Cadsand Fruit

Fresh and fruity, those pears and apples in the fruit cart of Cadsand Fruit in Zaamslag

The first pear trees were planted in 1968 at 'Op Noten' south of Othene. The year after, Anja's father planted the following trees at De Kraag. It marked the beginning of the flourishing fruit growing business of the Van Cadsand family, known as Cadsand Fruit in Zaamslag. In addition to pears, apples, potatoes, and onions are also grown and sold in the fruit cart on the farm. From September to March, you can get the freshest pears and apples here. And in the summer, you can pick the most beautiful flower bouquet in the flower picking garden behind the farm. You can find it at Terneuzensestraat 79A, by the creek De Kraag in the polder of Zaamslag.

Fruit Picking Days

Speaking of picking, Wilco and Anja from Cadsand Fruit organize two fruit picking days for the public during the harvest season. “We started this in 2014. At that time, fruit prices fell below production costs due to the loss of exports to Russia after the crash of MH17. Two Saturdays, the public is welcome in the orchard to pick apples and pears themselves. With these days, we can show and promote how beautiful pear cultivation is. That is certainly our mission. We grow pears of the best possible quality for trade in the Netherlands and abroad, but we also want to introduce people to the cultivation of apples and pears through the self-picking days and tours on the farm. It is motivating to show visitors the product you work on all year round, let them pick it, and let them taste it.” The whole family, family, and friends help out then. Wilco and Anja turn it into a small celebration with fun activities like a scavenger hunt, rides in the poached pear express (the picking train), and a weight guessing contest. If you want to enjoy the homemade apple crumble cake, come early, as it usually runs out by mid-day. In August, keep an eye on the website and social media (Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok) for the dates. Also good to know: the self-picking days do not take place at the farm, but in the orchard Op Noten on Schepenlaan in Terneuzen.

Flowers in summer, fruit in winter

The flower picking garden of Cadsand Fruit is not just open two days a year. Here, you can pick your bouquet from about late June to late September. It was Anja's dream to start a flower picking garden alongside the self-picking days. When the cultivation of grass seed on the land behind the farm didn’t fully succeed in 2022, a trial of sowing a flower mix was made. Meanwhile, a beautiful dahlia field has been added, along with a dome greenhouse with pumpkins. In addition to fruit cultivation and the flower picking garden, Wilco and Anja also grow some consumer potatoes and wheat. From September to early March, fresh apples (Wellant, Jonagold, Santana, Elstar, Cox, Goudreinet), hand pears (Doyenne and Conference), and cooking pears (St. Remy and Gieser Wildeman) from their own orchard, potatoes, and onions are sold in the fruit cart. “Delicious pears and apples, fresher than from the supermarket. What tastes more Zeeuws-Vlaams than a crispy Conference hand pear grown on Zeeland clay?”

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