Yduns Have Organic Farm & Cabins, Samsø

Organic heart of Samsø’s countryside

Set among gently rolling fields near the hamlet of Alstrup, Yduns Have is an intimate organic farm that captures Samsø’s reputation as Denmark’s vegetable island. The ten-hectare property spreads across mixed crops, orchards and shelterbelts, with the low farm buildings forming a compact courtyard at its centre. From here you look out over rows of salad, potatoes and brassicas, while the faint shimmer of Stavns Fjord marks the eastern horizon. The farm has been managed organically since the late 1980s and today is leased and run by a young farming couple with deep roots in ecological agriculture. They focus on soil health, seasonal rhythms and short supply chains, linking the fields directly to the small shop and the surrounding community.

A farm shop that never really closes

The heart of a visit is the simple self-service gårdbutik. Open around the clock, it feels more like a pantry than a store: wooden crates piled with freshly harvested vegetables, baskets of fruit in season, and shelves lined with preserves, flour or dried goods. You weigh and pay yourself, often sharing the space only with the creak of floorboards and the occasional cluck from nearby hens. Produce is intensely seasonal. Early in the year you might find tender greens, salad mixes and early roots; summer brings bright berries, tomatoes and the island’s famed new potatoes, while autumn leans into squash, cabbages and storage crops. Eggs with deep yellow yolks come from hens that spend their days foraging on grass in mobile coops.

Biodiversity in every bed and hedge

Walk the edges of the production beds and you see just how diverse the farm is. Well over a hundred, and in practice closer to two hundred, different varieties of vegetables, fruits and herbs are grown across the season. There are standard staples like carrots and onions, but also more unusual crops such as chard, fava beans and heritage lettuces that rarely appear in supermarkets. Hedgerows and margins are left flower-rich for insects, and the rotation of crops, cover plants and grazing animals keeps the soil covered and active for much of the year. The result is a patchwork farmed landscape that feels alive: bees working in clover, swallows skimming low over the fields and, on quiet days, only the wind and the distant sound of the sea.

Cabins for a slow farm-side escape

Tucked to one side of the main yard are six modest wooden cabins, painted to blend into the rural setting. Two are smaller units geared to couples or small families, while four are larger, sleeping up to six people. Interiors are basic but cosy, with bunk-style beds, a small lounge area and space for luggage. Guests share a generous common house that holds the kitchen, dining area, lounge corners and bathrooms. Outside are picnic tables and benches scattered between trees and vegetable beds, making it easy to carry dinner straight from chopping board to evening light. The beach is a short ride or walk away, yet many visitors spend long stretches simply watching the light shift over the fields.

Community-supported roots and island rhythms

Yduns Have is part of a community-supported agriculture movement on Samsø, owned by a local land trust that secures fields for organic use. Members commit to buying a share of the harvest, giving the farmers stability while keeping food miles low and prices fair. For casual visitors, that ethos is felt in the relaxed pace of the place: no rush, no hard sell, just the quiet encouragement to take what you need and leave the landscape as you found it. Spending a few hours here reveals another side of Danish island life. Instead of seaside bustle, you encounter daily farm routines: staff moving irrigation lines, children helping with harvest, hens being shifted to new grass. Whether you come for a quick shop or a longer stay, Yduns Have offers an unvarnished, hands-on glimpse of how food, place and people are woven together on Samsø.