Department of Horticulture

Historical Background

Christian Reichert – the father of German horticulture. Christian Reichart (also spelled Reichardt, * 4 July 1685 in Erfurt; † 30 July 1775) was a German councillor and gardener. Reichart is regarded as a pioneer and patron of commercial horticulture in Erfurt and as such also established Erfurt's reputation as the "city of flowers."

• Christian Reichert – father of German horticulture

  Christian Reichart practised what we now call agricultural intensification through his work on watercress cultivation, for example. In Reichart's garden pond, this fine, vitamin-rich vegetable grew of its own accord, but he was more interested in systematic cultivation. In the 18th century, he shaped the development of horticulture and agriculture in Germany.

  Life and work

  Christian Reichart was born on 4 July 1685 to a wealthy Erfurt family who cultivated fields and gardens on their extensive estates on the outskirts of the city. This allowed him to study law at the University of Erfurt from 1705. In 1716 he was appointed to the city council of Erfurt. Four years later, Reichart took over his family's estates. While he was teaching himself about agriculture and horticulture, he was greatly helped by his ill stepfather, described in Reichart's autobiography as an "intelligent, skilful, wise and experienced economist". By transcribing his questions and his stepfather's answers, he created the first small textbook on agriculture and horticulture.

  After the death of his stepfather, Reichart began extensive trials on his inherited land and endeavoured to make his practical experience more academic. He developed a series of new gardening tools that increased labour productivity and are still used today in an evolved form. In addition to the single-wheel hoe, he invented a machine for thinning out plants and a spiked roller for loosening soil. Reichart introduced large-scale market gardening to Erfurt, where until then the main crops had been fruit, grapes and culinary and medicinal herbs.

  In the fertile Dreienbrunnen area on the outskirts of Erfurt, many types of vegetable have become native thanks to systematic and scientific melioration work. Reichart acclimatized cauliflower seeds from Cyprus, for example, and laid the foundations for cauliflower cultivation in Erfurt. Christian Reichart planted watercress blades on a large part of the Dreienbrunnen site. These vitamin-rich vegetables, which thrive in water, were a welcome change, especially in winter. Even in Reichart's day, Erfurt's vegetable production not only supplied the city, but also the surrounding area. Reichart cultivated local vegetable species and ensured their recognition far beyond the city limits through the development of seed cultivation. By the middle of the 18th century, he was already trading the seeds of 93 different types of vegetables in Central Europe. Further accomplishments include his development of an 18-year crop rotation without fallow land, in contrast to the outdated three-field system, and an increase in crop production.

  Reichart's six-volume academic masterpiece "Land- und Gartenschatz" was published in 1753. The successful gardener also worked in public offices and charitable institutions in the city. From 1752, he was involved in the management of municipal affairs as a councillor. During this time, he campaigned for the academic and practical training of gardeners and therefore called for a fundamental reorganization of how economics was taught at universities. Reichart compiled a series of records on the history of Erfurt, in particular his "Erfurt Chronicle" from 1700 to 1757. In his later years, he almost completely lost his eyesight. He died in Erfurt in 1775.

  Source: Wikipedia (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Reichart)