Sunflowers Instead of Planes at Berlin World War II Airport

The Tempelhof project stands in contrast to Germany’s strictly regulated traditional allotments

Deborah Cole
Jakarta Globe
September 02, 2011

Excerpt:

It’s sunflowers instead of planes and kale instead of kerosene at legendary Tempelhof Airport, site of the Berlin Airlift and now home to one of Europe’s biggest and most unusual urban gardens.

Launched by a dozen “pioneers” in April, the Allmende Kontor plot now has about 300 people growing fruit, vegetables and flowers between the former runways of the airport, which closed nearly three years ago.

Hot peppers, chestnut saplings, cosmos and millet now reach for skies once filled with Allied jets ferrying essential supplies to West Berlin during the 1948-49 Soviet blockade at the start of the Cold War.

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Urban agriculture blossoms in Berlin

A strange phenomenon is occurring behind the scenes of Berlin’s urban jungle. Berliners are trying their hand at planting blue potatoes, purple carrots or black beans, and finding out how satisfying gardening can be.

By Anne Thomas
Deutsche Welle
Sept 2, 2011

Excerpt:

For Berliners with particularly green fingers, however, three days of gardening a year is not enough. Allotments are their passion. These are an institution here – after the war they were a necessity for hundreds of thousands of hungry Berliners. In pre-reunification days, they were sometimes the closest West Berliners got to the countryside and for the Easterners they were a good means of supplementing the meager supplies on offer in the state-run stores.

Now, there are an estimated 80,000 allotments dotted around the reunited city. Some acquaintances have rented one along the former border where they’ve planted a variety of vegetables. “It must be in my genes,” Nick mused. “I just wanted to grow my own stuff and have the satisfaction of eating my own salad, picked straight away and eaten with the evening meal. It’s so fresh.”

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