Category Archives: organic gardening

How to Make Seed-filled Bombs That Bloom Into Flowers for Bees, Insects and Other Wildlife

Posted on September 3, 2018 by John Walker

Dropping bombs is the sweetest, most gentle kind of revenge we can take for the savage treatment of our flora-rich roadside verges. Our gardens are brimming with ripe seeds, so it’s time to get vengeful – with flowers. By John Walker. Originally … Continue reading →

Posted in bees & other insects, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, earth-friendly books, eco gardening, environment, glyphosate, green gardening, leaf mould, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, published articles, renewable gardening, wildlife gardening | 2 Comments

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

Posted on September 11, 2017 by John Walker

‘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

Wonderful Weeds: TEASEL – A Striking and Spiky Wild Plant That Benefits Bees and Butterflies in Summer, then Seed-eating Birds During Autumn and Winter

Posted on August 30, 2017 by John Walker

Teasel Dipsacus fullonum Other names: brushes and combs; Venus’ basin. Life cycle: Biennial Only treat teasel as a ‘weed’ if it interferes with your gardening as it has many positive benefits. In late summer plants reach 1.2-1.5m (4-5ft) tall and are topped … Continue reading →

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Wonderful Weeds: CHICKWEED – A Sign of a Rich and Fertile Garden Soil, This Prolific and Edible Wild Plant Can be Added to Your Salads All Year Round

Posted on August 18, 2017 by John Walker

Chickweed Stellaria media Other names: chickwittle, cluckenweed, mischievous Jack. Life cycle: Annual/ephemeral Dense green clumps of chickweed, up to 30cm (1ft) tall indicate rich, fertile soil, but it will grow virtually anywhere in the garden, including the cracks in paving. The … Continue reading →

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Wonderful Weeds: BORAGE – A Prolific Self-seeding Plant Which Can Swamp its Neighbours, But is a Big Hit With Bees and Other Insects

Posted on August 9, 2017 by John Walker

Borage Borago officinalis Life cycle: annual/biennial Grown as a herb, this prolific self-seeder has escaped in many gardens and should be treated as a weed, except for any plants which you want to allow to develop and flower throughout the summer. … Continue reading →

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Wonderful Weeds: DANDELION – Let Some Wet-a-Beds Bloom to Provide Vital Food for Bees and Insects in Early Spring

Posted on August 2, 2017 by John Walker

Dandelion Taraxacum officinale Other names: pee-a-bed, wet-a-bed, blow balls Life cycle: perennial Dandelion’s deep taproot must be dug or forked out and older plants, with very deep roots, may need several attempts. However, dandelion doesn’t spread sideways, so I let a few … Continue reading →

Posted in bees & other insects, blog, earth-friendly books, green gardening, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, weeds | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gardening in England is Set to be Completely Peat-free by 2020 – Where is The Persuasive, Compelling & Inspiring Green-fingered Roadmap That’s Going to Get Us There?

Posted on March 30, 2017 by John Walker

Meeting the UK government target of turning gardening peat-free by 2020 will bring a dark, nature-damaging side of gardening to an end. But it will only be achieved with determined effort – including a campaign to educate all those non-gardening folk buying a ‘bag of dirt’.  … Continue reading →

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

Here’s Some Real Gardening News: Peat-free Composts – Fertile Fibre and SylvaGrow – Bag Two Out of Three Which? Gardening Best Buy 2017 Awards for Container Growing

Posted on March 30, 2017 by John Walker

The April 2017 issue of Which? Gardening magazine brings good news for gardeners, and for our natural world: two out of three of its Best Buy awards for container compost have gone to modern and reliable peat-free compost brands (the other went to … Continue reading →

Posted in blog, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, environment, garden compost, garden compost & composting, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, renewable gardening, vegan-organic gardening | 3 Comments

Falling Assets: How to Turn Your Free and Renewable Autumn Leaves Into Rich, Life-giving Leaf Mould to Improve Soil and to Make Your Own Peat-free Potting Compost

Posted on November 17, 2016 by John Walker

Canny gardeners don’t leave any leaves lying – this beautiful and noisy autumn windfall matures into gardening gold that’s free for the raking, and is infinitely renewable year after year after year… By John Walker. Originally published on the Hartley Botanic website as … Continue reading →

Posted in climate- & earth-friendly gardening, easy gardening, eco gardening, ecological sustainability, freegardening, garden compost, garden compost & composting, leaf mould, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, published articles, renewable gardening, soil | Leave a comment

How Free and Plentiful Woodchips can Help Your Organic, Earth-friendly – and Peat-free – Garden Grow

Posted on November 14, 2016 by John Walker

Mounds of woodchips are everywhere nowadays, they’re free for the taking – and they can help you go peat-free. Inspired by a pioneering vegan-organic vegetable grower, I’m now coveting every fresh mound of chips I find. By John Walker. Published in The … Continue reading →

Posted in climate- & earth-friendly gardening, ecological sustainability, environment, freegardening, garden compost, garden compost & composting, green gardening, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, published articles, soil, woodchips | 4 Comments