Wij Telen Groente in de Kas

Wij Telen Groente in de Kas is an organic self-harvest garden in an unheated greenhouse at the Haarlemmer Kweektuin in Haarlem Noord, run on the community supported agriculture model by professional growers and volunteers.

Members buy a harvest share for a year and come once a week to cut their own vegetables, herbs and soft fruit, usually four or five kinds a week and up to seven or eight in summer and autumn; at the end of September the greenhouse share included rocket, Asian salad leaves, peppers, tomatoes and chillies. The growers rotate around 40 crops, use no heavy machinery and don't plough, and they control pests with ladybirds, parasitic wasps and other insects instead of chemical sprays. The greenhouse is neither heated nor lit. It is certified organic (SKAL); we found it in the register.

The greenhouse season runs from about March to November, with harvest times on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons or evenings and on Sunday morning, and an email each week says what is ready. There is a waiting list for greenhouse shares. Members bring their own scissors and bags, and products can also be ordered online for collection from the small organic shop (BioWinkeltje) in the greenhouse.

Under the name Telen met Zorg the greenhouse is also a care garden, where up to ten participants with support needs work on Tuesdays and Thursdays.