There are many ways you can promote wildlife and help the environment
- Conserve water - use it responsibly. Watering first thing is most efficient. Also water deeply rather than frequently to encourage deeper roots. You can install a water butt to catch rainwater from a shed.
- Use mulch around plants to keep in moisture and reduce the need for watering.
- Encourage wildlife…. go for pollinator-friendly plants. The RHS has a good guide here. Install a bee hotel. Build a log pile as an undisturbed habitat for insects. You could also consider a low 'dead hedge'.
- Install a pond - and always make sure there’s an escape route for any wildlife that fall in, such as a plank or bricks. Ponds encourage frogs, which eat slugs!
- Find alternatives to chemicals - use mesh or the top half of large drink bottles to protect plants from pests. Cardboard and wood chip make good weed suppressors.
- Recycle plastic pots - they’re free on Potswap on the communal plot by the main gate.
- Make your own compost from green waste in bins made from pallets.
- If buying compost, make sure it is peat free. Peatlands are the world’s largest carbon store on land, and reduce the risk of flooding.
- Check out Charles Dowding’s no dig advice https://charlesdowding.co.uk If you have raised beds, plant veg 5cm in from the edge, as the soil heats up more quickly at the sides.
- Donate surplus food and flowers to your friends, neighbours and local charities. There is a box for surplus veg on the communal plot by the main gate.