Author Archives: John Walker

The Peat Delusion

Posted on June 15, 2010 by John Walker

As gardening spin urges us to keep buying peat compost, science is telling us that the safest place for peat is in the ground. By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, June 2010. “If you are concerned about green issues, … Continue reading →

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

Money Can’t Buy Life

Posted on May 15, 2010 by John Walker

As we hanker for a taste of the ‘good life’, we need to realise that more satisfying, enjoyable and sustainable lives don’t arrive in the post. By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, May 2010. I don’t know about you, … Continue reading →

Posted in carbon emissions, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, easy gardening, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, garden centres & gardening industry, good life, mail order, organic gardening, overconsumption, politics, published articles, resilience | Leave a comment

Election Special

Posted on April 15, 2010 by John Walker

With trust in status quo politics withering, I offer my manifesto for a brave, visionary and greener force fit for the dawning of a more earth-friendly era. By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, April 2010. Amid fevered media speculation … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, food & kitchen gardening, food miles, garden centres & gardening industry, peat & peat-free compost, politics, published articles, resilience, retail monoculture | Leave a comment

Strange Bedfellows

Posted on March 15, 2010 by John Walker

Garden Organic’s plans to be co-opted by big business threaten to undermine the ecologically desirable tenets of thrift, frugality and prudence that organic gardening actually epitomizes. By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, March 2010. Without knowing quite where it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in carbon emissions, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological sustainability, garden centres & gardening industry, greenwash, media, organic gardening, overconsumption, published articles, retail monoculture | Leave a comment

Resilience Gardening

Posted on February 15, 2010 by John Walker

Having a year-round supply of fresh food from your plot ought to help in weathering any knocks to ‘normal life’, but reality could be quite different. By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, February 2010. Barbed wire and baseball bats … Continue reading →

Posted in allotments, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, energy use, environment, food & kitchen gardening, fossil fuels, organic gardening, peak oil, published articles, resilience, transition | Leave a comment

No Purchase Necessary

Posted on January 15, 2010 by John Walker

Everyone’s green nowadays is a wishful myth taking root in the gardening industry, but there’s only one kind of gardening that’s truly in tune with our planet’s limited resources. By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, January 2010. Am I … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, energy use, environment, food & kitchen gardening, fossil fuels, garden centres & gardening industry, greenwash, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, overconsumption, published articles, retail monoculture, tv gardening & celebrities | Leave a comment

Ahead of the Carbon Curve

Posted on December 15, 2009 by John Walker

Keeping food waste from landfill, bins full of thrashing composting worms, mindful soil stewardship and less digging can all help ensure a brighter future for our biosphere. By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, December 2009. You know, I’m sure … Continue reading →

Posted in carbon emissions, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, environment, food & kitchen gardening, garden compost & composting, no-dig gardening, organic gardening, published articles, soil | Leave a comment

Gardeners Shop, the Planet Drops

Posted on November 27, 2009 by John Walker

Why on earth is Garden Organic telling us that green gardening means we must buy more? By John Walker. Published on the Guardian’s website, 27th November 2009. When news emerged this week that our leading organic gardening charity is in … Continue reading →

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, environment, fossil fuels, garden centres & gardening industry, green gardening, organic gardening, overconsumption, published articles | Leave a comment

Going With My Guts

Posted on November 15, 2009 by John Walker

It’s time to stop using our heads when wrangling over the pros and cons of growing food organically, and trust more in the visceral. By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, November 2009. The next thousand words or so are … Continue reading →

Posted in climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, environment, food & kitchen gardening, food miles, garden compost & composting, green gardening, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, pesticides in the garden, published articles, soil | Leave a comment

Discomfort Zone

Posted on October 15, 2009 by John Walker

Is getting us to leave our ‘comfort zones’ for a hug-in really the best way to cultivate self-reliance and cut carbon emissions? By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, October 2009. My last garden was a thin, narrow strip, typical … Continue reading →

Posted in allotments, carbon emissions, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, food & kitchen gardening, green gardening, permaculture, published articles, tv gardening & celebrities | Leave a comment