Carrots, spinach, lettuce, Swiss chard and radishes are neatly lined up in long rows in the greenhouse of the Haarlem organization Wij Telen Groente. Annitta Bodegraven and Erik de Keulenaar are the driving forces behind the organic self-harvest gardens in the Kweektuin and the Ramplaankwartier.
In the back of the greenhouse in the Kweektuin in Haarlem-Noord, some Haarlemmers are scurrying around. They fill their bags with fresh vegetables, which they have just harvested themselves. In the background, five beautiful chickens and a rooster make themselves heard noisily.
“These are our assistant gardeners”, laughs Annitta Bodegraven. “In the winter they run loose here and keep the greenhouse free of weeds and bugs. We are organic plus. We don’t use any pesticides at all. For example, we use ladybugs against the lice. And the chickens eat them too.”
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Wij Telen Groente has been active for ten years now, says Erik de Keulenaar. “We were with a group of people who wanted to do something with agriculture in the city. I was doing an education for organic agriculture and wanted to be the farmer. This greenhouse was empty after Spaarnelanden left the Kweektuin and the municipality wanted the greenhouse rent to us.”
And that immediately turned out to be a great success. “There was a lot of interest from the neighborhood right from the start. Local residents also wanted the greenhouses to stay. We are really full here, there is a waiting list.”
Brussels sprouts
About 550 households in Haarlem are participating in the project. Annitta: “People buy a share in the harvest for 290 euros per year. Every week you come to harvest your own vegetables. Our biodynamically trained gardeners look at what can be harvested that week and the participants receive an email about it. You literally eat with the seasons.”
A woman walks out of the greenhouse with two young children and a full bag. “I harvested turnip greens, spring onions and spinach. I think I’m going to make a quiche tonight. The kids love it. They really like to harvest themselves and now eat vegetables much more easily. They see it as candy. Even Brussels sprouts are going better now.”
A meter of spinach
Volunteers lend a hand at Wij Telen Groente. Inge is one of them. She notes who comes by to harvest. A blackboard indicates what may be harvested. Cut five spring onions, three handfuls of turnip greens and one meter of spinach. Inge: “Opinions are sometimes divided about spinach. About how long a meter is exactly. But it is really delicious. The carrots, for example, cannot be compared to those from the store.”
Erik agrees: “We mainly grow real Dutch vegetables. The participants really like the taste much better. We therefore use authentic seed and grow in organic soil. Our endive, for example, is a bit more bitter than in the supermarket. That’s how endive should actually taste. , but that bitterness has been bred out for the supermarket. We go for the real taste.”
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This Saturday you can view the harvest greenhouse of Wij Telen Groente during the large Bio Spring Market on the grounds of the Kweektuin. Fifty stalls with organic products, plants and so on will be spread over the entire site. The market is open from 10am to 4pm. At 13:00 there is a free tour of the greenhouse.