Practical tips, ingenious tricks and ecological concepts: Werner Ollig, director of the Rhineland-Palatinate Garden Academy, will spend a year accompanying three families as they redesign their gardens. ► More information about the program on our homepage: http://www.swr.de/marktcheck​ ► and on our Facebook page: / marktcheck​ ► Subscribe to our channel here: https://bit.ly/34ebysh​ ► You can find out more about the Ökocheckers on Instagram: / ​ ► Comments are welcome - but please observe netiquette: http://www.swr.de/netiquette Withered lawns, grey views or a completely overgrown garden - three families are tackling the redesign of their gardens. They are receiving support from Werner Ollig, agricultural engineer and director of the Rhineland-Palatinate Garden Academy. He will accompany the families for a year and offer advice and support. For example, which plants are suitable for which location? He also shows various options for growing fruit and vegetables in an insect-friendly way. While the lawn is the problem child for the M. family from Trier, the G. family from Karlsruhe would like a bit more order in their garden wilderness. Werner Ollig's next and final garden project awaits him in Pirmasens. The D. couple only recently moved in and would like a greener view. DIFFERENT VARIETIES FOR A HIGHER YIELD AND BIODIVERSITY First, it's off to the garden center. Here, the families stock up on vegetables, fruit trees and plants. When shopping, it's all about variety. Instead of buying just one type of raspberry plant, the expert recommends buying different varieties. This not only increases the yield, but insects also enjoy the longer flowering period. In general, all flowering periods should be covered. A HOMEMADE INSECT HOTEL In Karlsruhe, things get a little more hands-on. The boys, Tilman and Urs, are building winter protection for wild bees out of straw mats, hard wood and bamboo sticks. Insects are particularly important in an ecological garden and in maintaining the ecosystem. LEAVES FOR A WINTER-PROOF NATURAL GARDEN To make beds winter-proof, it is best to protect them with a thick layer of leaves. This has the advantage that earthworms get food and the soil remains active. Young trees, in turn, need to be pruned and fertilized in the spring. This stimulates growth. TIP: COMPOST IS WORTH IT FOR EVERY GARDEN Ready-made compost can replace expensive fertilizer. It can improve the quality of the soil. The ideal location for the compost should be partially shaded and never in direct sunlight. Compost must also be placed on the ground so that microorganisms can decompose it. WHAT CAN BE PUT IN THE COMPOST? Ultimately, all vegetable garden and kitchen waste can be put in the compost, except for treated peelings. Too much grass clippings should also be avoided. It is best to layer dry and wet material alternately on top of each other. After 6-12 months, the first compost soil is ready. TIP: INSTEAD OF A BROKEN LAWN, CREATE YOUR OWN FLOWER MEADOW But what can you do if the lawn is broken? Instead of removing the lawn with a lot of effort, you can simply use the existing area as the basis for a wildflower meadow. The area does not need to be fertilized, watered or mowed. The wind carries the flower seeds onto the lawn and after a while a diverse flower meadow is created. Thanks to garden expert Werner Ollig, three diverse garden oases have now been created within a year. Author: Michaela Krause Image source: 2sometravel/unsplash #NatureGarden #insectfriendly #EcoGarden