Verhildersum Estate

Ancient crops
In order to keep history alive we grow various ancient crops in the estate’s fields. In the old days farms were self-sufficient mixed crop-livestock farms, where livestock played a minor role. Farmers grew crops such as spelt, einkorn, rye, flax, beetroots and rapeseed. However, newer varieties had a higher yield and ousted the old ones. With them certain genetic characteristics also disappeared, the most important being taste. Today there’s a renewed interest in these lost and forgotten crops; these days every supermarket stocks spelt bread.

At Verhildersum we grow demonstration plots of ancient crops such as winter wheat, winter barley, spelt, einkorn, Saint John’s rye, Mansholts White, rapeseed, emmer wheat, tartarian oats, blue poppy seeds and much more. On a larger plot we grow a different grain or bean crop every year.