GOOD HEALTH
system as they would organically in a forest environment.
Oblivious to it being a ‘thing’, I simply wanted to grow as much as I could in a small space and just ‘mixed’ up flowers, shrubs, herbs, veg and fruit.
Obviously there is an organic amount of ‘weeds’ too – such as chickweed and sorrel - but these can be used in salads, as a treat and tonic for my chickens and as already mentioned, they benefit the soil.
As well as making best use of any space, it pretty much ‘runs’ itself, is beneficial for pollinators and other wildlife, and is also pretty good to look at.
It seems I have been ahead of the curve for once!
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It’s difficult to write a gardening column the week after we’ve had over a month’s rain in 48 hours, without mentioning the weather.
Nature is so fickle and unpredictable.
Responsible for the most stunning sunrises and sunsets only a few days before devastating Dennis wreaked havoc.
The mountains we love turn into funnels channelling rainwater into swollen rivers which rage through the valleys mercilessly. It’s a fragile system.
My heart goes out to those affected by the flooding. Our homes are our safe spaces, and to have them ransacked by nature is hard to reconcile.
For those who have had their homes damaged by Storm Dennis, I’m sure your garden isn’t a priority right now, but going forward, gardens - especially vegetable gardens and allotments will need a good feed after all this rain.
The copious amounts of rain we have had throughout the winter, leave alone last week, will have washed nutrients out of the soil leaving it depleted and ‘hungry’.
Well-rotted horse manure is a good traditional feed and should be full of worms when you work it. Worms are not generally a sign of good health, unless they are in the soil!
Soil health is often overlooked in gardening.
The health of your growing medium will determine the health and yield of your crops.
I have been following the No Dig method for a few years now – with mixed results. It’s tricky when you have pernicious perennial weeds like ground elder but I am persevering.
I use grass clippings as a mulch (use from regular lawn mowing, not when the grass has gone to seed, or you will just be sowing grass seed in your veggie beds) and I also use straw to mulch between crops.
Admittedly it doesn’t look as neat as my granddads veggie patch did but I don’t have the time that he had.
The yields have been good and that’s the main thing.