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 eco garden mark - Thu, 4 Mar 15:10  eco garden RonG - Thu, 4 Mar 15:15 eco garden Chris - Thu, 4 Mar 15:57 eco garden joanna - Fri, 5 Mar 15:07 eco garden Chris - Tue, 9 Mar 16:37 |
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eco garden
Date: Thu, 4 Mar 15:10 Author:  mark
Location: windsor Profile
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| I have got to help the children at my school to set up a small eco garden. one of the aims is to encorage wildlife. Can anyone help me with some ideas. mark |
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eco garden
Date: Thu, 4 Mar 15:15 Author:  RonG
Location: The Secret Garden Profile
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| Have a small pond if you possibly can! Better still, a large one. About 18-24" deep with at least one edge that slopes gently up to ground level so that if a hedgehog or something falls in, it can get out !! Good luck. :0 | |
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eco garden
Date: Thu, 4 Mar 15:57 Author: Chris
Location: London Profile
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| Hi Mark - I work for the RHS and we are very much into Biodiversity and in fact we had a fantastic Eco Garden at last year's Chelsea Flower Show. There are loads of things you could do to make your garden eco friendly but here are just some of them: Hope this helps. Chris If you have space, set up a compost heap/bin. Most councils have special offers on compost bins to help you get started. Other than grass clippings and prunings you can add all sorts of household waste to your bin too. Some examples are raw vegetables, fruit, tea bags, coffee grounds, cardboard, shredded paper, egg boxes, wood ash, hair, egg shells (crushed) and natural fibres. Trying to protect your tender plants from voracious slugs and snails can be difficult but there are various non-chemical weapons that you can employ. Create barriers around your plants with soot, eggshells, hair, sawdust, grit, sand, seashells or crushed nuts. Put petroleum jelly or copper tape around the top and bottom of plant containers. Place beer in shallow dishes in strategic places around the garden and leave overnight, the resultant slug stew can be added to your compost bin. To get rid of ants, sprinkle red pepper or coffee grounds on the anthill. (Bob, Norfolk) Prize roses smothered in aphids? Mix up a weak solution of soapy water (use soap or washing up liquid) and spray the infected plants. This should kill most aphids and won’t create a potential chemical hazard for wildlife or pets. Collect rainwater from the down pipes on sheds, conservatories and the house. Many water companies offer discounts and free delivery to their customers on water butts. However limited the space that you have, grow some herbs & vegetables. If you haven’t got room for a vegetable patch you can grow a huge variety in pots. Vegetables that can be grown in pots are tomatoes, potatoes, beans, peas, beetroot, lettuce, carrots, sweet peppers, chillies, cucumbers and much more. Nothing beats going into the garden and picking warm, ripe tomatoes off the plant and seeing if they make it back to the kitchen! Leave a section of the garden to go wild. This saves on work and provides a refuge for local wildlife. Water plants in the evening to help to reduce the amount of water that evaporates. Add a layer of gravel around plants in pots. This will act as a mulch to retain moisture, deter slugs and snails from having a snack and help to stop squirrels from digging up your precious plants and bulbs. On flowerbeds use a mulch of bark or grass cuttings to help reduce evaporation. |
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eco garden
Date: Fri, 5 Mar 15:07 Author:  joanna
Location: Cornwall Profile
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Thanks Chris. I'm going to try some of those ideas.  |
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eco garden
Date: Tue, 9 Mar 16:37 Author: Chris
Location: London Profile
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| I'm not actually sure if I can post a link in this forum but if not just copy and paste. Have fun http://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity | |
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