Category Archives: fossil fuels

Snowball Effect

Some of the drivers behind the peat-free roll-out are surprising and not all are admirable – but that doesn’t detract from the benefits to the gardener and the natural world. By John Walker. Published on the Hartley Botanic website, 7th October 2013 There’s a … Continue reading

Posted in allotments, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, environment, ethics, fossil fuels, garden centres & gardening industry, garden compost, green gardening, greenwash, media, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, published articles, renewable gardening | Leave a comment

Deep Green Gardening

The down-to-earth lessons of vegan-organic growing have the potential to make our gardens not just more productive, but more ethical and compassionate too. In this 4-page article republished courtesy of Grow It! magazine (Spring 2013), I look at what slaughterhouses have got … Continue reading

Posted in allotments, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, ethics, food & kitchen gardening, fossil fuels, garden compost & composting, green gardening, nature & the natural world, no-dig gardening, organic gardening, published articles, resilience, soil, vegan-organic gardening | Leave a comment

Stay Home and Keep Gardening

A sun-soaked holiday taking in some of the world’s most beautiful gardens is a wonderful idea, given the growing year we’ve had – but only until you join up your thinking. By John Walker. Published on the Hartley Botanic website, … Continue reading

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, ecological footprints, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, ethics, fossil fuels, gardening footprint, green gardening, media, nature & the natural world, overconsumption, peak oil, pollution, published articles, tv gardening & celebrities | Leave a comment

Crowd Cultivation

What do you get when you cross crowd funding with plant breeding? At the Sárvári Research Trust, it’s the chance for ordinary gardeners to have a stake in the future. By John Walker. Published on the Hartley Botanic website, 20th … Continue reading

Posted in allotments, blight-resistant 'sárpo' potatoes, carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, energy use, environment, ethics, food & kitchen gardening, food miles, fossil fuels, gardening footprint, genetically modified (GM) crops, green gardening, media, organic gardening, published articles, renewable gardening | 1 Comment

Flogging Faith in Nature

There’s no need to buy solutions to pest problems that nature can solve for us. The only real problem is how to sell this idea. By John Walker. Published on the Hartley Botanic website, 21st June 2012 Minuscule spiders a … Continue reading

Posted in ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, fossil fuels, garden centres & gardening industry, green gardening, media, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, pesticides in the garden, pollution, published articles, renewable gardening, tv gardening & celebrities | Leave a comment

Greening Up Your Gardening

Rethinking the way you tend your garden will reap great environmental benefits and help to strengthen your relationship with the natural world. By John Walker. Published in Kew magazine, Summer 2012. When it comes to more eco-friendly living, insulating your … Continue reading

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological footprints, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, food miles, fossil fuels, garden centres & gardening industry, garden compost & composting, green gardening, greenwash, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, overconsumption, peat & peat-free compost, pesticides in the garden, published articles, rainwater harvesting, renewable gardening, soil | Leave a comment

Austerity Gardening

Make do and mend, learn to do without, pull your socks up and get stuck in: it’s time to cultivate some old-fashioned values in the garden. By John Walker. Published on the Hartley Botanic website, 15th May 2012. Have you … Continue reading

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, ecological footprints, energy use, environment, food & kitchen gardening, fossil fuels, garden centres & gardening industry, gardening footprint, glyphosate, mail order, media, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, overconsumption, packaging, published articles, renewable gardening, resilience | Leave a comment

Forget FITs – Roll Out Some Gardening GITs!

High-tech sunshine harvesting is all very well if you can afford it, but there’s an easier and more earth-friendly way to turn sunlight into energy that’s right outside your back door. By John Walker. Published on the Hartley Botanic website, … Continue reading

Posted in allotments, carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, ecological footprints, energy use, environment, food & kitchen gardening, food miles, fossil fuels, gardening footprint, green gardening, organic gardening, packaging, peak oil, published articles, renewable gardening, resilience, transition | Leave a comment

Bring Me Sunshine: The Power Behind Renewable Gardening

Using a greenhouse to grow your own food will make your garden greener and help trim your ‘ecological footprint’ – but only if you tap into the right kind of sunshine. By John Walker. Published on the Hartley Botanic website, 23rd September … Continue reading

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, ecological footprints, energy use, environment, ethics, food & kitchen gardening, fossil fuels, gardening footprint, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, pollution, published articles, renewable gardening | Leave a comment

Compost Crisis

Climate-friendly peat-free composts aren’t taking their place at the heart of more eco-savvy gardening because we’re not yet paying enough for them. By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, November 2010. When well-known gardening pundits start proclaiming just how ‘awful’ … Continue reading

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological sustainability, food & kitchen gardening, fossil fuels, garden centres & gardening industry, greenwash, media, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, published articles | 1 Comment