Category Archives: ecological sustainability

Always Ask Questions

Posted on December 15, 2010 by John Walker

To turn gardening greener, we all need to start joining up the dots. Let’s make a start by getting dumbfounded manufacturers falling off their seats. By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, December 2010. Although I don’t normally make a … Continue reading →

Posted in climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological sustainability, environment, garden centres & gardening industry, organic gardening, plastic, published articles, recycling | Leave a comment

Compost Crisis

Posted on November 15, 2010 by John Walker

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

Drought of Good Sense

Posted on September 15, 2010 by John Walker

Are gardeners really the ‘victims’ when hosepipe bans are announced – or are we just the unwitting pawns of a gardening industry running dry on ecological consciousness? By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, September 2010. Victimised, threatened and dealt … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, container gardening, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, food & kitchen gardening, garden centres & gardening industry, garden compost & composting, greenwash, organic gardening, published articles, rainwater harvesting, soil, water & 'water footprints' | Leave a comment

Kicking the Habit

Posted on August 15, 2010 by John Walker

Oil spills and their impact on our planet’s ecology might seem faraway and remote, but one way of helping prevent them lies closer than you might think. By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, August 2010. Winner of the Garden … Continue reading →

Posted in climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological sustainability, fossil fuels, gardening footprint, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, plastic, pollution, 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

Organics on the Edge

Posted on September 15, 2009 by John Walker

On a visit to Hough Garden, near Alderley Edge in Cheshire, I discover a decorative organic kitchen garden infused with lessons from nature. By John Walker. Published in The Garden, September 2009. Countless cups of tea, careful observation of nature and … Continue reading →

Posted in eco gardening, ecological sustainability, environment, food & kitchen gardening, garden compost & composting, good life, green gardening, nature & the natural world, no-dig gardening, open gardens, organic gardening, published articles, soil | 2 Comments

New Sárpo ‘Superspud’ Varieties Point the Way Toward Low-Carbon Gardening

Posted on August 24, 2009 by John Walker

Exceptional resistance to late potato blight and virus diseases, high yields, even in poor soils, weed-smothering tops (haulms), drought resistance, and a long storage period. What more could you ask of the humble spud? By John Walker. Published on Landscape … Continue reading →

Posted in allotments, blight-resistant 'sárpo' potatoes, carbon footprint, ecological footprints, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, food & kitchen gardening, fossil fuels, organic gardening, pesticides in the garden, published articles | Leave a comment

How Many Beans in a Butt?

Posted on April 15, 2009 by John Walker

What can you do to stop life-giving supplies of water in distant lands from drying up? Grow your own food, of course. By John Walker. Published in Organic Garden & Home, April 2009. Now, here’s a question: how many full … Continue reading →

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, ecological footprints, ecological sustainability, energy use, ethics, food & kitchen gardening, food miles, organic gardening, published articles, rainwater harvesting, water & 'water footprints' | Leave a comment