Gardener of the year 2010


Bergmair-Russmann Gärtnerei is a family plant nursery founded in 1946 by Karl and Maria Russmann.


The business was taken over in 1997 by their grandson Engelbert Bergmair-Russmann jun., who continued the successful specialist trade in vegetable seedlings and plants for beds and balconies. At the height of the season, the 5200 m² production site in Obergrünberg plus the branches in Bad Hall, Kremsmünster and Molln employ up to 38 people.

In 2010, the Bergmair-Russmann nursery received an award of which Mr Bergmair-Russmann is extremely proud – nursery of the year 2010 in Upper Austria.

 

 

 

  

Engelbert Bergmair-Russmann jun. attended a presentation on plant strengtheners back in 2004. This was where he first heard about Effective Microorganisms and their advantages. His curiosity awakened, he paid a visit to Multikraft to find out more about them. Convinced of their benefits, he implemented them across the nursery overnight. "To this day I never regretted taking that step; quite the opposite. I am truly impressed by the many benefits and positives they have brought," explains Mr Bergmair-Russmann. "We've been using EM-Active (EMa) with great success ever since. It fully mixes in with the irrigation water automatically, so there's no extra effort involved for our workers. Any additional effort would not have been worth it on a purely mathematical basis."

Engelbert Bergmair-Russmann on his successful application of EM
"We constantly had problems with mildew on our pumpkin plants. This disease spread really quickly, especially in the greenhouse. Since we've been using EM-Active (EMa) and the Terrafert products, we've not had any more problems with mildew. We've also achieved great results with our unrooted plants. Every year we grow 80,000 balcony plants and EM has greatly reduced the number of those that fail to take root to around just a hundred this year."

Getting the garden ready for winter:

  • Gathering the foliage: Not so it's clinically clean, but forming small piles under shrubs and trees where beneficial organisms such as hedgehogs can find somewhere to hibernate.
  • Cutting back shrubs: Cutting back old shoots and thick branches. The best time to do this is when the moon is in the sign of Virgo. Treat large cutting surfaces with EM-Active (EMa) and EM-Ceramic Powder (make up a paste) to prevent disease from penetrating.
  • Put in bulbs: Now is the best time to plant bulbs such as daffodils and tulips and also pansies, and then feed with EM-Active (EMa). These can then take root really well now, which will help them survive the winter and emerge triumphant in the spring.

 

Tip from Engelbert Bergmair-Russmann jun. for all EM users:
Don't just give EM a try; you have to use it regularly to really get results. Also, if you apply EM automatically, i.e. mix it automatically into the irrigation water, then it makes everything even easier. Not only does it save money and effort, it's also all done without any chemistry involved: when we work with nature instead of against it we all benefit.