Hobby gardens, an increasingly growing trend in the Netherlands, provide ample produce to the owners who diligently take care of their gardens.
Şerif Alan, who came to the Netherlands 29 years ago, got interested in the hobby gardens. Alan started his hobby garden 20 years ago in Houten, Utrecht. His garden received two prizes consecutively in 2015 and 2016 as the best garden in the Netherlands.
Alan grows several vegetables and fruits in his garden, from potato to cabbage and from banana to strawberry. Alan says he grows most of the produce in four months and harvests around 50 kg of vegetables.
I visited the garden at the centre of the greenhouse heaven in Houten and listened to Alan’s story.