New grove

More and more olive trees in the district of Neusiedl am See

(Bild: Charlotte Titz)

Our climate is becoming more and more Mediterranean. No wonder that olives are now also growing here. 

The number of farms planting olive groves is increasing. One person who also believes that olives can thrive here is Chris Weinert from Gols. Born in Germany, he has lived in the Neusiedl am See district for several years and started growing vegetables on a larger scale in 2023.

He runs a market garden called "Gartenkiste" and teamed up with two colleagues last year. Together with Paul Reiner and Clara Heinrich, they are the "SeeWinkelgärten". At the moment, they only grow tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables. But if Weinert has his way, olives will definitely be added.

70 trees between one and five years old
The reason for his enthusiasm for the Mediterranean stone fruit is a lecture by David Schopper from "Pannolio". Schopper has been involved with olives for many years and has also founded a cooperative for olive growers in Austria.

 "Around a dozen farmers are already part of the cooperative and plant olive trees with us in the best vineyards in Austria," says the Eisenstadt native. Chris Weinert is also involved. He has planted 70 olive trees in Mönchhof to date. The majority are three years old, a few are only one year old and a few are five years old. "I've chosen three hardy varieties and a few experimental varieties," explains the man who chose to grow olives. A decent yield can be expected from the trees at around seven years of age. "But the first harvest will be this year," says Weinert confidently. "Three to four jars of olives will certainly be ready this year," he smiles.