The Estonian kodukohvik (home café) scene has grown in popularity since it was first covered by Eesti Elu / Estonian Life in 2024. Just this summer, it was featured by the BBC.
Tõnu Peit, the man behind the popular Kapteni Kohvik (Captain’s Café) in Kakumäe, continues to publish videos along these lines, with recipes and cooking technology demonstrations on his YouTube channel.
In a recent shift from the kitchen to the garden, Peit has unveiled a new, ambitious project. It’s a greenhouse designed to bring fresh produce to the table. For Peit, this was a necessary evolution in his culinary philosophy. “The thought of building a greenhouse came to me last summer,” Peit explains in his latest video. “I was filming a cooking segment and lamented that, even in the middle of summer, store-bought tomatoes are figuratively plastic. There simply aren’t any proper tomatoes available, so I decided to grow my own.”
While the greenhouse structure and foundation was installed by professionals, Peit took charge of the floor, the planting boxes, the interior layout, and the specialized systems that make the space functional. The greenhouse is customized to his needs. “If you are happy with it, that is what matters,” Peit remarks, gesturing to the pleasing stone-paved interior.
For a home gardener, Peit’s approach offers some insights into the realities of cultivating crops in the Estonian climate. He talks about the importance of climate control, installing doors that open on both sides and roof vents that can open based on solar intensity to prevent overheating. His irrigation setup is equally considered, using a computer-assisted pipe water system and terracotta pots to provide steady moisture directly to the root zones of his cucumber and tomato plants.
Managing pests without relying on heavy chemicals is another recurring theme. Peit shares his simple, effective method for deterring slugs, which often wreak havoc in Estonian gardens. He sets out fresh lettuce leaves nearby, which the pests prefer, effectively drawing them away from his prize crops. For smaller plants, he utilizes copper tape, which acts as a barrier that prevents the slugs from reaching the stems.
Peit remains humble about his learning curve. He describes the trial-and-error process of training tomato vines, recounting a lesson learned the hard way when he accidentally snapped a stem while tying it to a support line. He speaks about the struggle of selecting varieties, admitting that after purchasing seeds based on pictures, he discovered he had few traditional red tomatoes, but a collection of intriguing, dark, and heirloom varieties.
Thus, the greenhouse is an extension of his kitchen. Peit looks forward to the day when he can prepare his signature jahimehesalat (hunter's salad) using ingredients grown within his own garden. By bringing the source of his ingredients closer to his prep station, Peit has closed a loop in his creative process.
You can watch the video below and see if a project like this one is up your alley for your own garden:
