The Field Guideby Moss & MarrowBoerderij automaat de Klispoel
- No synthetic pesticides or fertiliser (certified)
- Cover crops
De Klispoel is an organic watercress and salad grower in Ubbergen, at the foot of the ridge near Nijmegen, which sells its own produce from a vending machine at the nursery.
Their website describes it as the only watercress nursery in the Netherlands. The watercress grows outdoors in water basins that are covered in winter against frost, so it is available almost all year. The jonge sla is a mix of usually four lettuce varieties picked young as loose leaves, grown in open ground from April to September. Both are packed on the nursery's own line on the day of harvest, and there is also a fresh watercress pesto. The nursery has grown organically since it started in 1970 and has been certified since 1975; we found its organic (SKAL) certificate in the register. The soil is fed with green manures and crop residues. Other regional products, such as eggs, honey, juice and fruit, are meant to join the range, not yet confirmed.
The machine stands at the side of the building and is open every day from 8:00 to 20:00, card payment only. On Tuesdays the nursery is also a pickup point for vegetable boxes from De Biesterhof, and tours can be booked by appointment.
The watercress is fed by seepage water that wells up from the ridge and runs over its roots.