Last month I visited my older daughter in Berlin and we always take in the Prinzessinnengarten in the heart of the Kreuzberg district. Carved out of a brownfield in 2009, this working gardening focuses more on teaching others about sustainability and community building than curating individual plots. A second location is located in the Neukölln district which I visited and wrote about several years ago. It was an interesting experience since this location has repurposed a church cemetery.
These pictures look a little bleak, but it's an urban setting and Spring comes much later in this part of Germany as compared to April in Georgia.
This area of the garden is dedicated to demonstrating different ways of adding back to the soil. One method called Bokashi is composting by fermentation rather than carbon centered. The wood chips next to the "portable bathroom" allows visitor to urinate on the chips that can be later used to fertilize plants.
Urinating directly on the plants is a no-no because the nitrogen content is way too concentrated, but if urine can seep into wood chips for a few months ahead of time it does eventually make for excellent fertilizer.
Prinzessinnengarten also has many spaces to meet and exchange ideas. Here I am with daughter Cynthia resting a bit after an extensive tour.
I wish I could do a book pop-up here. (My next one is at the Carter Center's Freedom Farmers Market on Saturday, June 24th.)
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