If you’re looking for farm shops and farmers’ markets in Stormarn to source the freshest, most seasonal, and locally produced food, you’re in the right place.
Since moving here, we’ve regularly visited our favourite farmers’ markets and specialty food shops to source ingredients for the meals featured on our blog. Over time, we decided to put together this list to share our discoveries and support the local farmers and communities behind them. Many of these businesses have been around for generations, and we hope you’ll enjoy these hidden gems as much as we do.
Stormarn, in Northern Germany, comprises 55 municipalities of varying sizes and six main towns: Ahrensburg, Bad Oldesloe, Bargteheide, Glinde, Reinbek, and Reinfeld (Holstein).
Bordering the Baltic Sea, the region is known for lush farmland, clean air, and a deep agricultural heritage—making it a jewel of the Schleswig-Holstein province. For additional tourist information, including recreation, accommodation, and dining, this website is also a helpful resource.
This guide is also available in Deutsch.
Farmers’ Markets in Stormarn & Nearby (Bargteheide, Ahrensburg & Volksdorf)
Our love of farmers’ markets began when we lived in Canada and only grew after moving to Germany.
At least once a week—sometimes even twice—we make a trip to a farmers’ market and treat it as a culinary outing. As you stroll through the stands, it’s a feast for the senses: beautiful displays of fresh meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, cheese, bread, and eggs. Specialty stalls offer freshly roasted coffee beans, fine teas, aromatic spices, local honey, bouquets of fresh flowers, and much more.
These are the markets we visit most often and that feature seasonal and regional products. For a complete list of weekly farmers’ markets in Stormarn, click here.
Bargteheide Farmers’ Market
Where: Marktplatz
When: Fridays, 14:00-18:00
This market is our favourite. Held in the afternoon on Fridays, it’s perfect for getting your weekend shopping done early.
Many of the vendors featured in this blog also have stands here.
Ahrensburg Farmers’ Market
Where: Rathausplatz 22926 Ahrensburg
When: Wednesdays and Saturdays, 07:00 to 13:00
This bustling market offers everything from fresh meat, fish, vegetables, and cheese to Nordseekrabbe (tiny North Sea shrimps), Spanish delicacies, and freshly made dips, olives, and other specialties. Many of the vendors featured later in this blog also have stands here, so it’s a good alternative if we miss the Friday Bargteheide market.
We were sad when one of our favourite butchers, Günter Feddern, stopped coming. He provided exceptional cuts of antibiotic-free, free-range meat, sausages, and his own homemade cold cuts. If anyone knows whether Günter has a stand elsewhere, please let us know!
Volksdorf Farmers’ Market
Where: Kattjahren 4, 22359 Hamburg
When: Wednesdays and Saturdays, 07:00 to 13:00
Technically, this market isn’t in Stormarn, but it’s on the Stormarn border, and we included it because it’s the largest of the three. It offers a wider variety of vendors—not just food, but also kitchen accessories, clothes, plants, and more.
Smoked fish lovers will find a large assortment here, and the fresh pasta stand, Die Pastafrauen, is worth a visit. Their selection includes homemade fettuccine, tagliatelle, gnocchi, and German Maultaschen (meat dumplings), as well as ready-to-go meals like lasagna. In our opinion, it’s one of the best markets we’ve ever visited.
After shopping—or before, if you’re an early bird—stop by a small coffee wagon for a quick espresso or cappuccino, served by a charming gentleman. During Matjes season, another wagon offers a nice selection of fish with to-go buns for a late breakfast or lunch.
Meet the Farmers’ Market Vendors We Frequent
Ralf Stoffers
Where: Bargteheide Wochenmarkt, Marktplatz
When: Fridays, 14:00-18:00
Where: Volksdorfer Wochenmarkt, Kattjahren 4, 22359 Hamburg
When: Wednesdays and Saturdays, 08:00 to 13:00
A visit to our Friday Bargteheide market always begins with Ralf Stoffers’ stand. He and his daughter greet us with big smiles and nourish our souls with Entrecôte (for our traditional Friday steak night), duck, chicken, organic eggs, and especially lamb.
Years ago, Ralph nicknamed him the Lamb Guy after making one of his special cuts from Ralf’s own-raised lambs, as described in our grilled ‘Edelstück’ lamb ribs recipe. We’ve also used his meat for Moroccan-spiced leg of lamb, pan-seared veal cutlets with Za’atar, savoury roast turkey, our Christmas Day duck two ways (confit and breasts), and risotto with duck breasts and roasted red peppers. We’ve even pre-ordered chickens from Ralf to make homemade chicken stock with a pressure cooker.
Ready-to-Cook Meals and Seasonal Specials
Ralf also prepares homemade meals from his products, including goulash, chicken fricassee, chili con carne, Königsberger Klopse, and more. In late summer, we pick up fresh corn on the cob and sunflowers grown on his farm.
Many butchers and meat vendors at the farmers’ markets prepare ready-to-grill meat already marinated in BBQ sauces. Ralf offers deboned chicken thighs in curry sauce (a lunchtime air fryer favourite), beef, chicken, and pork skewers, bacon-wrapped tenderloin medallions, lamb rack finger burners, and more—perfect for a no-fuss grill evening. When in season, he also offers deer or wild boar, sourced through his hunter friends.
Ralf and his family mean a lot to us. Since our son moved out earlier this year, he gets his chicken from Ralf every Friday. As Heather wrote in A tribute to Farmers, buying food directly from a farmer is incredibly gratifying and a mutually beneficial exchange of support.
Farmers like Ralf help keep us healthy and inspire the meals we enjoy and share with family and friends.
Fisch Kalinowski
Where: Bargteheide Wochenmarkt, Marktplatz
When: Fridays, 14:00-18:00
Where: Wochenmarkt Ahrensburg, Rathausplatz
When: Wednesdays and Saturdays, 07:00 to 13:00
Fisch Kalinowski offers a wide selection of fresh fish and seafood, including smoked fish, shrimp, crab, and seafood salads (even mayonnaise-based options for spreading on buns and bread). We’ve also regularly purchased their oysters. If you’re making bouillabaisse, this is the place to go—a true one-stop shop!
If you’re feeling hungry while browsing, try their deep-fried, homemade, battered fish. On Saturdays at the Ahrensburg market, it often draws a lineup. It may seem unusual for breakfast, but it’s absolutely delicious.
Tee & Gewürze vom Marktstand
Where: Bargteheide Wochenmarkt, Marktplatz
When: Fridays, 14:00-18:00
Where: Wochenmarkt Ahrensburg, Rathausplatz
When: Wednesdays and Saturdays, 07:00 to 13:00
The owner of this stand, Djalal, is a gentle soul who offers a vast selection of loose-leaf fruit and herbal teas, spices, and other condiments. He mixes many of the spices and teas himself. He is a spice expert, so if we can’t find something specific, he can always recommend a substitute.
We discovered he speaks good English during a visit from Heather’s sister, who had a delightful conversation with him. She met up with him again on her most recent trip and bought a fruity green tea that Heather has been enjoying for years.
Käseparadies Christensen
Where: Bargteheide Wochenmarkt, Marktplatz
When: Fridays, 14:00-18:00
Where: Wochenmarkt Ahrensburg, Rathausplatz
When: Wednesdays and Saturdays, 07:00 to 13:00
If you love cheese, you will adore this true cheese paradise. This family stand has been at the weekly market for over 70 years, now in its third generation with current owners Nils and Nicole Christensen.
Their selection of cheeses is both local and international, and they offer a delicious range of homemade cream cheeses and Ralph’s favourite ‘cheese salad’, made with a variety of cubed cheeses, red and yellow peppers, mayo, and herbs.
They’re happy to let you sample a cheese if something catches your eye. We usually pick up our cheese for Raclette here—a New Year’s Eve classic in Germany (originating in Switzerland).
Farm & Specialty Shops in Stormarn
Hoose Landschlachterei
Where: Hauptstr. 2, 22941 Hammoor
When:
Tuesday, Thursday & Friday: 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Wednesday: 7 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Saturday: 7 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Where: Wochenmarkt Ahrensburg, Rathausplatz
When: Wednesdays and Saturdays, 07:00 to 13:00
When you walk through the doors of Hoose, it could be 1950 or earlier. The butcher is friendly and offers a wide selection of freshly prepared meats and sausages from regional animals, as well as cold cuts, cheese, and ready-made meals. Our recipes for Oma Marion’s oven-baked pork roast with Hefeklöße, beef tallow, heart, and liver for Mogly’s homemade cooked dog food, smoked beef brisket on a charcoal grill, and crackling porchetta on the grill came from Hoose. We also buy her smoked sausages to snack on while golfing.
One local specialty we buy there, mainly on weekends, is Zwiebelmett, which resembles raw, coarsely ground pork and is, in fact, made from it, with some added spices. It’s traditionally served, pressed thickly, on open-faced buns and covered with raw onion slices. We replace the onions with chives as Ralph’s stomach can’t handle raw onions. It’s essential to keep it cold and eat it within a day.
We found out once that our son likes it too, so we always have it on hand if he’s coming over for breakfast.
Hoose also has stands at the Ahrensburg farmers’ market (Wochenmarkt), Rathausplatz, on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 07:00 to 13:00, and in Großhansdorf on Thursdays from 14:00 to 18:00 at U-Bahnhof Großhansdorf.
Fisch Peters
Where: Wurth 12, 22941 Bargteheide
Opening hours:
Tuesday-Friday: 08:30 – 18:00
Saturday: 08:30 – 12:00
When we first moved to the area, this fish store was owned by Fisch Berni & Töchter. We often bought our salmon and tuna there to make sushi, along with smoked salmon and their homemade battered fish. We mainly bought our fish from the Kalinowski stand at the Bargteheide and Ahrensburg farmers’ market.
After the new owner took over, we occasionally continued to buy our fish from him. There’s also a wide selection of salads, sauces, Lachs Frickadellen (salmon cakes/burgers), and mussels and Matjes (herring) when in season.
But one day, when Ralph stopped in to buy salmon to prepare sashimi to accompany our Thursday takeaway sushi, the lady behind the counter took the time to explain how the owner carefully sources salmon that is sustainably raised off the coast of Scotland in colder water, so they do not use any antibiotics. This has always been a reservation of ours when eating salmon. Now we eat it guilt-free!
Since then, we have made a regular trip there for our salmon sashimi, which accompanies our Thursday night sushi rolls ordered from Tsubaki in Großhansdorf, Koyaki Sushi in Bad Oldesloe, or Shinzō in Bargteheide.
Buchenhof
Where: Buchenhof 1, 22941 Delingsdorf
Opening hours:
Friday from 16-19
Saturday from 10-14
Sunday from 10-14
Or by appointment
Ralph heard about this place from our friend who lives in the village near their farm, and discovered they have great cuts of frozen beef. We’ve seen the sign at the entrance to the farm from the main highway between Bargteheide and Ahrensburg, but Ralph never went in because, at the time, we were buying most of our beef from Günter Feddern at the Ahrensburg market.
One day, he decided to stop in and, wow! The owner, Alexander Weiß, greeted him as he got out of the car and proudly led him to his temporary store (his new shop was still under construction). Ralph couldn’t get over how clean it was—even the drive-in shed next door could have passed a health inspection. Alexander explained that he crossed his beef from Angus, Wagyu, and Longhorn cattle to achieve the desired taste and fat content. The cattle are all raised on the farm, and you can see them in the fields as you drive up.
At that time, he only had frozen cuts, but he also offers fresh cuts for a few weeks after butchering. (To be informed when that is, sign up for his newsletter via the box that pops up when you click on his website.) He has his cattle butchered off-site, and his meat is vacuum-packed.
Needless to say, the beef is delicious, inarguably the best flavour we’ve ever tasted. Justifiably, the cost per kilo of beef from Buchenhof is much higher than our other sources, but when it’s time to splurge, a huge tomahawk steak or brisket from Buchenhof is the only choice!
We took Heather’s parents and sister from Canada there, and, being raised on farms and still having dairy farmers in the family, they enjoyed it. It so happened that a few calves were born the night before, so we got to see them in the field under their mama’s close watch.
Heather’s mother made an interesting observation—there was no farm smell at all. Once she pointed it out, we realized she was absolutely right. What an amazing place!
And if you need a place to stay in the region, they rent out this beautiful house located on their property, surrounded by nature.
Obsthof Lienau
Where: Bergstraße 2, 23843 Neritz
Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m
Closed on public holidays
The name of this 100+ year, multi-generational farm store translates into ‘fruit farm’ in English, and that is what you’re greeted with when entering it—especially the aroma of their wide selection of apples, grown on their orchards beside the store. Here’s a list of the apple types they sell. In the fall, you can pick them yourself.
All the essentials are here—from a wide variety of fresh vegetables, potatoes, fruit, local cheeses, meats, bread, milk, yogurt, dates, to packaged goods, juice, wine, beer, coffee, tea – the list goes on and on! They also sell animal food, fresh hay, and plants.
Take a look at what they offer here. Their main sign, viewed from the highway, will feature what’s in season.
What we love about this place is that they’re open on Sundays. Although we try to get everything we need earlier in the week, it’s so handy to have this farm store nearby in case something is forgotten, or when we arrive back from a Sunday flight and need some essentials.
This is a place to bring children, as they’ll enjoy visiting their goats, chickens, and sheep.
For those who love cakes and coffee, be sure to visit this store on weekends from March to October, when an on-site food truck operated by Lütte Leev serves scrumptious homemade cakes and hot or cold espresso drinks. See below for more information.
Lütte Leev
Where: Bergstraße 2, 23843 Neritz (Obsthof Lienau)
When: Friday to Sunday from 12–5 pm, March to October (visit their website for exact dates and holiday closures)
As mentioned above, this is a great way to begin or end your shopping at Obsthof Lienau—treat yourself to a homemade piece of cake and a cup of coffee from the quaint food truck located beside the store.
The truck is run by Kathi and Merle, friends since their student days, who share a deep passion for sweet little treats, large and classic cakes, and beautiful wedding creations.
You can also order their cakes by email. Sugar-reduced, vegan, and lactose-free options are also available.
Hof Ruge
Where: Jersbeker Straße 80, 22941 Bargteheide
Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (open on holidays as well)
The Ruge family has been farming in and around Bargteheide for 10 generations. They are passionate about animals and adhere to organic regulations, avoiding genetic engineering.
This is the place for delicious organic, raw milk straight from the cows. In German, it’s called a Milchtankstelle, which translates in English to a milk filling station (Tankstelle is also used for gas stations, to tank or refuel).
It’s self-serve, so you can bring your clean bottle or buy one from their vending machine. The cost of their milk is incredibly reasonable for the quality, far less than what you’d pay at the grocery store for bio milk.
You can also buy organic eggs from their chickens, potatoes, and other organic items in their vending machines, including pasta, honey, meat, cheese, ice cream, and more. If you’re lucky, you’ll be greeted by a group of happy turkeys, chickens, and cows from behind the fence near where you park. Children will enjoy visiting this farm.
Kleverhof
Where: Mönkenbrook 26, 23869 Elmenhorst
Opening Hours – Farm Store:
Monday to Friday: 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday: 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Opening Hours – Post Office:
Monday to Friday: 8:00 a.m. – 6:45 p.m.
Saturday: 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Closed on public holidays
This is another multi-generational family farm store offering a diverse selection of organic fresh vegetables, fruit, eggs, baked goods, packaged items, and other pantry staples, along with a range of household essentials. They also provide bulk canisters of rice, pasta, muesli, and more, which you can purchase with your jar or one they provide.
They offer an impressive selection of fresh cheese, bread, and buns, as well as wine.
One of their highlights is growing a variety of tomatoes in a greenhouse on their farm, including both old and new cultivars. You can also buy their seeds and tomato plants.
They also provide mail and delivery services. A true general store feeling of bygone days that lives on!
Self-Serve Eggs
We created a separate section to highlight where you can source eggs, especially on Sundays or holidays.
Bargteheider Landei
Where (vending machines):
Farm: Tremsbüttler Weg 85, Bargteheide
In town: Rathausstraße 6, 22941 Bargteheide
Heather wrote this post about eggs from Bargteheider Landei because it was the first place she found to buy eggs outside of the farmer’s market or grocery store hours. She was intrigued by how they could be safely dispensed from a vending machine!
Hof Ruge
Where: Jersbeker Straße 80, 22941 Bargteheide
Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (open on holidays as well)
Hof Ruge also offers a wide range of organic products and fresh milk. See our Farm Shops section for more details.
Hof Seemann
Where: Fischbeker Straße 7, 23869 Elmenhorst
Opening hours: Mondays-Sundays, 6:00 – 22:00
This farm has been around since 1752 and is now in its ninth generation. This is the address for their farm store, where you can purchase potatoes, pasta, cheese, cuts of meat, hay, and straw from their meadows, in addition to their fresh, bio eggs. All self-serve!
Anns Biohof
Where: Zum Mühlengrund 9, 23869 Elmenhorst/OT Fischbek
Heather came across this little gem while walking Mogly. You buy the eggs (organic) from the cutest little wooden house, and across the road, you can see their chickens happily strutting about.
These organic eggs are slightly more expensive than those from other farmers, but Heather is convinced they’re the tastiest—especially when we boil a few to snack on at the golf course.
