After the milk tap with farmers and the tulip picking garden there is a new phenomenon for customers who want to make some effort for their product. In Zuidwolde you can put your own asparagus at Kwekerij Weiland this season.
And that idea was born a bit out of need. “We had too few staff,” says asparagus grower Elsemiek Weiland. “And then we decided not to start this field anymore.”
In the plot on Burgemeester Tonckensstraat, the asparagus sometimes protrudes more than 30 centimeters high above the ground. And that is not the intention. They should be harvested much earlier.
Weiland: “We just saw them grow and grow. And that is a shame. And picking gardens are very hip. That’s how I came up with the idea.”
People can pick up a plug and a crate at the nursery store. And they can fill it completely for 25 euros. Last week more than fifty people came to try.
“It’s very busy. We didn’t really expect that.” Yet it is not a gap in the market. This way it is not possible to remove the costs. “Not nearly, but at least we get something back. It is a poor comfort.”
She therefore hopes that it will not be necessary next year to have customers stuck themselves. “No, because it is a shame. Only if it is necessary can we do a field again. But rather not.”
Yet for Weiland there is an additional advantage of the promotion: “I hear from people now better understand why the price of an asparagus is fairly high. They get more understanding for it and I think that’s good.”
In this video, watch how the asparagus signs works: