Onions, potatoes, wheat and sugar beets have been grown on the Zuiderhoeve for more than 150 years, with occasional forays into crops such as flax and mustard. The farm is too small to make a full-fledged family income. Hence, Jan and Jo Aarnoutse, the parents of today's farmer Sjaak, began additional tourism activities as early as 1973.

Authentic

The Zuiderhoeve is one of the few authentic Walcheren farms that have withstood time (and the washing water in 1944). The characteristic house with the green and white shutters is almost square. The hipped roof is covered with gray tiles, the facades are built of brick with alternating joints, with a wide white molded gable at the top. Between the windows are gable anchors. A masonry stone above the front door reads, "First stone laid by A. Verhage - 1893. Veel more information about the origins of the farm can be found at koudekerke.info.

Lightning

The 1857 barn originally had a gable roof. The current roof has red Dutch tiles, tooled wind feathers and a makelaar. The gables are black tarred wood with green doors. Although it has since been significantly affected by woodworm and the ravages of time, this is in fact the "new barn. In fact, the old barn burned down in 1857 after being struck by lightning. The entire contents were lost, including the goat. The fire departments of Koudekerke, Biggekerke and Vlissingen tried to limit the damage, but unfortunately: the lack of extinguishing water played tricks on them.

Farmer Swallows

A pair of barn owls have been breeding in the barn for many years. Barn swallows use the entrance openings in the barn, different species of tits live in the nest boxes around, and colonies of sparrows and starlings nest under the tiled roof. The restoration of the 'old new barn' started in 2008. You can read more about it under 'News' in the menu bar.