A VALE of Glamorgan business is thriving – despite opening during the coronavirus pandemic.

Wild Wales Seeds was launched in March when farmer Rhys Jenkins learnt that his family was going to lose much of the 250 acres they had farmed for generations across the Vale.

The land is earmarked for development but the land the family personally owned wasn’t big enough to continue their farming business.

So Mr Jenkins launched Wild Wales Seeds, which produces seeds – the first in Wales - and sells them and they have a customer base ranging from local people wanting to improve their gardens to local authorities.

Most companies have found the pandemic a tough period to go through, but Mr Jenkins believes it has helped his grow as the lockdowns have seen more people focus on their gardens and therefore driven demand for seeds.

He said: “We launched Wild Wales Seeds just as lockdown hit, so it was a worrying time at first, but we’ve been delighted with the response from customers. We have been inundated with messages from companies saying they will use us now; they are pleased they can now get seeds grown in Wales. We’re enjoying serving a huge range of customers, big and small, and we enjoy working with them to create exactly what they need – for example, we recently created a mix that produces horse-friendly flowers for one customer.

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“Lockdown has definitely boosted demand for our products as more people are focused on their homes and gardens. We’re looking to release more products over the coming months that will appeal to this market.

“I’d also like to say a huge thankyou to the farming community who have offered a lot of help and support in any way they can.”

Mr Jenkins has taken on the management of nearby 350-acre Fonmon estate after owner Nigel Ford heard of the situation. He is rewilding the estate to create an environment suitable for visitors and wildlife to enjoy as well as growing wildflowers for seeds.

Wild Wales Seeds produces seed mixes for sports pitches, carnival sites, improving village greens, greening embankments and road verges, wildflower mixes and grass seeds, giving companies and the general public a wide range to choose from.

They will also be launching ‘grow your own food’ kits for children as part of their educational focus.

Wild Wales Seeds’ can be found at http://wildwales-seeds.co.uk/