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Category Archives: peat & peat-free compost
Weedkiller’s Winning Ways: My Article on Clopyralid Compost Pollution Bags Garden Media Guild Environmental Award 2012
Last week I was chuffed and humbled to win – for the third time – the British Garden Media Guild’s Environmental Award for my article ‘Gardening’s own goal’, which was published by Hartley Botanic in August 2012. This is a real … Continue reading
Grow Organic With Manchester’s Bud Garden Centre
One of the most engaging ‘twitterships’ that I’ve struck up in the flourishing world of gardening social media is my occasional exchanges with Brenda Smith, co-founder of Bud Garden Centre, in Burnage, Manchester (@BudGardenCentre). We share plenty in common, both … Continue reading
Reporting on Garden Weedkiller Pollution is as Damaging as the Pollution Itself
Recent reporting on the threat of pollution by the weedkiller clopyralid leaves gardeners without the full facts about both peat-based and peat-free composts. By John Walker. Published on the Guardian‘s website, 27th September 2012 Twisted, buckled and puckered leaves, bulging … Continue reading
Gardening’s Own Goal
Found in some lawn weedkillers, the chemical clopyralid is a ticking time bomb – but we could defuse it right now if we learnt from past mistakes. By John Walker. Published on the Hartley Botanic website, 28th August 2012. Winner … Continue reading
Who Needs Peat?
Peat-free composts can grow plants just as well as peat-based, but with an added feel-good factor. In this 4-page article republished courtesy of Grow It! magazine (September 2012), I give tips and advice gleaned from my 2012 garden trial of … Continue reading
Posted in carbon emissions, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, ecological sustainability, environment, ethics, food & kitchen gardening, garden compost & composting, green gardening, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, published articles
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Keep Calm and… Put Up a Greenhouse
It’s time to take cover: after another grey, sodden summer, the future for serious garden food growers looks a lot brighter under glass or plastic. By John Walker. Published on the Hartley Botanic website, 26th July 2012 Pale, drawn and … Continue reading
Posted in climate- & earth-friendly gardening, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, ethics, food & kitchen gardening, food miles, garden compost & composting, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, published articles, rainwater harvesting, renewable gardening, vegan-organic gardening
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It’s Time To Have Your Peat-Free Say On ‘Towards Sustainable Growing Media’
The chair of the government’s Sustainable Growing Media Task Force (SGMTF), Dr Alan Knight, has now published his chair’s report and draft ‘road map’, Towards Sustainable Growing Media. You might well be wondering why we actually need a map, when a … Continue reading
Farewell Peat
We should salute peat’s service to gardening, but we no longer need it to grow a beautiful, productive plot. Let’s bid peat adieu and gets its greener successors under our fingernails. By John Walker. Published in Guardian Weekend, 16th June … Continue reading
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
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Peat-Free Compost: A Buyer’s guide
Having tested more peat-free composts than I could shake a beanpole at, in this article, republished courtesy of Kitchen Garden magazine (June 2012), I recommend my top six peat-frees for the 2012 sowing and growing season. You can read the original 3-page … Continue reading