Happy climate change savvy growing Kim x .................................................................................. Kim’s climate change savvy gardening tips for August A compost mulch also has the extra benefit of feeding the soil life and plants. In most cases* there is no need to use any other feeds even for ‘hungry feeders’ such as squash and tomatoes. So you’re saving time with less watering and no extra feeding - especially useful for gardeners growing away from home on allotments, or with busy work and life schedules. Peat is formed under a unique set of circumstances. When soil is waterlogged, it becomes anaerobic, meaning that it doesn’t contain oxygen. Organisms such as earthworms cannot survive these conditions and therefore are not present to help with the decomposition process, meaning that it decomposes very slowly. A large part of what makes up peat is decomposed moss. Mosses are non-vascular plants. This means that they do not contain a vascular system, like a lot of other plants to transport water up a stem. For this reason, moss grows very slowly, and very low. As a result of these things, peat is created very slowly, in very acidic, nutrient deficient conditions.

You can mulch veg beds with fallen leaves, but do bear in mind that in our climate they can take up to two years to break down and during this time attracts slugs, so best to avoid it on beds where you’re planning to grow slug susceptible plants. Here I am meaning deeper mulches of several centimetres, a sprinkling of fallen leaves is lovely for the soil and should mostly break down over winter.Did you know that latest figures suggest that amateur gardeners use around 3 billion litres of peat each year and that peat still accounts for around 35% of all compost used? There are now 3 million more people actively gardening than pre-pandemic... As gardeners we can all make a difference. Going peat-free isn’t just a personal choice, it’s a way we can all have an impact in our own individual way on climate change. Using peat-free is an environmental choice which will help turn your garden into a carbon sink! Stephanie Hafferty is an award winning garden and food writer, expert no dig gardener, homesteader, edible garden designer and inspirational public speaker. Stephanie is currently creating a no dig homestead on half an acre in West Wales, from where she runs gardening courses. Her garden was featured on BBC Gardeners’ World in 2022. Having chosen your method and growing position water your seedlings well the day before planting. Growing tomatoes indoors:

Specific-use composts tend to be more expensive than multipurpose composts, but in some cases it's worth paying a little more.

Many existing varieties of crop may struggle in the future with climate change so see what others are growing well in your area. Reach out to local gardening groups, share ideas and swap seeds. Although temperatures may be sliding, it’s still not too late to get your spring bulbs into pots, containers or straight into the ground. Just remember, to plant them three times their height and try using Dalefoot’s Bulb Compost. Due to its natural free draining properties, it’ll prevent bulbs from rotting if left in heavy soil. Sheep ‘dags’ form a protective layer over the soil and are ideal for established plants. ‘Dags’ are the soiled parts of the fleece which are otherwise discarded after shearing. Place everything except the olive oil into a food processor. Turn on and whizz into a puree, gradually adding a little olive oil. If the veg ingredients are very moist you’ll need less oil, if they are drier you may need to add a little more oil, or a tablespoon or two of water. If you can’t get enough compost to mulch the whole of the bed now, concentrate on spreading a little around the plant stems to protect that area.

Another exciting bit of news from the team at Dalefoot is that we have teamed up with the Eden Project at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022.We have been attending RHS Chelsea Flower Show for over 20 years and this year in addition to our usual stand (AR545), we have been invited to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022 Discovery Zone and plan an inspirational educational experience hosted together with the Eden Project…more info to follow!

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November is a key time for focusing on wildlife in the garden. As temperatures plummet and day light decreases, it’s good to spend some time outside ensuring the creatures who share our gardens with us have food, water and shelter to survive the long winter months ahead. Getting some “vitamin G” as well as much needed vitamin D during the daytime helps with mental and physical health and well being. We gardeners are generally quite conscientious. There are numerous schemes to plant more trees, often getting gardeners involved to grow more too. This is all very well, but if we continue to use peat in our gardens, we can’t possibly hope to offset our carbon footprint. I’m Ade Sellars the Good Life Gardener, and I’m a gardener, presenter, writer and content producer, with a passion for growing my own food in my kitchen garden. As well as running my own gardening business, I write for magazines, produce tailored video content for gardening brands, flower shows and outdoor events and I regularly deliver talks and demonstrations around the country. Becoming a climate change savvy gardener is as much about personal and community resilience as on-the-ground solutions. I mulch my veg beds annually with 1-2 cm compost, usually in the wintertime (because it’s a nice job to do on a cold day) but any time of year is fine. This is spread on the surface and left for the soil life to gradually incorporate into the ground, feeding the plants and soil life for a year.

Looking forwards, it is a good idea to mulch everything by the spring if you can, to help conserve moisture in the ground before the main sowing and planting commences in the spring.

Berries such as cotoneaster, holly and ivy, windfall fruit and seeds including teasels and sunflower heads provide much needed nutrition for many creatures. Teasels are a personal favourite, attracting gold finches throughout the winter months. Once established these striking plants will self seed freely (fortunately they are easy to weed out if they start self seeding too freely!) Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do when making our range of peat-free composts and with our peatland restoration work. Our sustainability credentials have been recognised in the following awards: Peat is now being banned in horticulture so we must move to find alternatives. Over the last few years several alternatives have become more popular, such as coir. Coir is a fantastic resource made from the discarded husks of coconuts. Unfortunately, here in the UK we live a long way from the nearest coconut trees and therefore this resource needs to be shipped so that we can use it. Not only does this come with its own carbon footprint, but it is also problematic because it is removing this valuable resource for use from local farmers.