Gardening, seemingly as green as it gets, can be deceivingly unsustainable and harmful to the surrounding environment. Peat commonly used as compost is taken from rapidly diminishing natural reserves, garden furniture is often made from wood from unsustainable sources in the tropics, and chemical fertilisers and pesticides pollute water, and often cause death to many insects, plants, birds and animals.
What can you do?
- Make sure any furniture you buy is from sustainable sources.
- Buy organic fertilisers and pesticides
- Compost- Make your own compost. You can get a compost bin from your local council for a reduced price and sometimes free! Alternatively you can make your own. You can compost tea bags, coffee grounds, fruit and veg, straw, grass cuttings, weeds and even cardboard and newspaper. As well as providing an organic fertiliser for free, you can dramatically reduce waste that gets sent to landfill!
- Grow your own vegetables- If you don’t have a garden or don’t have enough space find out where your nearest allotment is, details of how to do this are listed below in contacts. By growing your own veg you can save money on food shopping, and reduce your ‘food miles’ by decreasing the amount of food you buy that is transported over great distances, thus reducing your carbon footprint.
- Use water sparingly- If you can collect rainwater in a tank attached to your drain pipes, this saves the amount of water you use and also provides a safer supply for your plants as mains water is often full of chlorine. Use watering-cans as an alternative to wasteful sprinklers and hoses. Watering plants early in the morning or in the evening prevents evaporation of water during the day and using your homemade compost helps retain the water in the soil.
- Alternatives to pesticides- Use meshes and traps as barriers (halved plastic bottles make good pest traps!), alternatively you can remove some pests by hand or use holly leaves, broken egg shells, grapefruits and even human hair to deter slugs.
Useful Contacts
To find out where your nearest allotment is contact:
www.manchesterallotments.org.uk
(0161) 226 3322
For tips and advice visit Organic UK:
For composting tips visit:
Fairfield Composting
Garden Centres:
Hulme Community Garden Centre offers info on organic gardening techniques, composting and pest control.
28 Old Barley Street, Hulme, Manchester, M15 5SF
0161 227 8198
Chorlton Nursery
18 Vicars Road
Manchester M21 9GY
0161 881 8142
