Nectar deserts
It was a comment from one of the speakers on BBC Radio 4 Farming Today (Sat 15 June) that got me thinking about #nectar, or rather the lack of nectar. The topic of discussion was flea beetles and oilseed rape
Continue readingHealthy sustainable food production on small spaces plus books and gardens
Sally is an experienced organic gardener, smallholder and writer. Here you can read about the organic one-acre plot and walled garden that Sally has set up at Empire Farm in Somerset. Sally blogs regularly about what's being grown and raised, her greenhouse, the organic allotments and her walled garden, as well as matters that concern her - climate change, healthy soils, organic growing, peatfree compost, biodiversity, sustainability etc. She writes about her visits to farms, gardens, allotments and growers during the year. You can also find out about her workshops that she runs from Empire Farm and the books she has written, including The Healthy Vegetable Garden, The Climate Change Garden and Living on One Acre or Less. She contributor to Amateur Gardening, Bloom and other gardening magazines.
It was a comment from one of the speakers on BBC Radio 4 Farming Today (Sat 15 June) that got me thinking about #nectar, or rather the lack of nectar. The topic of discussion was flea beetles and oilseed rape
Continue readingHurrah, some rain is forecast. I know it’s June and we all want to be outside enjoying the sun and the last thing we want is rain. But 2019 has been a dry year so far. Down in the South
Continue readingI’ll never tire of sitting down in the plot on a sunny day to simply watch and listen. Today the phacelia was alive with pollinators, mostly honey bees and bumblebees, while the birds were in full voice. The video says
Continue readingThe orchards are full of blossom at the moment and bees (hopefully) are busy. But all may not be well. I have just watched a Countryfile Spring report on fruit trees, pollinators and the threat of climate change. The item
Continue readingFor the last few years I have been growing chickpeas (Cicer arietinum) and had a bumper crop in 2018 as the weather was perfect for them. Chickpeas come from the Mediterranean and beyond, so like it warm and dry and
Continue readingOnce again the news is full of record breaking temperatures. This time it’s the warmest February day on record. Already temperatures have hit 17oC in North Wales and 19 oC in London. The average temperature for this time of year
Continue readingI took advantage of a bright and still morning to watch the comings and goings on a patch of asters. These gaudy flowers were obviously a hit with #pollinators, within a few minutes I observed visits from bees, hoverflies and
Continue readingIts #bigbutterflycount time – walk for 15 minutes and record the species and numbers of butterflies that you see (https://www.bigbutterflycount.org). It’s something I do every year, but this time butterflies have been badly hit by the drought. In fact, insect
Continue readingShowing its socks off in a shady corner of the Grow Your Own garden at RHS Hampton Court 2018 was an attractive shrub with magenta flowers and spicy fragrance. Judging from the number of visitors asking about its identity, it
Continue readingA visit to RHS Hampton Court Flower Show is one of my highlights of the gardening year – an idyllic location beside Hampton Court Palace and the Thames, a vast array of show gardens, stand holders with just about everything
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