The most beautiful kitchen gardens were also awarded this year

By: STA Date: 2024. 10. 29. 09:30

In 2024, the country’s most beautiful kitchen gardens were also awarded. “This initiative not only contributes to maintaining the traditions of home gardening, but also popularizes this activity among the younger generations, and the program also has a community-building role,” said the Secretary of State for Agriculture and Rural Development of the Ministry of Agriculture at the presentation of the awards in the reed yard.

(Photo: AM/István Fekete)

Zsolt Feldman emphasized that the kitchen garden movement builds on the centuries-old Hungarian garden culture, since in these places we can find hundreds of varieties of fruits and vegetables that were cultivated by our ancestors in the Carpathian Basin.

According to the Secretary of State, there are many advantages to taking care of kitchen gardens

For example, fresh, seasonal produce is available, thereby reducing the household’s ecological footprint. Furthermore, taking care of the gardens around the house also has a recreational role, and they can also have a community-creating function through garden-friendly clubs and community gardens. He recalled that in recent years the Ministry of Agriculture has created more favorable operating conditions for those smaller producers who, where appropriate, produce in addition to their self-sufficiency, and sometimes also sell. At the same time, the ministry also supported the creation and renewal of farmers’ markets, so that more than 320 farmers’ markets can operate, which can provide significant help for the sale of seasonal goods beyond consumption, and thereby also contribute to the realization of a short supply chain. At the end of 2010, the number of small producers selling food was only 5,000, but today their number reaches 23,000. Their growth is one of the most important indicators of the strengthening of viable rural economies, he added.

“The most beautiful kitchen gardens” – Hungary’s most beautiful kitchen gardens, the national Hungarian Heritage award program, turns 12 this year

So far, 24,492 gardens and 233,692 gardeners from 8 countries – 868 settlements – have joined the initiative. The desire for recognition and the spirit of competition attracted 1,183 kindergartens, 267 primary schools and 281 secondary schools to the program. In 2024, the number of settlements participating in the initiative exceeded 300, and more than 48,000 gardeners were reached. This year, 149 gardens from 86 settlements were nominated for the national award of the most beautiful kitchen garden in Hungary, of which 32 gardens from 28 settlements received recognition.