No. 136: Frequency drives the motor!

Commemorations are often valuable, a cause for sadness (this week we remembered the armistice of the First World War) but also a cause for pride: in 2025 we are preparing for our 100th anniversary in 2026. We're making "99" our theme to surprise ourselves and you with all sorts of nice ideas and offers.

Our first application for the designation of Royal Warrant Holder has already been submitted to the Mayor; we are confident that it will be granted, as our company was registered with the "Chamber of Commerce and Factories" on February 1, 1926!

For our 90th anniversary, we published a beautiful book, which we won't repeat for our 100th anniversary, but thinking out loud, it seems like a lot of fun to create something with your contributions, for example, with the theme "what does or did Vreeken's Zaden mean to us." For your garden, your business, personally... a short piece or story on one or more A4 pages. That already seems like a great start for the upcoming anniversary. Will you think about it?

While the pallets of seeds for the 2025 season are also arriving, it's still very much "Bulb Season" for us! We still have a good stock, so you can still very much realize your dream of a Small Keukenhof in your garden or flower boxes. Did you know that up to 100 bulbs can fit in 1 square meter? In flower boxes, even more, because you can plant them in layers, the largest bulbs at the bottom... If you plan to do this, do keep in mind the small chance of a harsh winter, in which case the boxes will need to go into the shed, perhaps with some cardboard around them...

Nowadays, you should really say Hippeastrum... the enormously large sizes that we now buy from growers were genuinely not available before; they promise a whole series of flowers on new flower stalks again and again. You can discover the available colours here.

In one of the previous Newsletters, I already told you about this old growing method; it's great to continue that tradition! You can find the 3 colours here:

While the hardy flower bulbs are thinning out, we are already receiving small batches of bulbs that herald the next season. Many members of the Arum family from Dutch organic cultivation, special varieties of Agapanthus and Cyclamen, both also from Dutch organic growers. You can already order all these beautiful varieties, and on our website you will find information about their frost hardiness; some varieties you should store for a while, others you can already plant.

Click here for the 50 types of bulbs and tubers already available.

What's also very topical now and completely ready for you: our collection of edible fungi such as mushrooms, toadstools, kefir, and kombucha. Anyone walking outdoors in a slightly woody area will be amazed: it's mushroom season in nature too! Do you want to grow them yourself on felled logs? Prefer complete and ready-to-use kits? Enrich your own coffee grounds with oyster mushrooms? Choose from 25 different options!

• The Curry Leaf Trees will arrive next Monday, so if you've been waiting for them: they're finally here! Let them slowly acclimatize to indoor temperatures; they can handle a bit of cold, but frost is too much.
• At the beginning of this month, our special Roses arrived again. They have no leaves now and can therefore be transplanted "bare-root". We have selected 6 varieties based on extra fragrance, taste, vigor, and health. Give them a sunny spot with plenty of compost in the soil; in the past, you would annually add a dollop of old cow manure to roses. Take a look at these beauties on our website!

View or order the special Roses

• We still have a small collection of Strawberry Plants, which we can, of course, help through the winter ourselves, but we'd gladly sell them for a small price so you can plant them in a nice spot (not too wet and with improved potting soil) close together, to give them their final place in March or April. Seize the opportunity, while supplies last...

View or order our Strawberry Plants

Handkerchief Tree!

• This shrub, which grows into a medium-sized tree (10-15 m), is surprisingly little known, but when it blooms, everyone is amazed... In May, the plant blooms with large, hanging, pure white bracts, up to 30 cm long: it looks as if someone has hung their handkerchief collection in it! Because this rarely beautiful tree is hardly offered, we felt that had to change... We have managed to acquire a nice stock:

Order the Handkerchief Tree here

Garlic

You can actually plant garlic all winter long! Fortunately, garlic has become indispensable in our Northern European cuisine; it grows without problems even in Scandinavia! We try to keep our assortment up to date, but some varieties also sell out, so don't wait too long, even though you can plant them all winter (as long as it's not freezing and the cloves are still in good condition).

Our available garlic assortment can be found here

More Allium

There are even more frost-resistant alliums: (wild) onions and (wild) shallots... Very easy to grow and good for a lot of flavour on your plate every year!

You can find these varieties here

Fava Beans (Wierbonen)

Don't you know the little brother of the common bean? They are also called Pigeon Beans, Field Beans or Walloon Beans and are very winter hardy! You can still sow them and the seed is very affordable, also usable as a ground cover for the winter months!

View or order the Fava Beans

Broad Beans (Roomse Bonen)

I still frequently hear that regional name for Broad Beans! Broad beans are also quite winter hardy, especially the 'Aguadulce' variety can withstand frost and dampness very well. You can still sow these in November!

You can read more about this Broad Bean here

Winter Peas

Finally, of course, the good winter-hardy peas stand out. Some varieties are exceptional, so you can still sow them now and they can endure a lot of cold. Do protect them from predation by rabbits, birds, etc.

We can recommend the following 3 varieties

Strange

Besides many other policy intentions that I have doubts about, there is one cut that will negatively affect us (and you): the VAT on seeds, bulbs, and plants will increase from 9% to 21%. This means higher prices are on the horizon. So, it's smart to make your purchases in that area this year! It does strike us as strange that this agricultural regulation (which is very beneficial and supportive, especially for growers, horticulturalists, and farmers) is now being abandoned. The BBB (BoerBurgerBeweging - Farmer-Citizen Movement) apparently had to make significant concessions. The industry lobbied diligently, but to no avail. I still hold a small hope that the VAT increase will be completely called off...

Forgotten

Through an email exchange with Jan Willem Visser, I discovered a wonderful forgotten treasure of forgotten weeds that he collects, describes, and photographs. You become enchanted by gnome and fairy plants, subtle and small native plants, well-placed in their natural habitat. It's very educational and stimulating to wander through nature with a bowed head. Something I do naturally; I have to force myself to look around and enjoy the whole... Jan Willem sometimes also has seeds available to get to know these small (tiny) things in your environment. Take a look here https://kandelaartje.wordpress.com

Request

We are happy to help when requests come in by email, this time a call from Volkstuinvereniging Ons Genoegen in Heerjansdam, which is looking for new gardeners. A number of plots are becoming available, of various sizes. The active association of approximately 80 gardens is located in Heerjansdam. It is a pleasant community of allotment gardeners with regular activities. Furthermore, they stimulate sustainable cultivation of vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs through knowledge sharing and workshops, among other things.

Do you live near Heerjansdam? Surrounding places include Barendrecht, Ridderkerk, Rijsoord, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, and Zwijndrecht, all within cycling distance! If you are interested in an allotment garden at this attractive association, first check www.volkstuinverenigingonsgenoegen.nl or email for more info to moestuinsecr@gmail.com