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Category: soil and fertility

Soil health

Posted on 3rd June 20203rd June 2020 by Kim Stoddart

Kim Stoddart gets up and close and personal with this important enabler of veg patch life and explains how to keep it fertile and simply fantastic all year round… It may not look very glamorous but this earthy substance is the key to the success of your food growing efforts. Treat it well and make…

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water harvesting

It’s going to rain this week!

Posted on 3rd June 20203rd June 2020 by Sally Morgan

This blog was published on 4 June 2019 and a similar pattern has emerged in 2020, except this time the months of March, April and May have been hot and dry …. Hurrah, some rain is forecast.  I know, it’s June, and we all want to be outside enjoying the sun and the last thing…

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flood warning sign

My garden’s been flooded, what can I do?

Posted on 15th November 201915th November 2019 by Sally Morgan

A garden or allotment can look a complete mess after surging floodwaters have passed through.  It wouldn’t be so bad if it was just rainwater, but most flood water carries with it all sorts of contaminants – plastic, sewage, manure, slurry and chemicals, such as oil and pesticides, and much more besides. So, if you…

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3 year old broccoli

Plants to leave in the ground

Posted on 11th October 201911th October 2019 by Kim Stoddart

Kim Stoddart explains why not meticulously tidying away every crop on your veg patch at the end of the season will reap you multiple marvellous rewards…. Traditional advice dictates that once your crop is ready, or your harvest spent, every remaining plant should be plucked immediately from the ground. It’s all part of this mindset…

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Climate change gardening at RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival

Posted on 10th July 201919th July 2019 by Sally Morgan

The environment, climate change, water and plastic waste were common themes running through this year’s show gardens.  Having just written a book on climate change gardening, I was keen to see what the designers had done on these topics. The garden that really got to grips with water and  climate change  was Thames Water Flourishing…

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The many benefits of reduce, recycle and repair

Posted on 17th May 201929th May 2019 by Kim Stoddart

Kim Stoddart looks at some of the easiest and most rewarding ways to boost your eco-gardener credentials, whilst having fun in the process… I gardened entirely for free a few years back for my writing in the Guardian. What started out as a ‘can I really do this?’ experiment turned into one of the most…

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comfrey

Compost extras

Posted on 14th March 201929th May 2019 by Kim Stoddart

Kim outlines some additional ingredients for the best ever all-in-one natural soil improver for the veg patch… Your soil is the key ingredient in the success of your resilient produce growing efforts so it’s essential to treat it well. Building fertility can be done in a number of ways, and once you have this there…

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The more resilient salad

Posted on 11th March 201929th May 2019 by Kim Stoddart

Kim explains how to help counter the hungry gap by expanding your salad horizons with leaves from other plants currently growing. If you looked at the average bag of unexciting supermarket salad mix, you’d be forgiven for assuming that all leaves had to look like this. Yet, you’re really missing a trick if that’s how…

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polytunnel view of plants

We don’t need no crop rotation – a look at a companion planting alternative

Posted on 14th December 201829th May 2019 by Kim Stoddart

 How you can be in good company with a more free-spirited approach to planting on your plot… Most gardening books will tell you about the importance of crop rotation ‘blah, blah, brassicas after legumes”… “waffle, waffle, potatoes first…”  It’s a planting system that is undoubtedly sensible if a) you’re a market gardener and will be growing…

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Recent Posts

  • Coping with a hosepipe ban
  • Flowering times and global warming
  • Growing salvias
  • Soil health
  • It’s going to rain this week!
  • In search of good companions
  • My garden’s been flooded, what can I do?

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Simple ways to save water - stand your pots in tra Simple ways to save water - stand your pots in trays so the water that drains off is saved and the plants have access to water all day. It also reduces the frequency of watering to twice a week rather than daily.
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#drought #climatesavvygardening #climatechangegardening #climatechange #wateringplants #savingwater #gardeningtips
This week I will be posting some tips and tricks v This week I will be posting some tips and tricks via reels about how to make the most of your water (or lack there of) in the garden. Stay tuned for some climate savvy tricks that should aid you with the impending hosepipe ban. 
Re-shared from my page
Soil structure & biodiversity matters. Protect you Soil structure & biodiversity matters. Protect yours by leaving roots in the ground when harvesting, even with beetroot pictured. 🕸🦋🪱

#biodiversity #healthysoil #soilstructure #beetroot
Simple ideas to conserve water and support wildlif Simple ideas to conserve water and support wildlife during this dry month

Mulching pots will trap the moisture so less need to water daily - here unwanted wool from a local farmer is a great #mulch

The tray is put out with a little water to support bees and other insects - it's important to make sure it's shallow and insects can get out
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#drought #waterconservation #wildlifegardening #mulching #allotment #vegetablegarden #woolmulch #growvegetables #climatechangegardening #climatechange #climatesavvygardening #gardeningtips
Don't treat soil like dirt! An image from the Blue Don't treat soil like dirt! An image from the Blue Peter Garden at RHS Chelsea a few months back. So true. Protect your soil and it'll protect and nourish plants. I'm excited to be running a series of demonstrations on all things soil protection in the Earth’s Riches section of RHS Tatton Park next weekend. 🦋🌱
 
 
 
 
 

#peatfreecompost #undercovergrowing #climatechange #polytunnelgrowing #gyo #selfsufficiency #naturalsustainability #growyourown #groworganic  #gardenersofinstagram #naturalgrowing #climategarden #organicgrowing #resilience #biodiversity #climateaction #explorepage
Get water wise tip.....Water deep into the soil wh Get water wise tip.....Water deep into the soil when it's cooler and cover with a mulch around water hungry plants with bare soil. Compost, leaf mould, grass clippings, woodchip and comfrey can all be used to protect precious soil and slow drying out. 💧
 
 
 
 
 
 
#watering #plantssurvivingheat #naturalinstagram #peatfreecompost #undercovergrowing #climatechange #polytunnelgrowing #gyo #selfsufficiency #naturalsustainability #growyourown #groworganic  #gardenersofinstagram #naturalgrowing #climategarden #saladleaves ##organicgrowing #resilience #biodiversity #climateaction #explorepage #ep #personplateplanet #selfseeding #gravelgrowing #nodiggarden
A glimpse of some of the #climatechange savvy idea A glimpse of some of the #climatechange savvy ideas from #rhshampton flower show. 

I loved the planting of the #rhs planet friendly garden by Mark Gregory.Ideas for a sustainable resilient garden, with great planting for hot sunny areas which contrasted with those for sunken, wetter areas. The water features were super.

There were more gardens that featured planting that was sustainable and drought tolerant - the oak posts surrounded by substrate and drought tolerant eryngiums in the Global Impact Garden - A Journey and the wonderful bug hotel bench In the Turfed Out garden for low maintenance a typical new build garden 

As expected the Sarah Eberle garden showed off ideas for all sorts of environments with the garden taking you in a journey through world landscapes from forest to meadow and deserts. Some interesting plants and recycled aggregates. One that caught my eye was the giant tree daisy - Sonchus fruticosus - with large dandelion-like leaves rising more than a metre - drought tolerant grown as an annual
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#rhshamptoncourtflowershow #climatechangegardening #climatechangeisreal #gardens #showgarden #droughttolerant #markgregory #gardeningtips
First marbled white butterflies spotted in Sally's First marbled white butterflies spotted in Sally's field - these are attractive butterflies that have become more common in recent years. 

Sally's records show that they have appeared a little earlier than usual and their favourite nectar flower - knapweed - is not yet open. 

Climate change with its unpredictable weather will lead to unusual patterns of weather and this may mean flowers open early or late and this may cause problems for species that depend on them. 

Fortunately the marbled white will seek out nectar from clover and thistles so has other sources of food, but other more specialist species may not be so adaptable. 
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#climatechangegardening #climatechange #marbledwhitebutterfly #butterflyconservation
The fire service exhibit at @rhschelsea - showing The fire service exhibit at @rhschelsea - showing clearly the risks from climate change.

On the left a typical urban hard landscaped front garden that has flooded following heavy rain. Contrast that to the garden on the right with its permeable surfaces that have allowed the rain to soak into the ground 

See the second photo for a list of things you can do to reduce the risk of flooding
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#flooding #climatechange #frontgarden #suds #permeabledriveway #climatechangegardening #rhschelseaflowershow
Shady spots will be needed increasingly in our cit Shady spots will be needed increasingly in our cities in coming decades - a classic tree lined square in Palma Mallorca - the trees are oranges, so not just cast shade and cool the air through their transpiration but provide a welcome harvest for the residents
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#climatechange #climatechangegardening #globalwarming #treesforthefuture #citytrees #orangetree #fruittree #foodforfree #spain #balearicislands
Gardening can be so expensive and time consuming. Gardening can be so expensive and time consuming. Yet working with the natural world saves time, money and helps provide resilience against extremes of weather through climate change. From compost making and seed saving, through to mixed planting, natural pest control and much more besides, my courses at Kate Humble's fantastic skills centre will show you how. Less work, more time to enjoy your edible garden in a gorgeous setting on the farm. There are just a couple of places left on the course Sat 30th April and late June. Includes a copy of The Climate Change Garden book and plants to take home. 🐞🦋🌱🥕🍎🍓🥒 Kim www.humblebynature.com/events/climate-change-gardening/
With spring arriving ever earlier it's even more i With spring arriving ever earlier it's even more important to have a variety of flowers in the garden at this time of year to supply pollen to the pollinators that venture out. Hellebores are a good option - attractive and functional - perfect for 🐝🐝🐝
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#pollinatorfriendly #wildlifegarden #hellebore #pollinatorgarden #flowersforbees #flowergarden #springgarden #gardeningtips #gardenforwildlife #pollinators #climatechange #climatesavvygardening #climatechangegarden
Image of my climate change training gardens in Wes Image of my climate change training gardens in West Wales last summer and S4C filming for their gardening programme. Happy days. Spring is that tantalising bit closer in Feb lovely people. 💚 
Kim x

#climatechangegarden #climateaction #nodiggarden
A post from Kim today. “Resilient growing ideas A post from Kim today.
“Resilient growing ideas for 2022 … Crystal lemon cucumber and tomatillo – both are very low maintenance and productive once established with less fussy watering requirements. Clever crops!💚”

#climateaction #resilientgardening
Flowering times and global warming. We have all se Flowering times and global warming. We have all seen flowers appearing earlier than ever, such as magnolia in January.  Now the extent of the change has been revealed by a new study from a team of researchers at Cambridge University. They found that plants in the UK are flowering as much as a month earlier than just 70 years ago. ⁠
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Its long been known that temperatures in urban areas are higher than the surrounding area due to more buildings, cars and people - the urban heat island effect. But these changes are more than can be expected from urbanisation – global warming is contributing and the result is quite rapid change in our climate.⁠
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The study looked at data going back as far as 1753. ⁠
Springs are always quite variable, with spring being early one year, late the next, but the researchers looked at the longterm trends. What was clear was the impact of global warming. The opening of flowers had been pretty static over hundreds of years, but over the last 70 years, the date at which flowers open has got earlier by 5 days a decade since the 1950s.⁠
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There are differences between plants – climbing plants changed by a few days while trees were 14 days earlier. However, small plants were most affected, flowering, on average 32 days earlier. This is because these smaller plants have a fast turnover rate compared with long lived trees and higher levels of genetic adaptation. ⁠
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There are other differences -  In the south, first flowering time is on average 6 days earlier in the than the north, its 5 days earlier in urban compared with rural.⁠
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So why should we be worried? There is real concern that early flowering results in a mismatch between flowers and their pollinators, between plants and herbivores and the knock on effects on foodchains.  The impact could be considerable and has lots of ramifications for farming, conservation and more. So its so important for gardeners to have a continual supply of flowers in the garden from January.⁠
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#climatechange #phenology #globalwarming #spring #climatechangegardening #earlyspring #climatechangegarden #climateaction
Here’s a resilient veg patch must - garlic musta Here’s a resilient veg patch must - garlic mustard. It’s technically a weed but great for edibles early in the year (baby leaves in salad or cooked). I use it as self seeding ground cover around other veg during summer as it helps keep the soil protected from drying out. 🌱 Lush!💚
Kim x

#nodig #selfseeding #homegrown #gardentotable #growyourown #groworganic #nurturenature #breaktherules #gyo #organicgrowing #resilience #biodiversity #climateaction #climatechange #climatesavvygardening #lovegardening #personplateplanet
First snowdrops. It's interesting to compare dates First snowdrops. It's interesting to compare dates with previous years. Taking photos is great for this as I can look as my camera roll from previous years and it shows that snowdrops this year in the same clump were two weeks later.

#climatechange works in many different ways. Already we are seeing flowers appearing earlier than normal and this has a knock on effect on wildlife that may depend on them. .
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#climatechangeawareness #climatechange #climatesavvygardening #climatechangegarden #snowdrops #firstflowers #galanthus #flowers #loveyourgarden #snowdropsofinstagram #galanthophile #everyoneneedsnature #lovemygarden
A post from Kim today “This year let some of yo A post from Kim today

“This year let some of your plants go onto flower even if you aren’t seed saving from them. It’s amazing for wildlife and beneficial pollinators like the gorgeous hoverfly pictured. These flowers (rocket, lettuce, brassica..) are edible as well and look fab used to decorate food) Also consider seed saving for lots of future resilient plants for free. More on that soon.🥬🐝”
The turtle almost swims off !! Storm Barra depos The turtle almost swims off !! 

Storm Barra deposited a lot of water over an hour yesterday, with water collecting around the house.

As our oceans warm up, the chances of named storms rolling in from the Atlantic are more likely, depositing large amounts of rain in a short period of time. So our gardens need to be able to cope with flash floods with drains, swales and short term water shortage areas such as rain gardens.
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#climatechange #climatechangegarden #flooding #resilientgarden #ecogarden #globalwarming #flood #garden
A bit of tree planting to mark #COP26 Sally is i A bit of tree planting to mark #COP26 

Sally is incredibly luck to have a field with many veteran oaks, the oldest 250+ yrs old so they have seen a bit of climate change already - planted towards the end of the Little Ice Age, lived through storms, floods and more recently droughts. They are beginning to show their age with fallen limbs etc

So here's the next generation - grown from an acorn off this tree, and hopefully will sequester carbon for the next 200 yrs climate permitting.
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#treesofinstagram #treeplanting #oaktree #sapling #plantatree #climatechange #carbonsequestration
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Authors

  • 1 Kim Stoddart
    • Soil health
    • In search of good companions
    • Plants to leave in the ground
    • Saving seeds of resilience part 1
    • Wellbeing through gardening
  • 1 Sally Morgan
    • Coping with a hosepipe ban
    • Flowering times and global warming
    • Growing salvias
    • It’s going to rain this week!
    • My garden’s been flooded, what can I do?

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