Be Brave, Go Organic and Save Your Corner of the Planet

It can be a big change for many gardeners to step away from herbicides and pesticide controls.

Many don't feel confident.

But 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, (Opens in a new window) 28th September 2020

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

• 97% of Britain’s wildflower meadows have gone

• There are probably only 60 harvests lefts according to the UN FAO (Opens in a new window)

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

• One-third of the world’s arable soils are degraded (Opens in a new window)

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

• 40% (Opens in a new window) of all insect species are in decline

• Our arctic stronghold – the Svalbard seed vault (Opens in a new window) – is threatened as the permafrost melts

• We have lost 94% of peatlands (Opens in a new window) – because of our demand for peat-based compost

• In the UK we apply 16.9 thousand tonnes (Opens in a new window)of pesticides to the landscape

It certainly seems like there is nothing we can do.

Don’t squander those bits that we have control of.

Sir David Attenborough, talking on BBC Breakfast, (Opens in a new window) 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 gardens. 

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 realised the value of my clover and dandelions and ragwort, and the tumbling ivy over the walls and the self-heal along my drive.

Suddenly "weeds" transformed from annoyances into insect saviours. 

These are plants to be treasured. 

Need more convincing? Check out Jack Wallington’s book “Wild about Weeds (Opens in a new window)” to help tame and nurture weeds.

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

• Make your own compost from organic waste

• Add organic matter to your garden to help feed the soil

• Go peat-free if buying in compost

• Stop using pesticides and herbicides

• Companion plant

• Make a home for wildlife

• Love and respect insects

• Reuse and reduce waste

• Buy organically grown plants

• Don’t mow in certain areas

• Re-imagine your weeds (Opens in a new window)as WILDFLOWERS

• Plant native and insect-friendly plants

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

Check out these inspirational videos from the Soil Association and Dave Goulson if you need more confidence.

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

Knepp in England is run by its animals in this massively adventurous rewilding project.

This farm in England is run by its animals – Knepp