I’ve had over 800 visitors to the blog this month. My best yet. Thanks to you all, especially the person who was trying to locate the first American to play golf on the moon, and the one who wanted the Karate expert from Lancashire. I hope you come back! I’ll be bringing you more news [...]

CPL Distribution are now delivering a range of FSC, recycled and peat free composts and soil improvers straight to your door. For car free people like me a great service. You can already get mail order compost from www.organiccatalog.com/catalog/ and www.wigglywigglers.co.uk, amongst others, but its good to have another supplier. CPL sell solid fuel normally and will [...]

As you know I’ve been writing articles for Garden News magazine. This is Article Number Six - about using coppiced products in the garden. Over the next few weeks I’ll post the others up here too with photos of what I’ve been doing in the garden. I’m attempting to make a zero carbon garden, using [...]

WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme) has introduced a new logo on bags of New Horizon Organic and Peat Free composts to show its made from recycled materials. New Horizon Organic and Peat Free Grow Bag was the only peat free compost deemed a best buy for growing on young plants in the recent Which study [...]

The results of the annual RSPB Garden Birdwatch are in. Go to www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/results/ for more and see below. 
With an average of 3.60 seen per garden, the house sparrow retained its top spot with starlings coming in second and blackbirds completing the top three.
Overall, the average number of birds seen in each garden has declined by a [...]

 Good news on Yalding. John Tate left this message on the blog (see comments below for the whole message).
 ”There is some hope, inasmuch as the Congelow Trust (the owners of the Yalding site) has been working hard to find a new operator for the site. Talks are apparently going well, and they are hopeful that [...]

CAT Mail Order www.cat.org.uk/shopping are currently offering a pack of my little books for £10 plus postage. This is a 50% saving if you bought the four books individually. Offer includes The Little Book of Slugs, The Little Book of Garden Heroes, The Little Book of Villains and How to Make Soil and Save Earth. [...]

It is with great sadness that I have to tell you that Yalding Organic Gardens in Kent will not open for business this year. Chloe Ward, co-author on The Organic Garden, worked there for three years, and the gardens influenced the book greatly and provided many of the photographs. The gardens are run by Garden [...]

Biochar is a charchoal product added to the soil to increase fertility and lock carbon into the soil. It could help us to tackle climate change. If you want to find out about it go to www.biochar-international.org.

400,000 tyres are scrapped each year - a huge waste problem. Garden product company Dunweedin has come up with an answer. They’ve produced a range of coloured chipped mulches from the tyres, great for paths, children’s play areas and sports gounds. Get them from B&Q and Focus or from www.dunweedin.co.uk. 01928 735555. 

Making a dry rubble wall
 
I’ve recently turned most of the rubble in my garden in to a dry rubble wall seat, complete with wildlife hotels. Making a wall without knowing whether you’ll have enough of the right materials is pretty hairy but having sorted most of the rubble through two or three times I was [...]