G. Elder, an organic farmer is set for a major Christmas windfall after using special “net jackets” to protect his crop of Brussels sprouts. More than four tones of Graham Elder’s harvest of the festive favourite was left inedible after being attacked by aphids last year. But the so-called “Wondermesh” has successfully protected the North Berwick farmer’s wares.

Mr. Elder, 40, today said he was thrilled to have a bumper five-tonne harvest in time for Christmas. He said: “Last year’s hot summer was ideal for aphids, which caused a large part of the crop to be written off. This year we came up with the idea of putting a fine mesh over the crop and we put ladybirds underneath to eat the aphids” Spokesperson for Wondermesh, said “We pioneered the use of netting to protect crops as an alternative to chemicals. The mesh is mainly used on swedes. In fact, 95 per cent of all swedes grown for supermarkets in the UK are now grown under netting.” Mr. Elder’s Chapel Farm supplies organic sprouts, cabbage and potatoes to Tesco. Grocery industry officials say organic vegetables are in huge demand during the run-up to Christmas.