THE COMPOSTING BIN A gardener who throws things away is not

THE COMPOSTING BIN
A gardener who throws things away is not getting
it right. Everything can be recycled and returned
to the garden; therefore the compost bin is the
ultimate tool in sustainable gardening. All weeds,
pruning and grass clippings should be added to the
compost bin. Even leftovers from the kitchen such
as vegetable peelings, tea bags and egg shells can
be added as well as old paper. The fleshy roots of
perennial weeds such as Dandelion should not go on
the compost heap; these can be burnt and added to
the compost heap as ash. A good tip is always pull
up your weeds before they set seed. This saves you
work, time and energy, as well as possible extra use
of equipment and will therefore help sustain your
back in the long run. Finally, avoid meat and dairy
products in the compost bin as they may attract
unwanted visitors.
be taken; this requires some skill so do some research
on what different plants require. For example, a
hardwood cutting can be taken from a Willow in
winter. Collecting seed after flowering is also a
great way to raise new plants in a sustainable way.
TIER PLANTING
Plants grow in association; in a word they enjoy each
others company. Planting them in tiers, whether in
a border or in a pot, has a number of benefits. Tier
planting can mean growing a few trees which are
under planted with shrubs which in turn are under
planted with groundcover. This means less watering,
less weeding and no chance of soil erosion. It also
encourages wildlife.
MULCHING
Once your compost, decayed leaves, wood chippings or even a few bags of wonderfully rotted horse
manure from the local garden centre or farm, has
been obtained, it’s time to put all that goodness
back into the garden. One superb way to do this is
to apply it as mulch. This means spreading it around
the base of your plants throughout the borders and
beds. It can be anywhere from 5 to 10 cm in depth
and does a number of important jobs that help sustain your garden. It feeds the soil and plants, helps
retain moisture, protects roots from frosts and cold
air, makes weeding much easier as they cannot get
the same grip, and finally, if aesthetics are important
to you, it makes the garden look great.
DIVIDING YOUR PLANTS
Plants benefit from being propagated and this will
increase your stock. Herbaceous plants can be lifted
and divided into clumps, these can then be potted up
as spares, planted or given away. Cuttings can also
USING THOSE AUTUMN LEAVES
Autumn provides not just beautiful colour, but also
a great opportunity to make some excellent mulch
or soil improver. Falling leaves should not be swept
away or seen as a nuisance. They can be rotted
down and used effectively in the garden. Place them
in bin liners with holes punctured into them, or a
couple of wooden stakes and some chicken wire can
make a small pen that leaves can be placed into.
They will rot down during the course of the winter
ready to be replaced back onto the soil in the garden
in the spring. Perfect food to keep your soil healthy.
A SALAD WINDOW BOX
You do not need a massive allotment to produce
some of your own food; even those people who live
in a small flat can get up to a small bit of sustainable
gardening. A simple window box, some compost and
a packet of cut and come again salad leaves seeds
will give your sandwiches a fresh taste. One sowing
will last you up to a month and repeat sowing from
the same packet is possible as is growing throughout
the winter. Just remember to make sure the plants
are given a drink.
CREATING A POTATO BARREL
Create a small space and make your own mash. For
those in small spaces but who want to grow one of
our most important staple foods, take an old or
disused dustbin, water butt or even a sack, make
sure they are properly cleaned and use them for
growing some spuds. The bin is the best as holes can
be cut at intervals a third of the way and two thirds
of the way up allowing the plants to grow outwards
as well as up. The Potatoes can be planted in layers.
A cultivar such as ‘Rocket’ can be ready to tip out in
as little as 10 weeks. A good family project could be
made better by letting the kids decorate the bin.
A STRAWBERRY HANGING BASKET
Slugs and snails are the enemy of the sustainable
garden and particularly the Strawberry plants. One
way to defeat them is plant strawberries in a hanging basket. A wire basket with open sides means
that many Strawberry plants can be planted both
through the sides and in the top. Line the basket
with a sustainable product like Sisal and hang in a
bright sunny spot. Many people may worry about
watering baskets and they will need regular checking
but Strawberries are a hot climate plant so sleepless
nights will not be required. They will however enjoy a
liquid feed from time to time.
HOMEMADE NOURISHING DRINKS
- THE LIQUID FEED
The nettle has a bad reputation in human eyes but it
is actually a very important plant. Just to begin with
it’s very important for the larvae of Caterpillars and
for wildlife generally. They are also full of Nitrogen,
an important nutrient for plant growth. So take some
Nettles and place them in a bucket of water and 3 to
4 weeks later you have your own home made liquid
feed. This liquid is drained off and when needed
diluted into a water sprayer at the rate of 20:1 and
then applied to your plants. This is not for baby
seedlings though.
TAKING CARE OF WATER
The source of all life - it is true that water is the one
element that we really do take for granted, the fact
it falls from the sky and there always seems to be a
lot of it gives the impression it is always available.
Sustaining a source of water is one of the gardeners
most important jobs. Water butts are fundamental
as is the time of day you water - early in the
morning or at dusk is best when the weather is cooler
and there is less chance of transpiration. Using
funnels or old overflow pipes inserted at the base of
larger plants such as shrubs and trees provides
targeted watering. Mulching and tier planting will
also be water wise gardening techniques.
A WILDLIFE CORNER
Sharing our garden with those plants and animals
that do not necessarily obey the rules of the
garden is important. A small area in the corner of
the garden, even one as small as one square meter
or a large pot on a balcony should be given over to
nature. This will encourage many advantages like
giving space over to pollinators. Natural composters
like centipedes will also have a home in the garden.
Added items like habitat piles or even a hedgehog
house will open the garden to predators that will
check your slugs and snails.
BEATING THE PESTS WITHOUT PESTICIDES
In a small area it’s difficult to see the need for
pesticides. They can disrupt the food chain by
wiping out the small insectivorous life and thus stop
predators entering the garden. Ladybirds are ideal
for controlling Aphids and a healthy number of birds
will control pests such as snails. Companion planting
throughout your vegetable plot will take pests away
from your chosen plants. For example, a Nasturtium
will keep the caterpillars of the Cabbage White
Butterfly off your Brassicas. Plant hygiene will also
aid your battle against the pests, remove any growth
that has become infected and destroy. A touch of
soapy water in a water sprayer will also check those
Blackfly.
RECYCLING HOUSEHOLD
AND GARDEN MATERIALS
Always try to recycle your plastic pots and trays and
re-use household equipment in order to create a
sustainable garden. Plastic pots should be
disinfected, stored and used again. Old tights filled
with soil or old bottles can be used to create walls
or raised beds. Old tyres make excellent planting
pockets for growing herbs and salad crops. Old
bricks and wood can be used to build a bug house
to encourage wildlife into the garden. Milk cartons
can be decorated and turned into birdhouses and old
carpets can be used on fallow soil to prevent weeds
taking over.
BUYING LOCAL
Sourcing plants from a local grower or nursery not
only provides sustainability in your garden, it has
major horticultural value as well. Locally sourced
plants can have a much smaller carbon footprint but
also are adapted to local conditions and therefore
have a greater chance of survival. They will be used
to local weather patterns and hardened to the
surroundings. Plants bought from a distance tend to
be raised in different climates and environments to
what they will experience in your garden.
SUSTAINING YOUR BODY – THE GREEN GYM
A huge reason to take part in sustainable gardening is
the health benefits it has for the gardener.
Gardeners are fit people who enjoy regular exercise,
plenty of fresh air and regular contact with nature which is good for the mind. If you are bit of a
reluctant gardener, why not just indulge a bit and
buy yourself a hand push mow instead of a petrol or
electrical mower. This will keep you fit and help out
the planet a bit too.
PLANT A NATIVE TREE OR SHRUB
Make time for the local. Planting a Silver Birch and/
or a Willow will always blend with our landscape.
These plants form a corridor between the garden and
the wider landscape. They are good for local wildlife,
sustainable as they are used to the conditions and the
blend of the white bark of the Birch with the yellowy
stems of the Willow make a beautiful sight in the
winter. If these plants are cut back in early spring
their wood can be used for country crafts such as
basket making or even used as green fuel. Ensure
trees are planted at an appropriate distance from
buildings to avoid damage from the roots - allowing
12-15m for Birch and 20m for Willow.
USE ORGANIC FERTILISERS
Some of the off shoots of the farming industry are
by-products that can be extremely useful in sustainable
gardening. Dried blood, bone meal, fish blood and bone
are all naturally organic fertilisers and can be applied
by hand to plants in the garden in powder form. The
titles may be gruesome, but they are less prone to
getting into the water table (known as leaching),
more sustainable as they can be sourced locally and
really good for plants.
THE D/D/D RULE
Plant health is the ultimate task of the gardener. To
avoid treating plants for pest and disease and for
their general wellbeing, it’s good to remove the three
D’s. This is the removal of all dead, diseased and
dying material from the plant. Most plant pathogens
are secondary, meaning they tend only to cause
problems to an already weakened plant. Plants also
need air movement around them, removing unwanted
leaves and wood enables a healthy atmosphere.
Make your plants more sustainable by keeping them
clean and tidy.
TAKING CARE OF THE BEES AND BUTTERFLIES
An important part of gardening and particularly
growing food is to make sure that plants can be
pollinated. Bees are said to be responsible for 80 per
cent of plant pollination - they are invaluable to a
sustainable garden. Butterflies are also crucial, but
they need a reason to visit your garden. Plant a
herbaceous border along the side of the veg plot or
sow special Bee flower mixes. Do some homework to
see what plants will encourage them into the garden.
VERTICAL GARDENING -MAKING USE OF SPACE
Sustainability is all about using the space and resources required to their upmost. A garden or even
a balcony is not flat, it has mass, it is a cube. Use
baskets, arches, nets, grow the vertical plants such
as Beans or Loganberries on walls. Even compost
bins and water butts can be wall mounted. Sustain
all space.
PEAT FREE COMPOST
Peat is a much contested subject but on a personal
level there is no reason to be adding to the
consumption of peat when it’s used on a non
commercial scale. Good composting, or the use of
recycled green or loam based composts from garden
centres are sufficient, and a sustainable way to aid
the rearing of plants and add to the soil condition of
your garden.