Biologische Tuinderij de Elzenkamp

De Elzenkamp is an organic market garden on the edge of Voorthuizen that grows more than 50 kinds of vegetables a year for its weekly vegetable crate, its farm shop and two market stalls.

Their website says everything is grown without synthetic fertiliser or chemical pesticides, and the garden is certified organic (SKAL); we found the certificate in the register. The crates are filled all year from their own land as far as possible, but in winter, and for the market stalls, they buy in from organic growers nearby or, failing that, from the organic wholesaler.

A crate holds about five kinds of vegetable, enough for three or four meals, and comes in four sizes. Crates and fruit bags are delivered on Wednesdays to the farm itself, from 13:30, and to 13 other pickup points in the area between Amersfoort, Nijkerk, Putten, Garderen and Barneveld, and can still be collected on Thursday. The farm shop is open on Fridays from 9:00 to 17:00 and Saturdays from 9:00 to 13:00, and the stall stands at the Bussum weekly market on Thursdays from 8:00 to 16:00 and at the Amersfoort farmers' market on the Eemplein on Fridays from 9:00 to 17:00.

Because subscribers take a fixed amount every week, the growers plan their crops against actual demand, which keeps surplus to a minimum.