Weed Day, celebrated every year on 28th March, is a rather unusual way to engage with the flora of our environment. The day reminds us of the importance of appreciating the plants that are often considered bothersome or unwanted. Weeds play a dual role in many cultures and walks of life – they are both a symbol of resilience and adaptability and a challenge for us allotment gardeners.
Weeds are plants that spread into areas where they have not been intentionally grown, often outcompeting crop plants. Their ability to grow quickly, adapt to a wide range of conditions and thrive in almost any environment makes them true survivors. However, some weeds, such as dandelions or nettles, also have a positive side: they are not only useful in medicine and cooking but also provide habitats for insects and other small animals.
Weed Day also invites us allotment gardeners to question what is supposedly useless and to understand its role in the ecological system. This day can also be used as an opportunity to think about the sustainable use of natural resources and to reflect on our attitude towards nature. Perhaps in the future weeds will no longer be just a nuisance, but a valuable part of our gardens and nature.
The conscious handling of so-called weeds also leads to a reduction in the use of pesticides. Every year, the ‘Pesticide Action Week’ takes place from 20 to 30 March. Further information can be found at:
https://www.semaine-sans-pesticides.fr/decouvrir-levenement/pesticide-action-week/
The federal center of the Bundesverband der Kleingartenvereine e.V. in Berlin will once again be the venue for numerous events on the subject of allotment gardening this year. The target group for the training courses are multipliers from associations and federations of the allotment garden movement organized by the BKD. In contrast to many other forms of urban gardening, the allotment garden movement with its organizational structure offers the guarantee of having real multipliers as participants in the training courses. They provide advice and support to the allotment gardeners inside and outside the associations and thus contribute to the welfare of society within the framework of civic engagement.
On April 25 and 26, 2025, representatives of the regional associations will meet at the Federal Center in Berlin-Neukölln to discuss current political issues and association topics at regional association level.
The BKD invites you to the seminar "Expert advice I" entitled "Designing living areas in allotment gardens" from May 16-18, 2025. The seminar is intended to provide suggestions and basic knowledge for the sustainable design of allotment gardens and allotment garden sites and to show how all areas of an allotment garden can be used, upgraded, designed and maintained in an ecological, sustainable and climate-friendly manner in the interests of promoting biodiversity and diversity.
The seminar Law I, from June 27-29, 2025 will focus on "The social and ecological importance of allotment gardening and its reflection in law".
The seminar Fachberatung II 2025 entitled "Allotment garden sites - values and functions for our society" will focus on the diverse social benefits that radiate from allotment gardening into society. The seminar will take place from July 04 to 06, 2025.
From October 10-12, 2025, the BKD and its guests will devote themselves to the "Fundamental court decisions on allotment gardening" in the seminar Law II for a better understanding of the legal basis.
The seminar on the environment entitled "Allotment gardens and health", which will take place from October 24-26, 2025, is intended to help promote health in and through allotment garden sites throughout Germany. In particular, it will strengthen the skills of board members, those responsible for specialist advice and valuation in environmentally and health-conscious federation and association management.
The BKD also offers regular online training courses, such as the online legal series for club chairpersons and, from fall 2025, an online training course for specialist advisors from clubs, district and city associations.
Sandra von Rekowski, BKD
Picture: BKD
Dear allotment gardeners!
As I begin to write these lines, I am marvelling at how quickly this year has gone by. It has been a year with a lot of work, both in the garden and professionally, and now that at least the gardening season is slowly coming to an end and a quieter time is beginning, I would like to give you a brief insight into what has been happening in the international allotment family.
There were two meetings of all members of the Fédération Internationale in 2024.
In March, the delegates met for the statutory General Assembly in Luxembourg. In addition to the necessary resolutions, the time was primarily used to share experiences. It is always great to see the enthusiasm and positive spirit with which the participants share their knowledge and take on board the ideas of others.
Finally, in August, the international allotment garden family took part in a congress in Berlin organised by the Federation of German Allotment Garden Associations. The theme "Allotment gardens in Europe: Green for all" captured the spirit of the times and the excellent expert presentations provided the participants with many valuable ideas on how to deal with the many challenges that lie ahead.
But it also turned out again how great our allotment gardens already are:
• Allotment gardens are places of diversity, as the environmentally friendly, pesticide-free and sustainable cultivation of our gardens provides animals and plants with a healthy habitat, which is becoming increasingly scarce in the cities.
• Allotment gardens are climate oases that can make an invaluable contribution, especially in times of extreme events such as heat or heavy rainfall. Be it by providing cooling in the cities through their planting or by absorbing water through unsealed soil.
• Allotment gardens are places of togetherness, where people look after each other, help each other and work together to realise ideas.
All this and so much more characterises our allotment gardens and their associations. We have every right to be proud of this. Nevertheless, we should not rest on our laurels. It is our task to keep reminding those responsible at national and international level of the important contribution allotment gardens make to environment, climate and society.
With a voice that represents more than two million allotment garden families, we must make ourselves heard by the political representatives in the individual countries and of course also at European level. Together we can achieve so much more than alone, together we give the allotment gardeners a loud voice that is difficult to ignore, together we will continue to work to ensure that allotment gardens are perceived positively in the future.
Finally, may I wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and all the best and good health for the New Year 2025.
Sylvia Wohatschek
Secretary General, Fédération Internationale des Jardins Familiaux
In 2013, December 5 was declared World Soil Day by the United Nations General Assembly.
The soil is alive! Around 5 billion soil organisms live in a handful of healthy soil. Preserving this diversity means securing the basis of human life on this planet.
In 2020, the Fédération Internationale des Jardins Familiaux published the brochure "Soil is alive! Protecting soil in allotment garden". This should be read by the allotment garden family in order to protect the patch of soil entrusted to them.
Over the last four years, another aspect of soil protection has become increasingly important. Increasing weather extremes show how important it is not only to look after the quality of the existing soil, but also to ensure that sufficient unsealed soil is available.
Soil unsealing in the allotment garden
A sealed soil cannot fulfill its tasks. Water, oxygen and light cannot be stored in the soil and fertility is lost. Pollutants are no longer filtered by the plants and there is no cooling effect.
Allotment gardens are of great importance for the urban climate and water storage as, in addition to the cooling green spaces, they promote a high level of biodiversity in otherwise built-up areas. But even on this small scale, a minimum of sealed surfaces is essential. We would therefore like to call for a conscious approach to sealed areas in your garden. As small as these may seem in proportion, it is important to implement unsealing measures wherever possible.
Alternatives to sealed surfaces
Ideally, as many infiltration-capable areas as possible should be used right from the initial garden planning stage. However, it is never too late to make subsequent optimizations.
The most common alternatives to sealed surfaces in the garden include:
• Gravel lawn or overgrown grass pavers
• a hard-wearing herbal lawn
• Wooden decking with drainage layer
• Laying recycled materials such as old bricks
• Paving stones for small paths in the garden ...
The aim is to use water-permeable paving wherever possible. If you identify rarely used sealed areas in your garden, you should convert them into green spaces. This not only creates living space but also has a cooling effect. However, in addition to this complete unsealing, partial unsealing can also make an important contribution.
Partial unsealing involves removing the top impermeable layer and loosening the layer below to improve infiltration.
At this point, we would like to refer you to an article by "Die Umweltberatung". In its article "Types of soil unsealing", it refers to a variety of partial unsealing options.
The new garden areas created in this way offer the opportunity to create diversity for plants and animals. For example, the joints can no longer be neatly scraped out, but deliberately planted. When laying paths, use a sand-humus mixture and enjoy the growing wild herbs.
These unsealed areas can be more costly to maintain and preserve, but the reward is healthy soil for the allotment gardener and an important contribution for their fellow human beings in dealing with the changing climate conditions.
Even if it goes without saying that soil is essential for us allotment gardeners, today's World Soil Day must not go unnoticed by the allotment garden family.
It is true that without soil we could not fulfil our passion - gardening - but soil is of such fundamental importance to our ecosystem that it is worth a closer look.
Soil is a storehouse of nutrients, the foundation for food production, a place of biodiversity, carbon storage and protection of our drinking water resources. Due to these diverse and (vital) properties, it is obvious that our soil needs special protection.
We allotment gardeners have been making an invaluable contribution in this area for a long time. By working, planting and caring for the soil, we ensure that it can fulfil its many functions. In times of climate change, in times of extreme events such as heavy rain, storms and heat, it is more important than ever that it can do this.
Let us therefore be particularly aware today that unsealed, pesticide-free soil is not only a benefit for the individual allotment gardener but is also of crucial importance with regard to climate change.
As allotment garden families, let us do our bit to ensure that the soil continues to nourish and protect us in the future.
