Five things every amateur gardener should know
This may sound odd for somebody who has set up the social enterprise Treasure Gardening, but I am an amateur gardener. I want to grow great plants but am not going to sit through Gardeners World or scour specialist sites. However, over the past year I have been privileged to hear from some of the UK’s leading experts. These are five surprising things I have learned.
1. Soil is amazing
It has been estimated that there are more living things in one teaspoon of soil than there are people on earth. It is also a fantastic carbon dioxide store holding about 30 times the amount we release annually by burning fossil fuels. Knowing this has made me think about how best to keep my garden soil healthy.
I have two compost systems. A hot bin which takes all the garden waste and any cooked food plus a wormery for all uncooked food scraps. This has numerous benefits. I have virtually no food waste, I don’t have trips to the tip for green waste, I am saving money on soil improvers and have great quality soil. It is also surprisingly rewarding seeing waste scraps turned into a dark rich soil improver
2. Don’t blame yourself
Like most gardeners if something doesn’t grow, I blame myself. Maybe I have been too hasty. Despite many fine words from government the sale of peat has not been banned, but the industry knows things are changing and there are now masses of peat free composts on the market. These composts are a mixture of materials, but most gardeners don’t know what is in the mix, there are no recognised standards and the quality varies considerably. Without good compost you can’t grow good plants so going for the cheapest compost could end up killing that expensive plant you have just bought.
3. Be water wary
You have planted your new seeds or plants in peat-free compost and have given it a good watering – now you just need to sit back and let nature take its course. Every few days the surface looks dry so you water again. Unknowingly you may be killing your plants. Peat-free compost holds water at the bottom so although the top looks dry there is every chance that the roots have plenty of moisture where it’s needed. To check either push your fingers deep into the soil or feel the weight of the pot. To get the best results, you will need to water little and often and regularly add fertiliser.
4. Peat-free compost doesn’t keep well
I had assumed that once you buy a bag of peat-free compost you could keep it for as long as you liked and it would still work perfectly well. That isn’t the case as it does deteriorate and should certainly never be kept for longer than one growing season and preferably less. It also matters where you store it and should be kept dry and in a dark space. Maybe that bag of compost sitting in the shed for the last two years is not what you need for a flourishing garden.
5. Be compost aware
There are many reasons to use compost including growing seeds/new plants, improving soil quality and retaining soil moisture. Using the right material to do each of these things will save money and give better results.
Buying the right compost should be all you need for growing seeds and new plants. Purchased compost has been made to support plant growth, provided you water and feed regularly, the compost will do the rest. For soil quality, retaining moisture and supressing weeds home-made compost is the ideal and cheapest solution
Help is at hand
Thanks to funding from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, I have been endeavouring to make it easier for amateur gardeners to make the shift to successful peat free gardening. Here are three things that could help:
A collaboration of 20 organisations has provided this simple guidance for peat-free gardening.
If you have any detailed questions the RHS has set up a free email advisory service peatfree@rhs.org.uk
Our new social enterprise has created a high-quality peat-free compost called Wonderfuel – profits will go towards supporting community garden initiatives. It is available online here.
Happy gardening.