Author Archives: John Walker

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 →

Posted in blog, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, container gardening, environment, ethics, garden centres & gardening industry, garden compost, garden compost & composting, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, tv gardening & celebrities | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in blog, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, environment, garden centres & gardening industry, garden compost, garden compost & composting, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost | Leave a comment

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

Is Gardening Really ‘Green’?

Posted on December 15, 2015 by John Walker

Exploring the reality behind gardening’s widely touted but increasingly unconvincing claim that ‘gardening is green!’ By John Walker. First published in The Garden, magazine of the Royal Horticultural Society, December 2015 Writing about gardening is a solitary game. But using the pen to place gardening … Continue reading →

Posted in climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, environment, garden centres & gardening industry, green gardening, greenwash, media, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, published articles, renewable gardening | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in blog, environment, garden centres & gardening industry, neonicotinoids or 'neonics', pesticides in the garden, pollution | Leave a comment

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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Forget Black Friday – Green is the New Black for Gardeners Who Want to Escape the Hype of Mass Consumerism and Make Every Day in Their Garden a Green, Earth-friendly One

Posted on December 14, 2014 by John Walker

Mortified by the annual spectacle of pushing and shoving that celebrates overconsumption on ‘Black Friday’, I headed home in search of a more sedate and decidedly green gardening Friday… By John Walker. Originally published on the Hartley Botanic website as ‘Green days’, 14th … Continue reading →

Posted in allotments, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, environment, garden centres & gardening industry, green gardening, greenwash, leaf mould, media, organic gardening, overconsumption, published articles, renewable gardening, tv gardening & celebrities | Leave a comment

How to Succeed in Your Garden With Modern, Reliable and Nature-friendly Peat-free Sowing and Potting Compost

Posted on October 11, 2014 by John Walker

Gardeners have never had it so good when it comes to nature-friendly, peat-free composts for sowing seeds, potting up plants, filling pots and containers, or for simply improving our garden or allotment soil.  By John Walker. Published in The Telegraph, 11th October 2014. … Continue reading →

Posted in allotments, ecological sustainability, environment, ethics, food & kitchen gardening, garden compost & composting, gardening footprint, green gardening, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, published articles, renewable gardening | 4 Comments

Potting Up Dandelions

Posted on August 13, 2014 by John Walker

If you cultivate an enlightened attitude to wild plants instead of trying to constantly eradicate them, your garden can share in their success. By John Walker. Published on the Hartley Botanic website, 13th August 2014. Put ‘kill dandelions’ into a search … Continue reading →

Posted in allotments, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, container gardening, eco gardening, environment, food & kitchen gardening, glyphosate, green gardening, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, published articles, renewable gardening, weeds | 1 Comment