10 ways to be greener in your garden

AS spring progresses in the garden, we start to reflect on the winter just gone and how advanced plants and growth are compared to this time last year.

There are changes in climate happening, there is no denying that. Some changes are more extreme and dramatic than others, but all over the world it is starting to become visible.

We have begun to notice more extreme weather events in Ireland. Our winters have become stormier and drought has become an issue at certain stages over the summer months in the last few years.

We all need to think about what we can do in our everyday lives to make a positive difference in some way.

Is 2023 going the be the year where we all consider how we garden and how we can be more environmentally friendly in our practices?

With the increasing pressure on our planet, it is timely to consider what we can do better.

We need to contemplate the garden as part of the larger environment and look at all of our gardens as an interconnected ecosystem that links together and provides habitats for native insects and mammals, as well as creating attractive and pleasant spaces for us to spend time in.

Here areten things that we can all do to be more considerate to the wider environment this year:

• 1. Get rid of any insecticides, pesticides and fungicides that are lying in the garden shed unused. Keep an eye out for ‘bring days’ at local recycling centres and commit to safely disposing of old, dangerous and unused garden chemicals.
• 2. Make cider vinegar our friend and ally for disinfecting any protected growing environments and wiping away any harmful fungal spores and bacteria that may be lurking after the winter months. Diluting cider vinegar, one part vinegar to 10 parts water will create a solution strong enough to clean plastic and glass surfaces.
• 3. Commit to growing in peat-free composts this year. Our bogs need to be protected and peat is a wonderful growing medium, but one that we need to move away from if we are to garden in a more sustainable manner. Klassman, New Horizon and Living Green all do a range of peat-free composts, check out www.fruithillfarm.com for more details.
• 4. Employ cultural methods for the control of pests and disease in the garden. You can do this by using egg shells and sharp sand around young plants to deter slugs and snails, establishing beetle banks to encourage beetle populations which eat slug eggs, and good housekeeping throughout to avoid the build up of unnecessary pests and diseases. Consider ventilation and plant spacings when planting in a protected environment to avoid the build up of greenfly in warmer weather.
• 5. Create a compost heap to recycle green and brown waste in the garden and reduce our household waste removal. This ‘waste’ can be transformed into a really useful soil conditioner for use in the garden to feed plants and help to conserve water.

Garden waste like grass clippings, hedge cuttings, vegetable peelings, leaves, spent compost and any material cut back from the garden can all be chopped up and composted in a heap or a bin.

The finer the material is chopped, the greater the surface area that microbes and invertebrates have to work on, and the faster it will break down to become usable soil conditioner for the garden, releasing valuable nutrients, improving the soil structure and also helping to retain moisture in the soil.

Happy Sustainable Gardening this year!