New to your allotment and the last gardener left no notes? Pick a month to see what to sow, plant and harvest in a German garden, and keep your own notes so the next person isn't starting from zero.
Weather data by Open-Meteo.com
Open This Month and pick two or three plants marked easy. Radishes, lettuce, bush beans, zucchini and Swiss chard are hard to get wrong. Start small: one well-kept bed teaches you more than a whole plot full of weeds.
Start indoors: sow seeds in small pots on a bright windowsill so they get a head start. Sow outdoors: put the seeds straight into the bed. Plant out: move young plants, your own or bought ones, into the bed. Harvest: pick and eat.
After the Eisheiligen (the "Ice Saints", 11–15 May). Until then a night frost can still kill them. If the forecast on this page shows a frost risk, wait a few more days or cover the plants with fleece.
Water in the morning, at the base of the plant rather than on the leaves. In dry spells, water deeply two or three times a week instead of a little every day: it makes the roots grow deeper. Seeds and seedlings are the exception and need moist soil every day.
Every plant on All Plants lists its spacing. As a rule of thumb, radishes and carrots go a few centimetres apart in rows, while zucchini and pumpkins need about a metre each.
Look for plants that come back every year, like rhubarb, strawberries or chives. Ask your neighbours and your club's garden advisor (Fachberater), who usually knows the plot's history and can help you get a soil test. Then start your own notes on My Notes, so the next person isn't in the same situation.
Yes. German allotments follow the Federal Allotment Garden Act (Bundeskleingartengesetz) and their club's own garden rules (Gartenordnung). Usually at least a third of the plot has to be used for growing fruit and vegetables, and there are rules for sheds, hedges and quiet hours. Ask your club for a copy.
The monthly values are long-term averages for central Germany: the north is milder in winter, the south and higher ground are colder. The 7-day forecast comes live from Open-Meteo, and a frost warning appears when a night is forecast to drop to 2 °C or lower.
Yes. They are saved only in this browser on this device and are never sent anywhere. Clearing your browser data deletes them, so use Download notes now and then to keep a copy.