“I am convinced that organic vegetable gardening is the future”

When Kim Nelissen started vegetable gardening in 2014, she knew nothing about organic gardening. After securing a mini-garden in an organic community garden, she began reading up and discovered De Bolster seeds. Since 2018, through her company Moesmeisje, she has been advocating for vegetable gardening without chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Mini vegetable garden in an organic community garden

Kim lives in a small apartment in Utrecht with a small backyard. It was always full of plants, but it was only through the Albert Heijn mini-garden campaign that she discovered how much fun growing your own vegetables is. After growing some tomatoes in pots in her backyard, Kim secured a mini-garden in an organic community garden. Kim: “That was the first time I realized there is a difference between conventional and organic cultivation. When I wanted to order seeds, I quickly ended up at De Bolster.”

Kim was so enthusiastic about vegetable gardening that in 2017 she started sharing her experiences as an urban gardener on Instagram under the name Moesmeisje. Later, her own website and a YouTube channel followed. Kim: “I use those channels to show that you can eat from your own garden even with limited space and that you can make a positive contribution to biodiversity. Eventually, three years ago, I moved to another organic community garden where I now have 15m2. Still small, but I get an incredible harvest from it. We buy the seeds collectively from De Bolster, and I also buy my own seeds because I grow about 30 different types of vegetables.”

Favorite crops

Kim continues: “My favorite crops from De Bolster are Nero di Toscana (cavolo nero), purple kohlrabi, tomato, sugar snaps, and broccoli. This year I am testing the new broccoli variety ‘Bobby’ (for late summer/autumn harvest) and also the recently developed tomato varieties that are resistant to the fungal disease Phytophthora. The latter is truly fantastic because I grow my tomatoes outdoors. I’ve had to throw away my harvest multiple times before. I am very hopeful that these new tomato varieties will provide a much better yield!”

Positive contribution

Kim doesn’t use pesticides or chemical fertilizers. “I think it’s very important to take good care of the earth. Conventional agriculture contributes to declining insect populations and soil depletion. I believe you can grow vegetables, herbs, and flowers in a way that actually makes a positive contribution: no digging, plenty of mulching, natural pest control, and ensuring there’s enough food for insects by planting flowering crops as well. I notice more and more gardeners switching to organic gardening. I’m proud to contribute to that through my company. Every gardener who switches thanks to my content is one more step in the right direction.”

Future-proof agriculture

Kim hopes that more and more farmers and growers will switch to future-proof agriculture. “I know large multinationals claim it’s not feasible, but I am convinced that together we can achieve it. Fortunately, there is now a beautiful grassroots movement of gardeners and consumers choosing organic. Now it’s the big companies’ turn.

I think it’s wonderful that a company like De Bolster is committed to future-proof agriculture and develops GMO-free organic seeds. When I read on Instagram that they were becoming a cooperative, I joined immediately. This way, I can contribute to a greener future in different ways. If more people do that, I have high hopes that we can turn the tide.”

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