These used to be the ultimate symbol of “Spießertum”. Funny how things change and trends come and go.
Do Germans still credit Marxist class theory?
Gardens with a 12,000-person waiting list
21–30 of 111 posts
Re: Gardens with a 12,000-person waiting list
#22As somebody who has done his time on a waiting list for an allotment, and has been allotmenteering for the past 7 years now, I find these small German allotments vastly different to our UK ones. I fly reasonably often to Munich and I've often seen them alongside the railway lines... and they are immaculate. But the bit I find odd is that there is an awful lot of grass. We in the UK tend to focus more on food or flowe…
In my eyes we shouldn't stop people from doing anything. What we should do is encourage people to have a wider variety of hobbies and interest, of which gardening a few hours a week can be coupled with video games - or whatever they want to do to relax and unwind. Variety is the spice of life.
So we should try to stop people from being obsessed with one thing?
Re: Gardens with a 12,000-person waiting list
#23It should be noted that these gardens are comparatively cheap. For many there is no other feasible way to own a few 100m² of green and free sky.
Are these plots of land actually owned by the users? I assumed they were rented, but the article doesn't seem to specify though the terms "allotment" and "waiting list" imply to me that they're not owned by the gardeners.
Re: Gardens with a 12,000-person waiting list
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
In my eyes we shouldn't stop people from doing anything. What we should do is encourage people to have a wider variety of hobbies and interest, of which gardening a few hours a week can be coupled with video games - or whatever they want to do to relax and unwind. Variety is the spice of life.
So we should try to stop people from being obsessed with one thing?
I think obsessiveness has its advantages at times; people often become savants at something they're truly passionate about. However, I don't think there's ever a situation where a person - despite their passion - can't be enriched by practicing something physically or intellectually different.
Re: Gardens with a 12,000-person waiting list
#25As somebody who has done his time on a waiting list for an allotment, and has been allotmenteering for the past 7 years now, I find these small German allotments vastly different to our UK ones. I fly reasonably often to Munich and I've often seen them alongside the railway lines... and they are immaculate. But the bit I find odd is that there is an awful lot of grass. We in the UK tend to focus more on food or flowe…
Here in Zürich, you see both kinds of allotment owners. Some are really serious about growing food, others (presumably living in apartments) just enjoy having a bit of a yard to kick back.
Re: Gardens with a 12,000-person waiting list
#26I used to think of gardening and allotments as a rather innocuous activity, something rather green that was good for all involved. But in the last year I've come to realize that it isn't environmentally sound.
(1) Plastics and pesticides. They are over-used by gardeners as opposed to commercial farmers. Even without chemicals, the plastics pots, bags and other devices all end up in landfills. Those innocuous black pots cannot be properly recycled due to their colour and gardeners seem unwilling to shift to more sustainable options, even more sustainable colours of pots that could be more easily recycled.
(2) Peat. Until yesterday I was unaware of the carnage being done to peat bogs. The BBC's Tonight program just showed me footage of the open-pit peat mines that are literally strip-mining peat bogs to feed Britain's gardening hobby. The environmental and climate damage done by destroying peat bogs, giant CO2 sinks, is immense.
Footage of an Estonian peat mine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXr0z3h1Cig
(3) Water. Home gardens and allotments get their water from municipal sources. Municipal water is far more expensive than the water used on farms, and municipal sources lack the capacity to provide the acer-feet necessary to grow substantial amounts of food. That means allotments, urban farming, is an unsustainable food source. The carrot bought at costco was grown using river/lake water. The carrot grown behind someone's house used municipal water, and probably far more of it. The costco carrot is the more sustainable option.
So I've changed my mind about gardening. It is not an environmental net positive. It might be great for the health of the people doing it, but it isn't helping the climate. It isn't as bad as drag racing but is far worse than hiking. It is an environmentally costly hobby that should be approached with caution.
Re: Gardens with a 12,000-person waiting list
#27It looks like HN will have to loosen at least one part of its anti-suburban stance: people who live in the suburbs get back and front yards as part of the deal.
Yes, but the decoupling of living space and yard is vastly more space efficient. It keeps the city walkable, and nobody is forced to pay for more yard than they want.
Re: Gardens with a 12,000-person waiting list
#28It should be noted that these gardens are comparatively cheap. For many there is no other feasible way to own a few 100m² of green and free sky.
Wow, are those gardens really that big? Here in the Netherlands there are huge waiting lists for your allotted 12m².
Here in Hamburg in my region 150-300qm is possible.
Re: Gardens with a 12,000-person waiting list
#29Does anyone know where I can get an English copy of Berlin's Bundeskleingartengesetz?
I manage a community garden in Montreal and love the idea of BBQ and beers in the evening, but the city, (who owns the land), is not ok with drinking at the garden, (or cooking, in general).
Re: Gardens with a 12,000-person waiting list
#30It looks like HN will have to loosen at least one part of its anti-suburban stance: people who live in the suburbs get back and front yards as part of the deal.
Isnt this article the 'loosening'? Not everyone wants gardens, if you decouple the garden from the house, people can get the size of each that they want.