Category Archives: blog

Read The Foreword to The New & Updated Edition of My Book Weeds: An Organic, Earth-friendly Guide to Their Identification, Use and Control

Posted on July 20, 2016 by John Walker

WE LIVE IN A MEDIA-DRIVEN AGE in which we’re increasingly led to believe that fast is good, that hectic is to be applauded and that we ‘don’t have time’ for all those small things in life. Our gardening, too, has been … Continue reading →

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WEEDS is Go! New and Updated, my Organic, Earth-friendly Book All About Chemical-free Garden and Allotment Weed Control is Available Now

Posted on July 11, 2016 by John Walker

Weeds: An Organic, Earth-friendly Guide to Their Identification, Use and Control from Earth-friendly Books, is now available in paperback direct from the author. At a time when garden weedkillers such as glyphosate are under increasing scrutiny (its residues are now … Continue reading →

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How Gardeners and a Top Compost-maker are Teaming up to Bring Professional-quality SylvaGrow Peat-free Compost Into More Garden Centres, Plant Nurseries, Shops and Other Horticultural Suppliers

Posted on April 4, 2016 by John Walker

Why didn’t we think of it sooner? The makers of SylvaGrow professional-quality peat-free compost – which has bagged no less than three Which? Gardening Best Buy awards, and carries the endorsement of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) – have just … Continue reading →

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Modern Peat-free Composts March on: RHS-Endorsed SylvaGrow Bags a Which? Gardening Best Buy Gong for Container Gardening – for the Second Year in a Row

Posted on March 23, 2016 by John Walker

Just when you thought modern and reliable peat-free composts couldn’t get any better – and there are a clutch of good ones out there – SylvaGrow, a professional grade (as used by professionals…) peat-free, environmentally sustainable, all-purpose compost, has has just been awarded another … Continue reading →

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Inclusive, Persuasive and Gently Powerful – How the #Peatfree Hashtag is Changing Gardening and Horticulture for Good

Posted on March 16, 2016 by John Walker

One symbol, the hash sign (that’s one of these #) grafted onto the words ‘peat’ and ‘free’ (as in ‘#peatfree’) is giving all gardeners confidence in forgoing peat use – by slaying tired old myths about whether our garden plants … Continue reading →

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SylvaGrow Peat-free All-purpose Compost Awarded Two Best Buys by Which? Gardening* – and it’s the First Peat-free Compost to be Endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)

Posted on March 2, 2016 by John Walker

SylvaGrow peat-free compost was launched in spring 2014. It’s a 100% peat-free all-purpose compost made with sustainably sourced fine bark, wood fibre, and coir from a single, known source (it doesn’t contain any ‘green waste’ compost), plus plant nutrients sufficient for 4-6 weeks. SylvaGrow … Continue reading →

Posted in blog, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, ecological sustainability, environment, ethics, garden centres & gardening industry, garden compost & composting, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, renewable gardening | 2 Comments

All Change for Some Modern Peat-free Composts This Spring

Posted on February 24, 2016 by John Walker

Two of the modern peat-free composts I’ve been sowing and growing in successfully for several years, are a-changing. It’s all down to rebranding, and to one business being taken over by another (after it went bust). It’s always tedious when businesses … Continue reading →

Posted in blog, carbon emissions, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, ecological sustainability, environment, garden centres & gardening industry, garden compost, peat & peat-free compost | 23 Comments

The Full List of Bug-killing, Bee-harming Neonicotinoid (or ‘Neonics’) Garden Sprays Which Are on Sale in Garden Centres, Supermarkets, Do-It-Yourself Stores, and Shops Just About Everywhere

Posted on July 29, 2015 by John Walker

Several people have asked me for a bigger, easier to read version of the list of garden bug-killing and bee-harming sprays (and compost/soil drenches) which contain the polluting chemicals known as neonicotinoids (‘neonics’ for short), which has been shared widely on Twitter. … Continue reading →

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Can You Help Keep Earth-friendly Gardener Growing?

Posted on January 1, 2015 by John Walker

When I sowed the seeds of earth-friendly gardener three years ago, one of my guiding tenets was that it should never be covered in advertising of any sort. Indeed, as a journalist and writer, my work shouldn’t be influenced, swayed or coloured … Continue reading →

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Wildlife Gardeners’ Question Time, Busy Bees and Refreshing Teas at Snowdonia’s Ty Hyll on Saturday 15th June 2013

Posted on June 12, 2013 by John Walker

Do you want to learn more about bees? Are you looking for ideas to make your garden – whether it’s a tiny patio or a half acre – more wildlife-friendly? Would you like to find out how to make a … Continue reading →

Posted in blog, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, environment, green gardening, nature & the natural world, organic gardening | 1 Comment