Category Archives: pesticides in the garden

Make Your Own Easy, Cost-free Biodiversity-Boosting ‘Insect Hotels’ For Your Garden or Allotment and Encourage Wild Solitary Bees and Pest-eating Wasps to Live and Nest There

Posted on May 16, 2017 by John Walker

Media buzz about bee conservation can have a real and positive effect, but virtual wildlife gardening only goes so far. I wanted a more immediate way of boosting wild bee (and wasp) populations on my own, real-life patch, so I … Continue reading →

Posted in allotments, bees & other insects, eco gardening, food & kitchen gardening, green gardening, nature & the natural world, neonicotinoids or 'neonics', pesticides in the garden, published articles, wildlife 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

Planet-friendly Pest Busting

Posted on July 15, 2013 by John Walker

Simple solutions guided and powered by nature lie at the heart of my eco-friendly approach to pest control. In this 4-page article republished courtesy of Grow It! magazine (July 2013), I explain how my lazy way of keeping plant pests in check is simple, … Continue reading →

Posted in allotments, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological footprints, ecological sustainability, environment, food & kitchen gardening, green gardening, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, pesticides in the garden, published articles, renewable gardening | Leave a comment

On the Slime Trail

Posted on May 15, 2013 by John Walker

With our recent wet summers, we need to adopt more of a ‘whole garden’ approach when it comes to curtailing the ravages of slugs and snails. In this 4-page article republished courtesy of Grow It! magazine (May 2013), I explain why I … Continue reading →

Posted in allotments, carbon footprint, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, food & kitchen gardening, gardening footprint, green gardening, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, pesticides in the garden, pollution, published articles, renewable gardening | 1 Comment

Weedkiller’s Winning Ways: My Article on Clopyralid Compost Pollution Bags Garden Media Guild Environmental Award 2012

Posted on December 5, 2012 by John Walker

Last week I was chuffed and humbled to win – for the third time – the British Garden Media Guild’s Environmental Award for my article ‘Gardening’s own goal’, which was published by Hartley Botanic in August 2012. This is a real … Continue reading →

Posted in blog, environment, ethics, garden centres & gardening industry, greenwash, peat & peat-free compost, pesticides in the garden, politics, pollution, weedkiller residues | Leave a comment

Choosing Delusion

Posted on November 23, 2012 by John Walker

We’re told that whether or not to use garden chemicals is a personal choice. That may be so, but it needs to be an informed choice – and we’re not being told the whole story.  By John Walker. Published on … Continue reading →

Posted in carbon footprint, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, energy use, environment, ethics, garden centres & gardening industry, gardening footprint, green gardening, greenwash, media, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, packaging, pesticides in the garden, politics, pollution, published articles, renewable gardening | 2 Comments

Resistance is Fertile: How Gardeners Can Help Wave Goodbye to Potato Blight

Posted on November 5, 2012 by John Walker

This summer’s record outbreak of late blight in potatoes has helped shine a light on a quiet but powerful revolution in potato breeding, which aims to banish the disease from our gardens. This is a resistance movement which all gardeners … Continue reading →

Posted in allotments, blight-resistant 'sárpo' potatoes, carbon footprint, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, ethics, food & kitchen gardening, food miles, good life, green gardening, organic gardening, pesticides in the garden, published articles, resilience | 1 Comment

Reporting on Garden Weedkiller Pollution is as Damaging as the Pollution Itself

Posted on October 30, 2012 by John Walker

Recent reporting on the threat of pollution by the weedkiller clopyralid leaves gardeners without the full facts about both peat-based and peat-free composts. By John Walker. Published on the Guardian‘s website, 27th September 2012 Twisted, buckled and puckered leaves, bulging … Continue reading →

Posted in environment, ethics, garden centres & gardening industry, garden compost & composting, greenwash, media, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, pesticides in the garden, politics, pollution, published articles, soil, weedkiller residues | Leave a comment

Gardening’s Own Goal

Posted on October 12, 2012 by John Walker

Found in some lawn weedkillers, the chemical clopyralid is a ticking time bomb – but we could defuse it right now if we learnt from past mistakes. By John Walker. Published on the Hartley Botanic website, 28th August 2012. Winner … Continue reading →

Posted in allotments, environment, ethics, garden compost & composting, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, pesticides in the garden, politics, pollution, published articles, renewable gardening, soil, weedkiller residues | Leave a comment

Flogging Faith in Nature

Posted on June 21, 2012 by John Walker

There’s no need to buy solutions to pest problems that nature can solve for us. The only real problem is how to sell this idea. By John Walker. Published on the Hartley Botanic website, 21st June 2012 Minuscule spiders a … Continue reading →

Posted in ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, fossil fuels, garden centres & gardening industry, green gardening, media, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, pesticides in the garden, pollution, published articles, renewable gardening, tv gardening & celebrities | Leave a comment