The area around Broek of Langedijk consisted of thousands of little islands which were created by digging ditches and using the earth and slip to create islands. The islands were very fertile and they were used to grow green produce. Land consolidation and rationalisation of farms put an end to this small scale farming in the early 1970s. The land was used for (expensive) houses and also for farmland, but without the islands. The area around the Oosterdel pond remains the original islands.