Dirk Platteau (Velt-Stabroek), Eddy Janssen (Velt-Brasschaat), Erik Jongenelen (Velt-Stabroek)
and Marc Van Gils (Velt-Driehoek) with the home-grown organic plants
STABROEK – On Sunday, January 20, 1974, the non-profit organization Velt was born, a new social movement: Association for Ecological Agriculture and Horticulture, which had already been founded a few years earlier. Velt brought the principles of ecological cultivation to the attention and into practice for a wide audience.
Velt members have been working for sustainable gardening, a healthy kitchen and an ecological way of life for 50 years. Today there are 170 local Velt groups in Flanders and the Netherlands, with more than 1,000 volunteers and 22,500 members with a heart for ecological living. 50 years of Velt were celebrated with a large garden party on May 5. The departments Brasschaat, Polder and Groene Driehoek (Essen/Kalmthout/Wuustwezel) organized this together in the Velt garden ‘De Heuvels’ in Stabroek.
You could buy and exchange organic planting material and seeds there. You would find a stand for the seed working group, the beekeepers, the compost masters, nest box sales, flowers from the flower forest, etc. In the Velt café you could have a nice chat with musical accompaniment. A photo hunt was organized for the children.
Velt Hills
In 1977 a department was started in Stabroek. In 1987, they started growing vegetables in an ecological way in the Velt garden on Frans Hotagstraat. Community garden ‘Heuvels’ is 1 hectare in size and is an example of biodiversity and cooperation. You will find about 25 plots where organic vegetables are grown. There is a farm flower garden, a herb garden, an apple orchard with 80 apple varieties, a frog pond and an insect hotel.
Velt wants to connect people who want to work in an environmentally friendly way in their garden and kitchen. Together they promote a healthy life in the rhythm of the seasons and with respect for nature. You can contact them for workshops, courses, cooking lessons, visits and tours.
To keep this beautiful domain in perfect condition, the gardeners carry out the necessary maintenance work every first and third Saturday of the month, always between 9 am and 12 noon. You can then come and take a look. Guided tours are organized on request.
The Velt garden also has a pedagogical component. Primary school children can become acquainted with the garden together with the gardeners through a classroom visit. Velt collaborates with many professional partners, such as local authorities, healthcare institutions, schools and companies.
Info: Erik Jongenelen: 0477 99 07 69 – E-mail: [email protected] – Dirk Platteau – [email protected]
Please note in your agenda:
– On June 1 and 2, open garden days at Velt-tuin, Frans Hotagstraat in Stabroek
– Large tasting of tomatoes, peppers and peppers in collaboration with the Bloemenbos in Stabroek on September 1 from 10 am to 5 pm. Together we look for the tastiest variety and you collect many seeds for next season. Anyone who brings home-grown tomatoes, peppers and/or peppers will be rewarded with a nice gift. Lieven David tells you everything about tomatoes and answers all your questions. There are numerous activities for tomato lovers: a cooking demo with tomatoes, presentation on disease resistance of tomatoes, discussion of preventing cultivation problems in tomato cultivation… In collaboration with Bloemenbos https://velt.nu/bloemenbos and de Beek https://debeekblog.wordpress.com / – info: [email protected]
