Monks cultivating a mix of plants without resorting to chemical substances in their monastery garden's vegetation.
Published on Garden's website on July 27, 2025
In a serene monastery garden nestled in Panschwitz-Kuckau, Antje Meiser, the dedicated gardener, tends to her plants using a unique, chemical-free method. This approach, showcased in a 16-minute video produced by MIDDLE GERMAN BROADCASTING, offers a refreshing take on organic gardening.
The video features Antje Meiser and Garden-reporter Diana Fritzsche-Grimmig as they work together in the garden, planting tomatoes and creating a sandarium for wild bees. The video may contain practical tips for chemical-free gardening, as demonstrated by Antje Meiser in the monastery garden.
To grow tomatoes organically using nettle juice and oatmeal in the monastery garden style, follow these steps:
- Prepare the soil: Start with rich, loose, and well-draining soil. Amend your soil with organic compost and well-rotted manure to emphasize natural fertility and biodiversity.
- Use nettle juice as fertilizer: Nettle juice, a nutrient-rich liquid fertilizer made by fermenting stinging nettle leaves in water for about 1-2 weeks, provides nitrogen, minerals, and trace elements that promote healthy tomato foliage and vigorous growth.
- Incorporate oatmeal: Oatmeal or crushed oats can be used as a slow-release source of organic matter and micronutrients. It helps improve soil structure and feeds beneficial soil microbes, supporting better nutrient availability for tomatoes.
- Planting: Plant tomato seedlings after the last frost in an area with full sunlight since tomatoes need ample sun to thrive. Space plants appropriately to ensure good air circulation, reducing disease risks.
- Feeding routine: Apply nettle juice diluted with water (around 1:10 ratio) as a foliar spray or soil drench every 1-2 weeks during the growing season to boost nutrient uptake. Lightly mix oatmeal into the soil around your plants gradually or scatter it on top as mulch to decompose naturally.
- Practice companion planting and crop rotation to maintain soil health and deter pests naturally. Water consistently and mulch to conserve moisture.
- Growing organic tomatoes is a process of nurturing the ecosystem—tomatoes need patience, sunlight, and these natural amendments to produce nutritious fruit.
This approach aligns with organic and traditional gardening practices often associated with monastery gardens, which emphasize natural fertilizers and sustainability, enhancing tomato health and yield without synthetic chemicals. Although the sources retrieved do not mention nettle juice or oatmeal explicitly, these recommendations are based on traditional organic gardening knowledge combined with the monastery garden style concept of natural fertility.
If you need a step-by-step recipe for making nettle juice or details on oatmeal use, feel free to ask! Antje Meiser has revealed the correct method for chemical-free plant treatment in the monastery garden, using nettle juice to strengthen plants and oatmeal to protect plants from slugs. The monastery garden in Panschwitz-Kuckau uses these natural treatments for plant protection, promoting a sustainable and chemical-free gardening environment.
In the monastery garden style, growing tomatoes organically involves using nettle juice as a natural fertilizer and incorporating oatmeal for improved soil structure. Following Antje Meiser's chemical-free plant treatment in the Panschwitz-Kuckau monastery garden, this approach also includes nettle juice to strengthen plants and oatmeal to protect them from slugs, contributing to a sustainable and chemical-free home-and-garden lifestyle.
