This guideline presents examples of the use of crops on farms in agritourism. An example is also given of a farm specializing in crop production that is attractive to the public and how it uses its crops to attract customers.
In this chapter, the crops are divided into two basic groups, namely fruit-producing crops that become an attraction for potential clients after mellowing. The second group is, on the other hand, crops that are themselves a given attraction. (see in the example section) However, some crop processing applies to both of these groups and this is the subject of the third sub-section of this chapter.
If the farm grows a crop that produces fruit for consumption, the farmer has countless ways to make this activity attractive to customers to the extent that they choose the farm for their stay.
The first attribute that can be used for agritourism in this context is the harvesting of the ripe fruit by the customers themselves. The advantages of self-harvesting are, at first sight, as follows: the customer harvests as much as he consumes, which reduces to some extent the amount of wastage, and the fact that the customer does the harvesting himself means that there is no need for large expenditure from his own labor force. However, it is necessary to prepare properly for self-harvesting to maximize its benefits. It is certainly desirable that the pickers are trained at least on how to practice picking and how to move around the farm so that they do not cause unnecessary damage by their presence and potentially unfriendly picking on the farm. Self-collection can be followed up by self-processing, where already under greater supervision customers would have the opportunity to process the collected raw material further, thus opening up space for workshops, introducing traditional reporting, etc.
These flowers can include, for example, trees (forestry) or crops used for livestock feed (grass, corn, etc.) However, all these crops can serve as attractions for clients. In forestry, for example, the forest itself and the many activities that can be carried out in the forest can be an attraction. There is the possibility of game viewing or coordinated hunting. Picking mushrooms and berries, or simply taking a walk in the forest.
As far as forage crops are concerned, it is possible to form, for example, corn mazes and other formations where visitors can walk and participate in various activities, for example, in the aforementioned maze to search for habitats and compete to see who can find them all first.
Rented gardens are presented as small plots of land that are made available by farms that have developed multifunctional activities such as agritourism. They are usually located in peri-urban areas, or just outside of them, in places that are not too complicated to reach. Those who rent the gardens take care of the cultivated plants and use them for a healthy diet. This activity represents an innovation in the agritourism sector, offering customers the opportunity to have direct contact with the earth and nature.
Whatever crops are grown on the farm, the farmer can take advantage of the wide potential for cultivation, crop care, production and further processing. The potential client can see and be involved in the seasonal work around the crop (planting or harvesting) and it would be good to introduce the client to some of the history of the crop (its past use, how it was grown etc.). Directly for the clients, the farmer could prepare a workshop and demonstrate the traditional processing of the crop and sell or allow the clients to consume the final products.
There is great potential for direct sales on the farm. The farmer could offer part of the produce for direct sale on the farm, which could attract other potential clients to the farm and the farm itself would become a household name.
Information for all those planning a visit to our Lavender Farm
The main lavender season is from late June to mid-July each year.
This is when lavender is at its most beautiful. However, each year the flowering time can vary by some time, depending on the weather, the sun. So if you don’t want to be disappointed and come to enjoy the lavenders in bloom for sure, it’s a good idea to follow our Facebook where we always try to update this information. When you visit us in Bezděkov, you can visit our purple barrack at the beginning of the village first. We renovated this in 2017 from the original unused village office with fire station.
Upstairs is a lavender gallery with beautiful photos and paintings, information about growing lavender and our beginnings. Downstairs there is a shop where you can buy some of our fragrant lavender products and next door you can also take a peek into the distillery where we distill our precious lavender oil and flower water each year.
All of this is always available to you during the high season, i.e. May-August, depending on opening hours.
Follow the arrows to reach our lavender fields. We have two of these, one smaller one of about 2,500 bushes and a larger one that we replant every year, now with tens of thousands of bushes.
Please leave your cars in the designated car park which is adjacent to the larger field.
PLEASE DON’T TEAR UP OUR LAVENDER!
While it is certainly very tempting to take home a lavender bouquet, we get thousands of visitors each season and if every one of you did that, there would be nothing left of the lavender delight
For us, growing lavender is not only a joy but also a livelihood, so we hope you will understand and not be disappointed. For you, the reward is the opportunity to come and enjoy a walk among the lavender, smell the scent and relax 🙂
You can move freely around the fields, just be careful of the bushes so that you, your children or pets do not hurt them. Wooden gazebos with seating will serve you to relax. There is a pergola in a smaller field where you can taste lavender specialties during the season and refresh yourself with lavender lemonade, ice cream, lavender wine, beer or coffee and even a small bite to eat.
If you want to enjoy a nice walk and a view of the lavender fields from above, you should follow the route of our Lavender Trail, where you will learn some interesting facts, exercise your muscles and knowledge and play educational games along the way. At the end of the trail there is a self-service forest bar where you can sit, roast something good on the fire or even spend the night. 🙂
The trail can be visited all year round, and we regularly replenish the refreshments in the forest bar for you, except during the winter months when it freezes.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Lukáš and Verča
The benefits and impact you might have from the guideline implementation are:
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The Farms’ Charm project aims to develop learning materials to educate small and medium-sized farmers in possible ways of starting their agritourism activities which will help them not only diversify their incomes but also promote their farm products directly to consumers. All that while reviving the rural areas and local communities and promoting a sustainable way of tourism which is in line with the tendencies of slowing down and staying longer at one area.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. The content of this website reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.