An idyll that needs to be looked after

Erding - The members of the Altenerding allotment garden association in Bergham have created a green oasis for themselves.

It was inaugurated 35 years ago.

It hums, hums and flutters in the allotment gardens in Bergham.

There, at the end of Waldstrasse, 35 years ago a green idyll was created that the tenants of the 38 parcels cherish and care for.

Not only do they feel good, many animals do that too.

The area that the city of Erding once acquired and made available to the Altenerding allotment garden association in return for a lease to build an allotment garden is a good 16,000 square meters. This was inaugurated in July 1986 with a two-day festival. It was a long way until then for the association founded in 1977, whose founding chairman Udo Czauderna was in office for 33 years. Several times you thought you had reached your goal, several times you had to take setbacks.

The association's first allotment garden plots gradually had to give way in 1974 for the construction of the Semptsport facility in Altenerding. Replacement locations in Pretzen and Singlding envisaged by the city could not be realized. In 1980, the city finally bought today's property on Berghamer Waldstrasse. There, too, the development plan and approval process dragged on. The lease agreement between the city and the association was not signed until June 1984. A little later was the groundbreaking. Then it happened quickly. The water pipes were laid, the main routes relocated. The first garden houses were still in place in November.

The facility was open to visitors from the start.

Harald Woellert emphasizes this.

He has been involved in the association as 2nd chairman for many years and has had his own garden plot in Bergham since 1994.

The 59-year-old and his wife Martha (58) grow almost everything there is in vegetables and herbs on almost 300 square meters.

There are also various berry bushes, three apple trees, a pear tree and a cherry tree.

The front part of his garden with a perfectly manicured lawn is lined with bushes and flower beds - ideally, they bloom one after the other in order to provide constant food for the insects.

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The ornamental garden and lawn are perfectly cared for.

The Woellerts enjoy taking a break in a deck chair.

© Gabi Zierz

The covered patio in front of the arbor offers a shady spot, as does the small bench in front of the vegetable patch, from which Woellert likes to look at the fruits of his labor.

And such a garden is work.

“You have to go five to eight hours a week on all fours, otherwise it will overtake you,” says Woellert.

No problem for him and his wife.

The allotment garden is her passion.

Woellert grew up in one in Regensburg.

When he moved to Altenerding with his Martha, he planted the balcony of his apartment in such a way that a neighbor made him aware of the allotment gardens.

Since then, he has been riding the three kilometers three to four times a week in the green idyll - often by bike.

“That is a good way to compensate for the desk work,” says the 59-year-old, who heads the civil engineering department in Erdingen's town hall.

After gardening, there is often a barbecue in the summer. Then daughter (23) and son (20) like to come by. You grew up here. “Our facility is so small. Everyone knows each other here. Children used to move from garden to garden. A neighbor read to them, the other had gummy bears, ”remembers Woellert. If he goes away for a few days with his wife today, the children or the neighbors pour water with him.

The appreciation for food that has been grown himself is important to Woellert.

He passed this on to his children.

Everything that the family grows is processed, boiled down, eaten - or frozen.

"We can easily get through the winter with it," says Martha Woellert.

And her husband remembers: “Shortly after the allotment plot, we bought a freezer.” He also makes his own compost for fertilization.

There are no fences between the plots, at most there are bushes or flower beds.

The gardens are only fenced in towards the main paths.

There is a water connection in the gardens, electricity is taken from sockets on the main paths.

You need it for mowing the lawn or cutting hedge.

Only electrical devices are allowed.

The season starts from February / March and extends into November.

Allotment gardeners appreciated their oasis very much during the corona pandemic.

“We have always been able to come here.

It was a privilege.

The older neighbors also enjoyed it very much, ”says Woellert, referring to the 80 to 85-year-old members.

All parcels are currently assigned.

“There is currently a lot of interest.

There used to be times when we placed advertisements.

Now we can choose the applicants. ”If someone gives up his garden, it will be valued by the association's board according to the guidelines of the Federal Allotment Garden Act.

The size, type of house, condition and plants are assessed.

“Currently the price is between 3500 and 4500 euros,” says Woellert.

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Harald Woellert made this insect hotel himself.

The wire mesh in front of it keeps woodpeckers away.

© Gabi Zierz

The community house is right next to the entrance to the facility.

It has no heating, but three toilets, the only ones on the site.

Meetings and the summer party take place in the community house or in front of it, there is also a playground.

Permanent living is not allowed in the allotment garden, but you can stay overnight in your plot.

Woellert used to do this with his children in the tent and watch fireflies.

“I enjoyed that,” he says with a smile.

Wild bees, bumblebees, butterflies, hedgehogs, lizards and frogs are regular guests, and many birds breed here. In numerous parcels you can see nesting boxes and insect hotels - mostly with bars to protect them from the woodpecker. The animals appreciate the diversity of plants here, the area is practically a buffer between agricultural areas and settlement areas. The city of Erding honored the efforts of the allotment garden association to create natural habitats for animals and plants with the environmental award last year.