Urban gardening

Trees bear lots of fruit: the city invites you to harvest

The diversity of fruit trees will be on display at the orchard festival on Friday, October 4, at Dinzlschloss. In addition to presentations and products, fruit varieties will be identified.(Bild: Stadt Villach/Wernig)

The harvest season for apples and pears is in full swing - and it's not just in private gardens that people are picking. Fruit can also be collected from meadow orchards and urban gardening sites.

"Not everyone in Villach has the opportunity to harvest crunchy fruit in their own garden. However, the city wants to give all Villach residents access to fresh vitamins.

"We have created a number of urban gardening areas and orchards in the city, which are now open for harvesting," explains Deputy Mayor and Sustainability Officer Sarah Katholnig: "Apples, pears and many other types of fruit are currently available in optimum freshness and quality."

"The fruit set this year is so abundant that the branches of some trees are hanging almost to the ground. Many of them can barely bear the fruit load, so please harvest!" adds Wolfgang Faller, Head of the Urban Greenery Department.

15 orchards in the city
There are already 15 meadow orchards spread across the entire city of Villach, which are home to a large number of old, rare fruit varieties. In addition to the traditional types of fruit, Villach residents can also find ringlots, cherries and mirabelle plums as well as walnuts and chestnuts throughout the year.

A map of all the free harvest areas is available on the Internet at: www.villach.at/erntezeit