Resilient gardening expert Kim Stoddart, co-author of Quarto’s newly published The Climate Change Garden, told Express.co.uk: The cost of living crisis has reached terrifying heights never before seen.
“Gardening has become very expensive in the last few years, but a lot of money-saving activities are actually one of the best ways to make your garden more resilient.
“Knowing that there are many cheap and easy ways to better defend your outdoor space gives me hope for the coming year.
“So look forward to more sunshine and warmer weather. Here are some easy ways to bring a frugal yet climate-savvy spring back to your feet.”
1. Make your own soil conditioner
According to the pros, it “feels incredibly good” to turn waste from garden and kitchen leftovers into a “wonderful” homemade compost.
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Kim added: This is important during the wet winter months and during the summer months when the ground wants to hold the liquid longer to help the plants.
“Mulching is also important for protecting soil from extreme rain, heat and wind. It promotes microbial activity in the soil and increases overall resilience.”
Gardeners should spread a mulch containing wood chips, compost, leaf mold, comfrey, nettle, and wool about 1 cm around the yard.
2. Don’t dig
Kim said:
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3. Free of pesticides, chemicals and peat
Many gardeners choose to use pesticides to control outdoor pests, but this can also damage the wider ecosystem.
An expert explains:
“Slugs, for example, serve as useful food for birds, hedgehogs, frogs, ground beetles and even some spiders.”
Peat composting is also being gradually phased out and will be completely banned by 2024.
This means it’s time to familiarize yourself with the alternatives on the market: Kim recommended Dalefoot, Melcourt, Sylvagrow and Carbon Gold.
4. Think Layers
A gardening expert explains: Therefore, all trees and shrubs, rather than fences, help absorb excess rain and protect against high winds.
“Shade-conscious planting also helps with summer sunshine. Tall, resilient perennial plantings like willows and Jerusalem artichokes, or produce like edible salad leaves and ground cover. mixed planting of flowers.
Gardeners can also pick herbs in between to prevent the soil from drying out.
5. Grow Wild
There are several options for your garden to provide habitat for a variety of animals and insects and provide all-weather protection.
Kim recommended creating a wild area where grass can grow long and wildflowers can migrate.
Gardeners can also create areas with longer grass, with plants such as daisies that help withstand the “hard drought” seen in Britain last summer.
Kim is an award-winning environmental journalist who has written about climate change and resilience since 2013. She is the editor of her The Organic Way magazine, co-author of her new The Climate Change Garden, and runs a variety of Resilience Her Grow Her Your Own Projects. In-person and online courses across the UK.