Tackling climate change goes beyond changing lightbulbs and leaving the car at home. You might be surprised to discover that you can also help make a difference when gardening.
© NTPL / Stephen Robson
What's happening at Nymans
The National Trust has been employing greener gardening techniques for some time now, and is also looking to the future of green gardening. An example of this is Nymans Garden, where they have been pioneering techniques such as rain-water harvesting, composting, bio-fuel and drought resistant plants.
Saving water
Rainwater has been harvested at Nymans since 1989, but the small water butts currently on site only hold a fraction of what comes out of the sky. New water tanks have just been installed and have doubled the capacity of water storage. Now if it stops raining in April, the garden has enough water to last through the summer until September.
Drought resistant training
Instead of changing the planting schemes as our weather hots up, the garden is training plants to be drought resistant. Once the plants are in the ground they are inoculated with a special fungus and are then only watered a maximum of once a month between 6-8pm. This means the plants grow tight and lean making them more water efficient instead of being plump and needing water to survive.
Compost
Hot composting is a hot topic for Nymans. By getting the mix just right – two parts woody waste to one part green, plus 50 per cent water – we have an ultra efficient recycling system that turns 98 per cent of garden waste into high quality compost. The material starts to degrade within a day and within ten weeks it is ready to use on the borders.
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© National Trust
What can you do?
- Replace those synthetic plant foods - there are plenty of chemical free alternatives.
- Save water - install a water butt. Not only will you be saving water, but using rainwater instead of chemically-treated water from the tap can only be a good thing!
- Rotate your crops - leaving areas fallow gives you a chance to restock the soil with essential nutrients (it'll make your veg better too!)
- Banish the need for insecticides by planting companion plants such as chrysanthemums to draw away aphids.
- Start a wormery - they'll give your compost a much-needed boost.
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