Be Brave, Go Organic, and Save Your Corner of the Planet
By: Julietta Watson
Tags: Soil Health, Gardening, Organic Gardening, Climate Action

I was surprised and pleased to see Amateur Gardening magazine had a section in one of their September editions dedicated to organic gardening, mainly because the magazine always seems to promote using all kinds of sprays and pesticides.

But here they were making the case for national charity Garden Organic, compost, reusing resources, stopping chemical usage, and creating a wildlife-friendly garden.

Hurrah!

The only line I grimaced at was this…

“If you don’t feel confident enough to step away from the sprays completely, there are many organic options that use acids, natural oils and fatty acides to combat pests and diseases” Amateur Gardening, 26 September 2020

We NEED to be confident to step away from the sprays, because as Sir David Attenborough says, “the world is in peril.”

“We have to do what’s in our power. We have a resposibility, even if there’s only a fragment of hope left. We have a responsibility to do something” Sir David Attenborough, talking on BBC Breakfast, 28th September 2020

When you read the facts, it does look pretty grim.

97% of Britain’s wildflower meadows have gone

There are probably on 60 harvests lefts according to the UN FAO

We lost the equivalent of 30 football pitches of soil every minute to degradation

One-third of the world’s arable soils are degraded

We are losing species 1,000 times the natural rate of extinction

40% of all insect species are in decline

Our arctic stronghold — the Svalbard seed vault — is threatened as the permafrost melts

We have lost 94% of peatlands — because of our demand for peat-based compost

In the UK we apply 16.9 thousand tonnes of pesticides to the landscape

It may seem that we can do nothing.

“Don’t squander those bits that we have control of” Sir David Attenborough, talking on BBC Breakfast, 28th September 2020

But, we all have the power to make a difference.

Around the world, people are trying to re-wild, regenerate their farms, and go organic in their garden. And we can all join them.

So what can you do in your back garden or community garden?

Be confident that you can go organic. Think more ‘wildly’ and you can as Dave Goulson says, you can get rid of weeds instantaneously.

I realized the value of my clover and dandelions and ragwort, and the tumbling ivy over the walls and the self heal along my drive — and suddenly they transformed from annoyances into insect saviors. These are plants to be treasured. Check out Jack Wallington’s book “Wild about Weeds” to help tame and nurture weeds.

As well as loving your weeds why not try the following:

Go organic

Compost

Add organic matter

Go peat-free

Stop the pesticides and herbicides

Companion plant

Make a home for wildlife

Love and respect insects

Reuse and reduce waste

By organically grown plants

Don’t mow in certain areas

Re-imagine your weeds as WILDFLOWERS

Plant native, insect-friendly plants. Avoid the bright bedding plants in plastic pots and peated compost

“We inevitably romanticise wildlife to some extent, but every creature that we shape our gardens with, including slugs, rats, mice, ants, worms, caterpillars and aphids — all the so-called pests that gardeners have spent far too much time and trouble trying to elimate — is part of the rich and interlocking web of life.” Monty Don, My Garden World

We all need a bit more confidence to say no to pesticides, no to peat and YES to organic gardening.

If you want some more evidence to arm yourself, convince yourself and others, then check out these inspirational videos from the Soil Association and Dave Goulson and others below.

Saving our Soils — From Potato To Planet

Why we all need to learn to love insects — Dave Goulson

How regenerative farming can help heal the plant and human health — Charles Massy

An animated guide to rewilding — George Monbiot, The Guardian

This farm in England is run by its animals — Knepp

This post originally appeared on 28th September 2020 at www.gardenwilde.com