Company “My Harvest” from Germany provides agricultural land to users on rent and seeks other interested farmers willing to lend land.
No more than seven to eight kilometers from an urban area, about 4,000 to 5,000 m 2 arable land and suitable technique for planting vegetable beds. These are the three most important criteria that farmers must meet if they want to rent arable land to consumers as so-called rental gardens – and not alone, but in cooperation with the Bonn company “My Harvest”, writes Top farmer.
What are rental gardens?
The principle of this form of “participatory farming” is similar for many providers: farmers provide arable land near cities and prepare the field. This means that they cultivate the soil accordingly, provide basic fertilization, sow a certain selection of vegetables or plant seedlings. They also provide irrigation water and, if needed, garden tools.
Customers rent a plot of land and are responsible for tending and harvesting the vegetables themselves.
What farmers need to know about My Harvest rental gardens
- The season starts in April/May and ends in October
- The company offers pitches in three sizes:
- Mini garden (20 m 2 ) for €159/season (not available in all locations)
- Small garden (45 m 2 ) for €259/season
- Family garden (90 m 2 ) for €479/season
- Farmers receive a pre-agreed fee for the area and services they provide – regardless of whether the company has been able to market all leased plots.
- Agribusinesses do not need to be certified organic. Fertilizers and pesticides must be approved for use in organic farming.
- Seeds and young plants come from the farmer’s dealer. If necessary, My Harvest assists with procurement. Providers vary by region.
- Participating companies can terminate their cooperation with “My Harvest” every year.
Why should interested farmers join forces with the company instead of building the business model themselves?
“The farmer has to realize that customer support and plot marketing takes an incredibly long time,” says crop spokeswoman Birgit Brueggemann-Niemann when asked by Top Agrarian.
“Customer service is surprisingly time-consuming, and there are inquiries you don’t expect at all,” she says. If you have questions about the actual gardening, the company website, WhatsApp channel or the garden hotline are available.
“But you should also expect that customers will complain about heavy rain, prolonged drought or a glut of courgettes when all the courgettes ripen at once,” the spokeswoman said. For example, last year was very challenging when the opening date of the gardens had to be postponed several times because the farmers simply could not get into the fields. “We had to ensure consumer understanding first.”
Tips for farmers
- Brüggemann-Niemann advises farmers who would like to create a field themselves or garden for rentto try on a small scale in the first year and slowly increase the area.
- They should also enjoy human contact. Especially new gardeners have many questions about growing and caring for vegetable crops.
- Last but not least, it makes sense to ban certain plants from being planted in rental gardens if they spread unintentionally or are difficult to plow at the end of the season. Examples include mint, ragweed, or the root vegetable Jerusalem artichoke.
#Vegetable #gardens #rent #cityAgro #Plovdiv
