These cultivated areas were only cultivated for a few years - mainly with oats, rye and buckwheat. They then lay fallow for usually four to six years or even longer. To protect against cattle grazing in the Heid, the wild lands were enclosed with ramparts overgrown with dense hedges. These wild lands were reforested with spruce in the middle of the 19th century. These Wallen are still visible today.
Farming in the spruce forest
On the path between the Borberg and the Hilbringse, the trail leads over several ramparts up to 40 cm high. If one follows the trace of the Wallen into the forest, it can be seen that they enclose an almost rectangular area. Comparison with historical maps shows that this enclosed area was used as arable land at that time. Today it is hardly imaginable that there should have been arable land here more than 150 years ago.