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More Info on the Start Garden Party in London

I posted about this before.  While I don’t know yet if I can attend, I think this is an event well suited to the kind of people who read this blog.  The following is from a News Release they emailed me:

For Immediate Release
7 August 2010

‘A Garden Party to Make a Difference’ – the ultimate garden party for the eco-conscious will open at The Prince of Wales private gardens in Clarence House and the gardens of neighbours Lancaster House and Marlborough House on 8 September 2010 and will run until 19 September. This unique garden party is an imaginative part of The Prince of Wales’ ‘Start’ initiative launched in February. The aim of the twelve day event is a fun day out for people of all ages but also to engage them via the exhibits that will illustrate that small steps are being taken by those interested in building a more sustainable future and what a difference they can make.

In addition to the garden focused exhibits in the grounds of these private gardens opened exclusively for this event, A Garden Party to Make a Difference will also feature appearances, debates, comedy and advice from the likes of Jools Holland, Sir David Frost, Alan Tichmarsh and Anthony Worral Thompson over the twelve days.

The Future Cities Garden – Innovative Edible Gardening

Renowned organic farmer, gardener, writer and broadcaster Tom Petherick has formed an association with garden and landscape design team Lulu Urquhart and Adam Hunt and the first joint project will be their ‘Future Cities Garden’ installation on the South facade of St James’s Palace – a project conceived for this special garden party.

Petherick, Urquhart and Hunt aim to combine their expertise and experience to create a future orientated landscape design practice. A consultancy with a point of difference that will champion sustainable, spiritually intact gardens and working landscapes with integrity.

The team believe that the ‘Garden Party to Make a Difference’ is the perfect launch pad for their new association. “We couldn’t have wished for a better opening opportunity to showcase our skills. The Prince has a passion for the environment and all things sustainable and this is totally in line with our ethos. When we were approached to come up with a display for the South Facade of St James’s Palace it was a unanimous yes”

Tom, Lulu and Adam are keen that their display will convey to visitors that gardening in small spaces is both possible, desirable and with a little effort can herald spectacular results that combine invention, inspiration, amusement and accessibility. The intention is also to show that both quantity and quality can be realized from small areas. Visitors will not fail to be inspired by such a simple and clearly executed ‘ABC of how to grow edible plants’ and how to achieve a lot from a little effort.

All four seasons will be represented and demonstrate what can be grown in each quarter of the year. Productive gardening happens all year round and is not confined to spring and summer. The idea is to show a rhythmical display following the seasons. Novice gardeners will learn how to convert existing spaces on to a more sustainable footing.

A fifth area will combine demonstrations of compost and tools and show how to convert space and containers into growing areas. The display will be overflowing with edible fruits, plants, traditional vegetables and edible & medicinal flowers and will show how everyday items that are cheap or recycled can be used to create innovative and funky growing spaces, both vertically and horizontally.

The overall aim of the team is to provide an attraction that encapsulates the show philosophy of getting people in cities growing plants, growing food, loving plants and being more sustainably aware.

Tickets, priced £15 for adults and £7.50 for children are on sale now. Tickets are timed for purposes of entrance only. Full details are available on the Garden Party website www.startgardenparty.co.uk <http://www.startgardenparty.co.uk/>

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Black Alder and Companion Planting

I’ve posted before about my black alder trees.  I’m really pleased with them, and I thought it was time for an update.  They are now almost 2 years old, and I think I’m just really starting to see some of the benefits.

They are nitrogen fixing trees, meaning they put nitrogen into the ground as they grow.  Many gardeners plant beans or peas for this reason, but the difference with a nitrogen fixing tree is it is perennial so it keeps growing and it’s also large and deep rooted, so it fixes a lot of nitrogen deep into the ground.  Black alders are also a native species for me, which is an important reason why I choose it and like it.  Now that I know what I’m looking for, I see them in a lot of wild places.

It’s a tree, which means if you let it grow it will get huge.  I don’t do that.  As well as getting big, it doesn’t mind being severely cut back.  Whenever I think it’s getting on the large side or it’s in the way, I just whack off as much as I want and it cheerfully grows back.  About the size you see in this picture is what I generally find best, a slightly overgrown stump.

By cutting it back, it also helps it release it’s nitrogen into the ground.  By cutting leaves and branches off the top, it causes some of it’s roots to die and rot, and so release nitrogen.  Also, by cutting the tree back around the time it’s trying to produce seeds, it prevents it from putting resources into producing seeds and so consuming some of the nitrogen it already fixed.  It also keeps it from producing too many weeds.

By now a number of these trees are becoming well established, and they are making a noticeable difference to their surroundings.  At the beginning they caused a bit of a weed problem, because they were fixing nitrogen close to the surface.  As they became established, they fix nitrogen much deeper, meaning there was no immediate weed problem and the overall improvement in soil health of the area meant fewer weeds in general.  I would say however the benefits of the trees are not seen much beyond a meter or 2 from the tree itself.

One of the things I decided to experiment with was companion planting my garlic with some black alder trees.  I had little choice in fact, because the trees were established were it was time to rotate the garlic crop too.  Rather than removing the trees, I decided to see how it went.

Normally garlic, and alliums in general, are considered companion ‘enemies’  to nitrogen fixing plants.  They tend to stunt one another’s growth.  What I found was quite the opposite.  I couldn’t really say if the alder’s growth was stunted, as they grow pretty fast regardless, but the garlic planted near the trees developed quite large and healthy bulbs.  I guess because the roots of the alder are so deep, there’s little or no conflict between the plants.

I’m so happy with the alders in fact, this winter I’m going to try to buy some more.  I found them before on a local EBay equivalent for €1 per tree, and I’m going to see if I can find the same thing again.  I guess I have 20 or so trees, and I would like to double that number.  In particular, I would like to plant new trees in poorer parts of my garden, and perhaps remove some of the larger trees that are getting a little in the way by now and aren’t needed any more.

If you want to try something similar in your garden, I suggest looking for a native species that fixes nitrogen.  There are quite a number of possibilities.  By getting a native species, you know the plant will grow and thrive but at the same time not naturalize and turn into an invasive weed.  In some climates, the black alder is considered invasive.

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Sunflowers

This is certainly the year for sunflowers at our community gardens.  It seems like everyone is growing them.  I don’t remember seeing so many in past years.  Kathy was just talking about this too.

I’m growing them too.  In fact I’m growing a variety called Titan, that’s in the Guinness Book of World Records as producing the largest recorded Sunflower.  In fact the plant was grown not too far from where I live in the Netherlands.  I don’t think it’s a variety that’s commonly available here, so I’m curious how my sunflowers compares with the others.  I planted mine a few weeks later than everyone else, so they aren’t flowering yet.

Below is someone obviously attempting the thankless task of trying to save some seeds from the birds.  You can see he’s put bags of some sort over 2 of the flowers, and behind he built a scarecrow.

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A Green Garden

Several bloggers have been talking about environmentally friendly and/or cheap gardening recently.  For example Kenny at Veggie Gardening Tips and Jane at Horticultural.  For me these topics are almost one and the same, and I thought I would do a post on this too.

The cheapest and most environmentally thing for your garden is the thing you don’t buy!  Every time you buy something it needs to be manufactured or produced, then packaged and transported.  If you buy it from a store, it needs to be stocked and marketed.  Eventually everything you buy needs to be consumed or disposed of.  All of these things use energy and other natural resources, and not buying them is always the greenest thing to do.

In principle, with the exception of a few tools and maybe lime if your soil is acidic, nothing else is needed to grow your own fruit and vegetables.

Realistically speaking, there are some other things most of us have.  For example, a shed to store our tools, maybe a greenhouse, materials to construct paths, nets, fences, raised beds, garden furniture and so on.  Almost all gardens have some of these things.  In addition, when you’re first starting you may have some special problems to take care of, for example it’s pretty common to find your garden is lacking organic material in the ground and needs some amendments at the beginning.

Here are some tips on how to avoid buying things, and if you must, how to buy the most environmentally friendly things.

Reuse and Recycle: If something in your garden needs replacing, consider using it a little while longer, or finding another use for it.  Try to find unwanted things in your neighbors gardens or elsewhere in your neighborhood, and find a new use for them in your own garden.  If you live in an agricultural are, look among the farmers.   For example straw or other plant waste can be used as mulch in your garden or to make compost.  Farmers may have unwanted tools.  Organic farmers might make a good source of manure, but be careful of getting contaminated products like this.

Avoid Toxic Materials: Many common consumer items contain toxic materials, that can contaminate your garden and/or may be a special disposal problem when you’re finished.  For example, chemicals, paint, batteries, treated wood, PVC plastic and similar things.  All of these things if burned can create serious pollution problems, and if they find their way into the ground can decompose into toxic and long lasting chemicals.  These products are also difficult or impossible to recycle.

Buy Long Lasting But Also Biodegradable Things: Buy good quality products, that will last and you won’t need to replace in a short time.  At the same time, don’t buy things that are too durable!  PVC plastic is a good example. PVC lasts virtually forever.  If it’s burned, it decomposes into PCBs and dixoins.  Realistically, it can’t be recycled.  Materials like galvanized metal are made with heavy metals, and can also contaminate your ground virtually forever.  We all need to use some of these things sometimes, but look for alternatives and think before bringing them into your garden.  Try not to buy these things, only to turn around and throw them away a year or two later.  Try to get these things used.

Make Use of Your Own Compost: Everyone needs organic material for the ground in their garden, and home made compost is the best source of this.  Most people’s gardens are self sustainable with respect to compost, once things get started.  At the beginning you may need to import material to make your compost with, or even purchase some additional compost, but this is usually only for the first year or two.  A good source of compost to get started with can often be had for free or nearly free from your city.  Most cities have compost available from discarded plant materials they have made themselves.

Start Small: For everyone a garden is a lifelong learning experience, and something that evolves over time.  Get used to the idea that things take a few years to setup.  For example, if you decide you need raised beds, try starting with one small one.  Rather than going to the store and buying a peat based product to fill up your raised bed, try just using dirt or start with just a frame and raise the dirt inside over time with home made compost.  In this way you are sure you’re buying the right raised beds from the right materials, and you’ll discover if you like using it and it’s the solution you really want over time.  Don’t try to build everything in your garden all in one year.  Don’t buy netting until you know you have a pest problem, and understand exactly what it is.  Don’t buy other materials in large quantities, until you’ve had a chance to test it and you know it’s right.

Anyone else have any other tips?

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TPS Update

I just hilled up the TPS seedlings from Tom Wagner, and so far they are really doing well!  I’m really enjoying the biodiversity in the leaves, as the tubers aren’t visible yet.  The plants are really vigorous compared with other potato plants I’ve grown, probably in part due to the lack of viruses and other diseases.