Sustainable nursery: Pieters Planten

Pieters Planten Nursery is located in a shady, wooded spot in a beautiful old walled garden in Wapenveld. Its location immediately reveals Pieter Nijhoff's specialty: shade-loving plants. You'll find this sustainable nursery at the Craft Plant Market again this year.

What Pieter and many other gardeners are passionate about are shade plants and hardy tropical plants. Whether you're looking for a contrasting leaf, a unique shape, or a color, Pieters Planten offers unique varieties that combine well for all sorts of reasons. From ferns, asters, and salvias to hardy begonias and gingers, and much more.

On September 27th and 28th, Pieters Planten will be at the Artisanal Plant Market , the most sustainable plant event of the year. Will you be there at De Wiersse Estate in Vorden? Read more about Pieters Planten's sustainable selection of plants at the market below.

"We prefer to propagate our plants ourselves by sowing seeds, taking cuttings, or dividing them," says grower Pieter Nijhoff. "We try to grow the plants as naturally as possible, outdoors, taking advantage of the seasons. No pesticides are used in the cultivation process."

The nursery uses only peat-free potting soil. "Coconut fiber, a commonly used alternative, isn't very sustainable. Instead of peat and coir, I use compost in my potting soil. I get good results with it. I use Osmocoat as plant food. It's a fertilizer with a special coating that releases the fertilizer slowly. The advantage of this is that I don't have to add fertilizer frequently and there's almost no leaching of fertilizers into the environment. This is in contrast to organic fertilizers, which do leach quickly, ending up in the soil."

Due to the use of artificial fertilizers, the nursery doesn't fully comply with the European organic certification, which is monitored by Skal Biocontrole. "If I can find slow-release, Skal-approved fertilizer, I would consider applying for certification," says Pieter.

Packaging is also carefully considered at the nursery. "I reuse the pots the plants are grown in as much as possible. If I buy additional pots, they are made of recycled plastic. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own bags and crates for transporting the plants (crates are sometimes loaned out). At markets, we use biobags (biodegradable bags) for customers who haven't brought their own."

We have copied this information as carefully as possible and edited it for readability, based on the contract signed and explained by the growers at the Craft Plant Market.