Too expensive for the wholesale market

Wim farms and lives by the seasons. He is never home in the summer. In the winter he has the time to go on long holidays. Wim's garden resembles a sizeable public allotment. "Farming is about choosing the right varieties, type of soil, and the method of cultivation. The way I grow is not classified as organic. That is a buzzword. Organic vegetables also do not taste better, as is sometimes claimed. I do only use organic fertilisers. Soil full of bacteria, fungi, and minerals is the basis of all the plant's nutrients and taste", explains Wim. Timing is also essential - no bringing the cultivation forward or delaying it. "Grow when the time is right otherwise you pay the price with the taste. So, strawberries in June and purslane in June, July, and August. Harvesting rhubarb also end after the longest day of the year."

What grows in a garden like Wim's? Too many seasonal varieties to mention. Currently, there are various kinds of herbs. These include East Indian Cherry Leaf, Burnet, Thulbaghia, Stonecrop, and water mint, which grows in a pond. There are chives flowers, broad beans, and thyme. There are also well-known and unique vegetables. These include iceberg lettuce, oak leaf lettuce, Jerusalem artichoke, and tree spinach. When asked what is currently popular, Wim answers, "The Champagne rhubarb already mentioned and chard."

 

Mustard spinach

Read more about Champagne rhubarb in the upcoming Primeur.