Club struggles to survive

Created: 08/10/2022 11:06 am

Visit to paradise: Christine Eicher and Xaver Lausser in the teaching garden of the Gilching fruit and horticultural association.

© Andrea Jaksch

The Gilching fruit and horticultural association is struggling to survive.

If the board cannot be re-staffed, the association, which was founded in 1926, is threatened with extinction.

In particular, Marina León, currently still the first chairman of the club, who recently moved to Aichach with her family, is looking for a successor: "If no one is found, the club will have to dissolve in the fall."

Gilching

- León's message to the future board sounds relaxed: "No one is left alone - even if they don't know much." The young mother is in the middle of the stress of moving and has temporarily transferred the management of the association to secretary Christine Eicher.

"I'm currently filling in for everything, in personal union," explains Eicher on the terrace of the well-tended and enchanted OGV garden, which she immediately fell in love with when she saw it for the first time.

"I only have a small balcony at home," says the media consultant for an online tree care portal.

Xaver Lausser is at her side as the second board member and gratefully emphasizes: "Thank God.

Eicher is currently our most important person, our treasure.” For health reasons, the 77-year-old,

who worked full-time as a crop cultivation consultant for 40 years, will retire from the Board of Directors.

A successor must also be found for cashier Marianne Gould.

The future board members don't have to have a green thumb, says Eicher.

"You don't have to be a gardening professional.

It's about leadership.

Someone who wants to organize something, festivals, specialist lectures, educational trips - takes care of the network with other clubs and the district association.

Given the high average age, the OGV community is slowly but steadily shrinking, Lausser regrets.

The association currently has 375 members.

Eicher, who wants to continue to take care of the time-consuming correspondence, estimates the monthly workload for the first chairman as rather moderate: "About five to ten hours".

The workload for the cashier is significantly lower at a maximum of two hours a month.

"There are so many possibilities, but someone has to take matters into their own hands," says León.

In addition to educational trips to the Federal Horticultural Show, the OGV regularly offers specialist lectures on tree pruning, plant and species protection and even scythe mowing courses.

The teaching garden is open to interested parties every second Saturday of the month between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.

There are 60 fruit trees in the spacious area.

Topas, Florina, Pinova or Baya Franconia ripen on a total of 45 apple trees.

In autumn, the rich apple harvest goes to the Machtlfing cider plant.

"They make apple juice out of it," says Eicher.

13 years ago, the OGV laid out its 3600 square meter garden under rather unfavorable conditions.

“The ground is extremely bad, that was a gravel pit.

Everything was full of stinging nettles,” says Lausser.

Today, the tireless commitment of the active team is bearing fruit: plums, cherries, peaches and an imposing sequoia are thriving here - probably the only one of its kind in Gilching. Frogs, dragonflies and grass snakes found their home in the romantic pond - a colony of bees enjoys the peace and quiet in the back garden part.

Plant protection is completely dispensed with.

In 2020, the OGV received certification as a natural garden.

Contact can be made at vorstand@ogv-gilching.de and by phone number on the OGV website: ogv-gilching.de.

Nilda Frangos