and the public, who can now eat English strawberries for eight months of the year.
Environmental impact Fewer food miles. But the strawberries require vast amounts of pesticides, the soil in which they grow is often laid waste, and the sight of so many acres of Herefordshire and other counties under plastic is enough to send the traditionalists mad. And they don't taste the same, do they?
