Category Archives: carbon emissions

It’s Time For Gardeners to Break Their Silence on Climate Breakdown. What we Do in Our Gardens and Allotments Does Affect the World Around us

‘Keep quiet and grow on’ simply isn’t tenable any longer. What we do in our gardens does make a difference to the chaos of climate change – for better or for worse. By John Walker. Originally published on the Hartley Botanic website as … Continue reading

Posted in allotments, carbon emissions, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, earth-friendly books, energy use, environment, ethics, garden centres & gardening industry, green gardening, greenwash, media, organic gardening, overconsumption, published articles, renewable gardening, tv gardening & celebrities | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

All Change for Some Modern Peat-free Composts This Spring

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

Sustainable Sowing

Instead of giving any more time to the myths about sowing in peat-free composts, put them to the test. You’ll find they do the job as well as peat – without the ecological price-tag. By John Walker. Published on the Hartley … Continue reading

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological sustainability, environment, ethics, 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

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

Climate Changes Everything

At the end of an abysmal growing year, only one thing is for sure: the familiar rhythms of gardening are gone for good. By John Walker. Published on the Hartley Botanic website, 18th September 2012 I’ll let you into a … Continue reading

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, environment, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, pollution, published articles | Leave a comment

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 | Leave a comment

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

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, environment, garden compost, green gardening, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, published articles | 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

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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

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