Sandarium für Wildbienen: ARD Garten-Challenge │Querbeet

Anyone who wants the Golden Garden Shovel must master a task! This time: building a sandarium – a nesting place for wild bees. Two allotment gardening teams are taking on the challenge and tackling the ARD Garden Challenge. "Sweating for Biodiversity!" Two teams are competing in the garden duel at the Süd Ost 12 allotment garden in Munich. Team 1 consists of Andreas and his father Peter, and Team 2 consists of Kerstin and her son Michael. They have two hours to create a sandarium with appropriate planting of native wild perennials. The teams are provided with sand and plants. They must provide their own additional materials, tools, and muscle power. The Judge Judge Karin Haslbeck is a trained perennial gardener and natural gardener. In her Munich garden, she created a large sandarium as a nesting aid for wild bees. This topic is particularly dear to her heart: "Because three-quarters of our native wild bees actually build their nests in open soil, and such habitats have become rather rare in our modern gardens due to densification and development." What is a sandarium? A sandarium is an artificially created nesting site for ground-nesting wild bees and wasps. A large proportion of the 600 wild bee species native to Germany build their nests in the soil. Building a Sandarium – Step by Step The Materials Unwashed, loamy sand Materials for the challenge are provided: in this case, 0/4 grain sand The Location Full sun, if possible A rain shelter is useful, but not required The Size At least 0.5 m² Depth of the sandy soil: 50 cm The Options: Pit or Raised Bed There are several options for achieving the required 50 cm of sand. Either dig a 50 cm deep hole and fill it, or build a raised bed to save yourself the hassle of digging. Important during construction: Drainage may be necessary in very clayey soils. Remove existing vegetation to prevent these plants from growing through the sand later. Include a border to prevent the sand from being washed away in rain and to prevent plants from growing into the sand from outside. The sand should be applied in layers about 15 cm thick and lightly compacted. To prevent the sandarium from ending up as a litter box, you can scatter some blackberry stems or rose cuttings. The plants Generally speaking, plant sandariums sparingly. Use native plants. These are the ones that insects benefit most from. Suitable for the location: dry, hot, full sun. Must not grow rampantly. Plant examples: Bird's-foot trefoil – Lotus corniculatus Carthusian pink – Dianthus carthusianorum Rock pink – Petrorhagia saxifraga Common bedstraw – Galium verum Common thyme – Thymus pulegioides Musk mallow – Malva moschata St. John's wort – Hypericum perforatum The freestyle Deadwood elements or stones not only enhance the appearance of the sandarium, they also create additional habitats for insects. Video chapters 00:00 Task 00:42 The teams 01:21 The Golden Garden Shovel 01:26 Shoveling sand and the right size 02:30 The judge "What is a sandarium?" 03:04 Digging holes 04:48 Filling drainage 06:05 Filling and compacting sand 07:09 Halftime: Mutual visit 08:11 Building a border 09:59 Selecting plants 11:08 "Wrong" plants 12:20 Protecting the sand garden from cats 12:47 Construction stopped 13:20 The evaluation 14:55 Awards ceremony Welcome to the ARD Garden YouTube channel! Here you'll find gardening tips and inspiration for every season – practical, authentic, and ad-free. For everyone who loves their garden and balcony and wants to be creative. #Sand Garden, #Biodiversity, #NatureGarden