Newsletter,
December 2009
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Ton Vreeken ❞Fortunately, we're not all sick, but I've never experienced as much absenteeism as this year...
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The worst is overWe have a large team (now well over thirty people) so we can maintain continuity, but this week I was scratching my head (a bit sick, myself). It can't get much crazier because certain important tasks are still pending... I hope (for the sick colleagues and for the company) that we only have to manage for another week and then we'll be back at full strength.
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Saturday, Mari Maris is coming!Who already knows her books? A delight to read: "De Groentebijbel" (The Vegetable Bible) was already a hit, and with "Mari Plukt de Dag" (Mari Seizes the Day) she even scored a recommendation during the book review on the TV show "De Wereld Draait Door". This coming Saturday, February 17th, Mari will spend a day with us to treat you, our customers, to some snacks. She will mingle among the seed racks and answer your cultivation questions based on her own experience. Of course, she will gladly sell her book and will certainly sign it upon request!
Mari was a chef in Amsterdam for years when she decided to settle in Northern France 9 years ago. There she manages the Jardin des Étoiles, where she grows vegetables, cooks, and hosts people.
We sell both of her book titles. Click here to preview the description. I have some connection with these books, as I was allowed to correct the cultivation descriptions and provide additional tips. A fun little job with a red pen on the couch...
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Good news from Sweden: the PluggBox is back!It's been a while, but we were able to purchase a few more pallets full of these "Smartest Seed Kits" in Sweden! They should be rolling in this month, and I'm as happy as a child. It's always frustrating when you're very enthusiastic about a product but can't deliver it. Read the (long but fun) story about all the clever features of this compact and beautiful seed kit.
New Raatakkers
One of my growers (and also a customer), Jan Bulthuis, is involved in a wonderful project. Read about it in the following piece written by him:
De Nieuwe Raatakkers in Wiesel (near Apeldoorn) has a number of small fields of 500 m² on a 1.3-hectare plot where organic farming is practised. These small fields are separated by natural strips with grains and wildflowers for butterflies, birds and insects. The aim is to increase biodiversity, grow healthy crops and have a lot of fun doing it. We grow vegetables for ourselves, but also seeds for Ton Vreeken, as I do with the sweet corn "Zoete Jan" and the (branched and unbranched) sunflower "Op Zwart Zaad". There are still a few fields for rent for enthusiastic and driven enthusiasts! On the website www.nieuweraatakkers.nl you can find more information, including how to register. We call this project "Raatakkers Klein" and we had a good harvest there last year.
In the future, we want to set up a 5-hectare plot with fields and natural strips and a small farm or barn for tool storage, toilet facilities, coffee, and shelter. In such a large area, nature will have even more opportunities. We hope that the field flora will flourish again and that field birds can breed there, that the Partridge will walk through the grain fields and the Skylark will sing above our heads... The entire area will then become a beautiful small-scale agricultural landscape where walkers can also enjoy nature. This project (of course renamed "Raatakkers Groot") is still in its infancy and everyone who wants to participate is very welcome. We want to realize this somewhere in Gelderland and if there is anyone who has land available for this, we would be happy to discuss it...!
A personal afterword from the Seed Man
In the previous Newsletter, I mentioned that my wife was with our foster children in London. That was 4 weeks ago already. This week we were shocked by the terrible news that our oldest foster grandchild (23 years old) had suddenly passed away. His name is Pateh, a young man in the prime of his life. Full of a sense of responsibility and with the dream of becoming a pilot. Of course, with many more dreams; it seemed as if he had the flu, we are still waiting for the autopsy to find out what happened. Great sorrow and devastation for his parents and two brothers. My wife Marry is with them; I will go there for a day next week. So strange to be here in the middle of the seeds while my family is grieving...
Our children, of course, are also grieving. The mixed feeling is that we also get to enjoy ultrasound scans of 2 happy pregnant women: my daughter-in-law was the first, now my eldest daughter is also pregnant. Grandpa Vreeken should start thinking about his retirement soon...
Fortunately, as a family, we can talk well with each other and share each other's joys and sorrows. If necessary, we are there for each other. In these kinds of days, WhatsApp is a blessing for communication!
Until a next writing!
Ton Vreeken, February 16, 2018