The Field Guideby Moss & MarrowStadsAkkers
- No synthetic pesticides or fertiliser (certified)
StadsAkkers is a 2.5-hectare market garden behind Park Zuidbroek in Apeldoorn, run by a non-profit foundation as a place where people can work outdoors, which sells its harvest in its own shop and through a self-harvest subscription.
The field holds rows of strawberries, potatoes, courgettes, carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers, herbs and an orchard of 200 apple and pear trees, worked under the guidance of an organic grower and without pesticides. The garden is certified organic (SKAL); we found it in the register as Stichting Stadsakkers. The shop 't Akkertje also sells apple juice and edible flowers, and is open on Wednesday from 13:00 to 16:00, Thursday and Friday from 10:30 to 15:30 and Saturday from 10:00 to 12:30.
The self-harvest subscription runs from May to October, for one person, a couple or a family, paid before the season starts. Each week you pick four or five kinds of vegetables and fruit and a bunch of herbs, enough for three or four meals. A weekly email says what to pick and where, flags mark the rows, and someone is always there to help. Picking is on Wednesday afternoon, Friday and Saturday morning, and places are capped at 85.
Keeping farming in Apeldoorn varied is one of the foundation's aims, and their website calls StadsAkkers the most varied field in the municipality.