CropMix is all about crop diversity and bringing back natural processes in the field. This affects logistics on the farm, the supply chain and, ultimately, the consumer. This is why we collaborate with ecologists, agronomists, economists and social scientists. Thanks to MoestuinMix, our citizen science project, we are also adding citizen scientists to our network. Erik Poelman and Dirk van Apeldoorn lead CropMix from Wageningen University & Research. We asked them why they added CropMix to the research programme.

Why did you start MoestuinMix?

Erik: "Vegetable gardeners often have valuable knowledge about growing crops. We want to use their knowledge and creativity to find out what good crop combinations are." At the university's experimental fields in Wageningen and Lelystad, the researchers conduct experiments to find out how different crops influence each other and what the advantages and disadvantages of different combinations are. MoestuinMix is much more about involving society in the transition to more sustainable agriculture. Dirk: "We do that by working together. Scientists describe a project like MoestuinMix as citizen science. Our aim is also not to create a contradiction between scientists and citizens. Citizens can research much more than we can in the experimental fields."

What do you hope to achieve with MoestuinMix? 

Dirk: "MoestuinMix is not so much about the pumpkin-broad bean combination, but rather about awareness of how certain processes work in the garden, such as natural pest control. I hope people learn something about ecological processes in their garden. For example: What does a mummy of an aphid look like that has been attacked by an parasitic wasp? What happened there?" Erik: "I hope participants get a sense of amazement and that we can show why the transition to ecology-based agricultural systems is so important. And, of course, I am very curious about the creative combinations vegetable gardeners come up with. Which combinations that seem illogical at first sight, turn out to work well? We can learn a lot from that."

Collaborating with AVVN

Within CropMix, not only researchers, but also various social partners work together. We set up MoestuinMix together with AVVN samen natuurlijk tuinieren. AVVN's mission is to use gardening to make a valuable contribution to a green living environment and a healthy lifestyle. Gardening together is not only healthy, but also social and connecting. We asked Ans Hobbelink, board member at AVVN, about her motivations for working with CropMix.

Why does AVVN collaborate with CropMix?

Ans: "AVVN together natural gardening has stood up for the interests of allotment gardeners in association since 1928. Many of our members have vegetable gardens, where they practice crop diversity. They possess a lot of valuable knowledge. 32,000 allotment gardeners are part of our organisation, most of which live in urban areas. These people can contribute to the development of new knowledge needed for a successful research programme. The first step is already very successful now that over 750 allotment gardeners will participate in MoestuinMix."

What do you think is special about MoestuinMix?

Ans: "It's great to see gardeners volunteering. It also gives us as AVVN the opportunity to show how we are in favour of new insights and cooperation with science. I was a researcher myself for a while and was head of the Wetenschapswinkel at WUR for a long time. There we answered all kinds of social questions with advice or research at WUR. From questions about regional agriculture and rural women's entrepreneurship, to developing composting toilets and projects around water conservation."

What is you motivation to join in?

Ans: "As an allotment gardener and board member of AVVN, I contribute to a bridge between city and country. Too often I see the agricultural sector circling in on itself in the countryside. Most people live in urban areas. There, we have numerous sources of knowledge that can be useful for necessary developments in agriculture and horticulture. We try to do this with CropMix, to serve nature and biodiversity as well as creating responsible food production. Conversely, it is important that city dwellers understand how hard work is being done on more biodiverse agricultural and horticultural systems. I think citizen science is a nice form of research as applied in CropMix and I am very curious about the results."

Want to know more about MoestuinMix? Check out our webpage below.