Our history
The name Zwaan first appears in the world of seeds in Holland in 1887. Two brothers, Andries and Rijkert, gave birth to the company A. Zwaan Jr. Located in Enkhuizen, they began to sell seeds to home gardeners.
Read more...Area Geestmanner Ambacht
Tuitjenhorn and Oudkarspel are located in a polder which is called Geestmanner Ambacht.
Read more...Beginning of cultivation
The first documented proof of signs of human cultivation of vegetables in this area must have been around 1000 AD.
Read more...How vegetable and seed trade started
Many of the crops in this area came with the Crusaders. They brought them back from their travels to East and South Europe.
Read more...New and old windmills
In the area you can see several different types of windmills.
Read more...New sales system: the auction
By the end of the 19th century farmers brought their products to a central market where the trader fixed the price.
Read more...Nickerson-Zwaan and North Holland
The origins of Nickerson-Zwaan's Brassica activities come from a family cabbage seed business.
Read more...North Holland and Brassicas today
Today growers in Geestmanner Ambacht form part of the horticultural community of North Holland (West Friesland).
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