Cycling through the meadows along a historic dyke, you’ll arrive at De Woldtuin. A regenerative market garden where biodiversity plays a central role. You enter Quinten’s de Woldtuin through a magnificent arch of pumpkins. This land is teeming with experiments. All around you, you see all sorts of things blooming and growing. The mustard flowers glisten in the sun, the turnips are bursting out of the ground, and you can hear the wind rustling through the fruit trees.
Quinten describes himself as an ‘adopted Groningian’. “I don’t need to go back to the Randstad; this is where I want to be,” he says. It’s easy to see why, as the area around de Woldtuin is truly beautiful. And it’s also a place steeped in history. The Wolddijk, on which the garden is situated, is in fact one of the oldest dykes in Groningen. It’s particularly special that so much experimentation is taking place right here with a view to the future. When Quinten started here, he was keen to set up a market garden without tilling the soil. Here at de Woldtuin , the so-called ‘no-dig’ system is used on half the land, which means they garden without digging up the soil. The soil is nourished and not disturbed too much, keeping it healthier and richer. This ultimately results in stronger, but also more flavourful, plants.
“ “I feel like an adopted Groningian” ”
De Woldtuin is situated in the food forest of Savanneboerderij Verbaarum in Bedum: a medley of annuals and perennials, shrubs and trees. The vegetable beds are interspersed with rows of trees. Not because it looks nice, but because the trees support the soil’s natural recovery process. The trees attract insects, nourish soil life and encourage beneficial fungi. “The clay soils of Groningen are often heavy, wet and difficult to work,” explains Quinten. “By adding a permanent layer of compost, you achieve all sorts of positive effects, such as better water absorption during rain and better water retention during droughts.”
“Before, everything you see now was just grass. Every now and then a blade of cultivated grass pops up here and there, but that’s almost impossible to avoid.” Next year, the garden’s area will be doubled to no less than 1,400 m². “That’s a size I can maintain on my own,” says Quinten. The best bit is that Quinten knows exactly where everything is – and where he’s planted a new experiment in between. “When I walk through the garden at the moment, I’m really pleased that so much has worked out,” he says proudly.
“We offer our customers weekly vegetable boxes. These are available in different sizes, depending on the size of the family,” explains Quinten. The harvest season runs from May to mid-November. During this time, you can collect your portion of vegetables from De Woldtuin at a time that suits you. The selection changes constantly. “Every vegetable has its own season. This means we can systematically ensure that not everything ripens at the same time and that the selection remains varied.”
De Woldtuin is not a typical pick-your-own garden where customers have to pick the vegetables themselves. The vegetables are carefully harvested on the day itself and sold from a market stall by the Woldtuin team. Whilst Remco is washing the lettuce, he explains: “We’ll only pick and wash produce such as fresh lettuce when a customer asks for it.” And you don’t just get vegetables. “When we have more fruit available, you’ll see that at the stall too, along with plenty of herbs and edible flowers,” he adds. Many everyday produce items, such as potatoes, onions and garlic, are always available for customers to take home; the Woldtuin team grow these specifically for that purpose.
Visit the De Woldtuin website for more information about the fresh vegetables, herbs and seasonal fruit. At the Savanneboerderij, you can also stay in one of the three luxury tents on the grounds. In addition, a guided tour of the food forest is organised every month, and there are regular living-room dinners featuring fresh produce from their own market garden.
“ “The emphasis is on activating and nurturing soil life” ”
“ “We make use of the entire product” ”
