Small is beautiful
According to the market garden principle, we at Dorfgmües grow a wide and seasonal range of vegetable crops on a small area. The company works on the basis of regional contract farming. Several private households subscribe to a vegetable bag for a whole season and receive freshly harvested Dorfgmües for around 30 weeks, from May to November.
Dorfgmües is called
for the region : Dorfgmües brings the vegetables back to the village. Our goal is to provide the residents of Thalwil and the surrounding communities with the freshest and tastiest vegetables from the region. We achieve this by only harvesting a large part of the vegetables on the day of distribution.
for health and the environment : we completely forgo the use of chemical pesticides and artificial fertilizers. The short transport routes protect the climate. In our garden we promote a biological balance in order to be able to harvest healthy vegetables. In addition to a lively soil, we create a variety of habitats for beneficial insects and other little helpers.
for transparency : At Dorfgmües, consumers know your vegetable gardener. You have the option of picking up your vegetables directly from us in the field or taking a guided tour of the company. This creates trust and mutual understanding.
The gardeners of Dorfgmües
We, that is Jiyoung and Reto, discovered the joy of vegetable gardening years ago and initially mainly provided ourselves and our children with fresh vegetables. After a while, we came up with the idea of making our vegetables accessible to other people. The right method for this soon became clear to us, the cultivation should take place according to the market garden principle. What followed were various internships on vegetable farms, courses and seminars in the field of market gardening and the final certainty that we wanted to take this path. For us, market gardening means pursuing a meaningful activity and making our personal contribution to a future suitable for our grandchildren.
Market Garden
Vegetables are grown on a small area, usually less than one hectare, following the example of the Parisian market gardeners of the 19th century. The so-called Maraichers supplied the entire population of Paris with vegetables at that time. Their relatively small vegetable gardens stretched like a ring around the big city. The cultivation methods of the Maraichers, which have since been forgotten, were translated into the present day by the two pioneers Eliot Coleman (USA) and Jean-Martin Fortier (Canada). The resulting movement is called market gardening.
Bio-intensive vegetable production
Market gardening is closely related to the system of bio-intensive vegetable production. This system is about using ecological cultivation methods to generate the highest possible yield on a small cultivation area. Heavy machinery is not used, which in turn means that vegetable production involves a great deal of manual work. In order to be able to produce enough vegetables on a small area, sophisticated cultivation and crop rotation planning is necessary. The planning allows the beds to be occupied with a crop practically continuously during the growing season. The use of compost actively promotes the build-up of humus. In order to preserve microorganisms and microorganisms and to protect the soil structure, the soil is only cultivated minimally.