Each week we collect a phenomenal amount of plastic in this garden that blows in off the streets and especially from the communal rubbish bins on the corners of the Square. Analysis of this waste shows that 90% of it comes from the local supermarkets. The deleterious effects of plastic in our environment are well […]

We provide nesting boxes for birds and plan to add additional nesting boxes for Pipistrelle bats (Pipistrellus spp.), which regularly visit the garden and a male Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) that we have heard calling in the garden for the past few weeks. We will do this to encourage them to take up residence. It […]

We are now adding 30 cu metres of tree chippings annually to act as a mulch over the surface of the garden border beds to encourage water retention and to provide habitat in which fungi (particularly) and bacteria can thrive. This in turn provides a food source for insects and worms which accelerate the breakdown […]

This is compost made last Autumn (October 2016) using the leaves collected and stored in the Autumn of 2015. This is our primary source of carbon (C). It is mixed with grass clippings and hedge trimmings from the Autumn flush (September-October 2016). This is our primary source of Nitrogen (N). Because the Autumn flush does […]

This is the raw ingredients for our next compost heap that will be ready in the Spring of 2018. It is made up primarily of leaves collected last Autumn and the grass clippings and hedge trimmings collected over the spring flush. The leaves are the source of Carbon (C) and the greenery (grass and tree […]

The amount of water we add is critical to the mix in allowing even and rapid heating of the compost heap. The addition of twigs and small branches similarly is critical as it allows the penetration of air (oxygen). This in turn promotes aerobic breakdown and allows the heap to heat up to 60 degrees […]

Making proper compost is much like baking a cake. It’s a balance of wet and dry ingredients with each ingredient playing its part in developing the finished product. The heat generated within the heap is the equivalent of what happens to a cake when its put in the oven at the right temperature for the […]

This is the finished product. It was made in the Spring of last year. Proper compost should be dark and friable – crumbly and smell like ‘earth’. If you dig inside it you will find it full of life – worms, centipedes etc. Pick some up and examine it using the fork and spade provided. […]

The ecology of this garden is being restored via a management regime designed around a policy of nutrient recycling – especially that of nitrogen (N) and carbon (C). The basis of this program is that we now keep on site and recycle all organic waste generated within the garden via a traditional ‘hot composting process’ […]