Community Garden of HGU

By Moritz Friedhoff, Leon Rauschmann, Miriam Finke und Jana Zinkernagel

The Secret Garden?

Sometimes it seems that way, since many of our fellow students aren’t familiar with the HGU community garden. Yet, the garden has been an integral part of the horticulture community at Hochschule Geisenheim University since the 2015–2016 winter semester.
In recent semesters, the main contributors have been students in the B.Sc. Horticulture program, although the garden community warmly welcomes students from all degree programs.

During freshmen week, older students host their traditional welcome barbecue for new horticulture students in the garden. This allows newcomers to dive right into the community, as everyone is warmly invited to join the gardening team. Fortunately, in recent semesters, more and more students from the B.Eng. Landscape Architecture program have joined, allowing the gardening community to grow steadily.

In addition to year-round gardening opportunities – whether in one’s own plot, under the plastic tunnel, or in communal beds – students work together on new projects in the garden all the time. In the 2023 summer semester, for example, a stand of spruce trees lining one side of the garden was cut down. The idea was to plant a wild hedge to enhance the garden’s biodiversity. As a bonus, the cut-down trees provided a large supply of firewood for cozy barbecues. These gatherings invite members to come together for more than just gardening. They can share ideas, talk about their experiences, and unwind from the busy university routine.
During the winter semesters of 2024/25 and 2025/26, we finally planted the wild hedge and also added a perennial bed. The next major project is the construction of a pond. Anyone interested is welcome to join us. We are always happy to see new faces, because some of the older students will be leaving soon…
 

For any inquiries, please contact us at the following email address: Gemeinschaftsgarten(at)hs-gm.de

The community garden was founded by a group of horticulture students from the class of 2015/2016.

Wiebke Reymann took the initiative at that time. Wiebke Reymann and Stefan Flaschko became the primary points of contact. Prof. Dr. Jana Zinkernagel, from the Institute of Vegetable Crops, has been the “mentor” of the student project since its founding. Her team has been supporting the students with advice and practical assistance ever since.

The usage agreement dated April 1, 2016, between Ms. Kempenich-Bachmann (the property owner) and HGU was followed in 2024 by a lease agreement that ensured the continued existence of the community garden.

Originally, the fenced-in and enclosed 1,200 m² plot was overgrown with wild vegetation and wild meadow and bordered by shrubs and trees. The goal was to transform the overgrown area into a productive garden.

Over the past few years, garden beds have been laid out, a plastic tunnel has been erected, and a sun trap and two herb spirals have been created. The beds are tended either collectively or by individuals. The division of the beds and the occupancy schedule are agreed upon each spring. Information gathered from previous years is used to facilitate a sensible crop rotation.

The period of the COVID-19 pandemic was marked above all by the fact that in-person classes could take place far too rarely. The garden thus offered an excellent opportunity to put what they had learned into practice and try their hand at gardening. For students who had moved to Geisenheim despite the pandemic or who were already living there, it provided a chance to meet other students and make new connections.

For over 10 years, the garden has been a place where knowledge is passed down from one class to the next and where everyone can contribute their own ideas. By the time summer break approaches, everyone has gotten to know each other so well that it’s no problem at all to find someone to tend the garden beds. The name of the project captures its motivation quite well. Ultimately, it’s all about community and our shared passion: gardening.

The community garden is an interdisciplinary project at Geisenheim University. By avoiding the use of synthetic chemical pesticides, the project aims to support biodiversity in flora and fauna, with the goal of establishing the community garden as a small oasis in the midst of the Rheingau’s wine-growing cultural landscape. The opportunity to tend to their own garden alongside their studies offers many students a place to meet new people and try new things. Over time, this can foster not only good relationships with their immediate neighbors but also with many residents of Geisenheim. This is made possible above all through events such as an open garden day or similar gatherings.

A testament to the success of this collaborative gardening effort is the joint barbecue held by the students and the horticulture faculty. A big thank you to everyone who helped with the organization and provided the food!