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For people, wildlife and the environment |
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For people, wildlife and the environment |
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Gardening is one of the nation's favourite activities. It requires both practicality and imagination and is a great way to get some fresh air, keep fit, get to know your neighbour and be in tune with Mother Nature!
In Epsom & Ewell we are blessed with many parks and open spaces, but development puts pressure on the local wildlife.
The way our gardens are managed has a direct impact on the local flora and fauna. By adopting environmentally friendly methods of gardening, we can help protect the environment, encourage species diversity and create green corridors for our ever threatened creatures.
Gardening with the environment in mind is quite straight-forward and does not need revolutionise your gardening habits. You might already be doing something for wildlife, consciously or unknowlingly, for example by providing a bird box or by leaving a heap of leaves at the end of your garden. Here is a list of broad principles for a "green garden". Adopt as many of these as you can: whatever you can do will make a real difference for the environment.
- Install water butts
- Add compost or a layer of mulch to your soil
- Choose drought-resistant plants for dry areas
- Ban sprinklers
- Water your garden in cool parts of the day, and use "grey water", i.e. used water (washing up/bath water)
- Vegetable and fruit peelings
- Kitchen scraps (avoid meat and fish which tend to attract rodents and flies)
- Tea bags, coffee grounds, egg shells
- Dead flowers
- Grass mowings
- Vacuum cleaner waste
- Torn paper and cardboard in small quantities.
Many organisations are working on wildlife/organic gardening issues and are a source of information, expert advice or training. A few are detailed below:
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Henry Doubleday
Research Association, National Centre for Organic Gardening, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Coventry CV8 3LG Tel: 01203 303 517 The organic organisation Dedicated to researching and promoting organic gardening, farming and food. |
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Surrey
Wildlife Trust, School Lane, Pirbright, Woking, Surrey GU24 0JN Tel: 01483 488 055 PROTECTING the future of SURREY WILDLIFE |
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Royal Society for
the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedforshire SG19 2DL Tel: 01767 680 551 |
| Chase Organics, River Dene Estate, Molesey Road, Hersham, Surrey KT12 4RG Tel 01932 253 666 For native seeds, plants, sundries |
BTCV Enterprises (Tools & Trading) Conservation Centre, Balby Road, Doncaster DN4 0RH Tel 01302 572 200 For native trees, shrubs, seeds |
I have been putting out peanuts for the garden birds for some time, so I was very concerned to learn recently from the RSPB that there might be a serious problem with peanuts this year.
The problem is a toxin, called aflatoxin, which is produced by the Aspergillus flavus fungus. This can grow on peanuts, while they are being stored. The toxin has no taste or smell and cannot be detected by people, or birds, without laboratory testing. It is, however, very toxic indeed. Besides liver damage, and liver cancer which it can cause, high doses can kill birds within the day. The problem has been worse than usual this past year.
The fungus is found in soil, and when the peanuts are harvested, some fungus can get onto them. While waiting in storage, often in hot and humid conditions, the fungus grows and produces the toxin on the peanuts.
Peanuts are generally tested for aflatoxin in their country of origin, and given a certificate. However, this is often before storage and transportation, which can take weeks or months. The certificate is often meaningless, as it is given before the aflatoxin has the chance to develop.
Peanuts for human consumption are checked carefully, and there is no problem for human health. However, it seems that the nuts which fail the tests for human consumption end up as cheap nuts for the petfood trade. Therefore there is a high chance that nuts that can be bought at petfood shops have a dangerous level of contamination, even if the shop owner has a certificate to say they were of good quality when they were harvested - and is selling them in good faith.
The advice from the expert bird organisations is that we should not give birds peanuts unless they are of high quality. It is not safe to assume that nuts from petfood shops, especially those sold loose, are clean. Peanuts for people are fine, and the BTO, the RSPB or CJWildbird Foods can supply nuts which are definitely not harmful to birds. Their numbers are respectively: 01824 750050, 01767 680551 and 0800 169 1024.
I am sure that many people who enjoy the garden birds, and take pleasure in putting out food for them, would be very upset to find that food put out with the best possible intentions, is having a lethal effect.
Sarah Clayton
This is the season when garden centres are promoting all sorts of equipment for a great autumn cleaning and clearing up. Fair enough, there are clearing jobs to be done, but those of us who want to encourage wildlife into our patch have to think very care fully how we go about it.
In Autumn we see many smoky bonfires polluting the air - and what a waste of a valuable resource! It is important to move fallen leaves from paths where they may become slippery and dangerous. It is also necessary to rake them off grass. If you mow the grass when it is covered in leaves the resulting mix of grass and chopped leaves will rot faster than leaves alone. Some can be raked under shrubs and hedges, providing good cover for soil creatures through the Winter. Leaf mould (see below) is a really good material for improving your soil and is very easy to make. Damp leaves pressed will down take up very little space.
Garden advice is often to cut border perennials down to ground level so that the bed looks neat and tidy during the Winter. Many seed heads are really attractive, especially when covered with frost, and the seeds provide excellent Winter food for many birds, so it is much better to leave cutting them down until the Spring. Some that are particularly good are evening primroses (Oenothera), mulleins (Verbascum) and lavender, but there are many more. Goldfinches especially make use of these.
Ponds do need special treatment at this time of year. Water plants grow very fast, and if left they rot and silt up your pond. Sub- merged plants must be thinned before they die down. They will grow back in the Spring. Leave the thinnings at the side for a few days to allow creatures to crawl back into the pond. Marginal plants need to be cut down to prevent them from falling into the water. If there are trees nearby it is a good idea to cover the water with a fine net to catch any leaves falling into the pond. Remove the net when leaf fall is over.
Leave a pile of logs in a sheltered corner. This provides a home for many insects and a place for hedgehogs, frogs and toads to hibernate. Do be careful when you have that "Guy Fawkes" bonfire: it is best to build the fire just before it is lit, so that these and other creatures are not trapped in it.
Felicity Ingram
As the best time to undertake planting of shrubs, groundcover and herbaceous plants is between the end of October and the end of March, this seems a good time for us to give you some ideas of ways of planting for wildlife in the garden.
When planning a garden for wildlife, it must not be forgotten that aspects such as wildlife corridors, nesting sites, special places of refuge and a constant food source apply just as much to the garden as it does to the open countryside or our parks and open spaces. If carefully planned, our gardens can be created so as to provide all the needs of the wildlife around us and will become alive with birds, butterflies and small friendly creatures such as hedgehogs, frogs and toads.
I have found that it is best to plant shrubs and groundcover plants and herbaceous perennials in close inter- linking masses. This not only looks good but it provides lots of opportunity for nesting and safe hiding places and lots of good food plants for birds, animals and beneficial insects, especially butterflies. If there are lots of cats around your garden, there are many prickly or spiky shrubs that will deter the cat whilst providing a safe haven for birds. Berberis, Mahonia and Cotoneaster are excellent examples of such "protective" shrubs.
If we are to make the most of the plants we buy, it is important that the area in which they are to be planted is properly prepared and that they are planted correctly. A little time, money and energy spent in making sure the plants are well planted will result in many years of trouble-free growth and colour.
In new areas of the garden where new beds are to be formed, it is a good idea to take the opportunity to rotovate or double dig, removing all large stones over 50 mm. in diameter together with all perennial weeds. This is the only time when I would suggest the use of systemic weed killer over the complete area and then good, well rotted farmyard manure may be added at the rate of 5 kg/sq m. In existing beds, this is a good time to remove all unwanted existing plants including as much of the root system as possible. Great care should be taken to avoid damage to any shrubs and trees which are to remain as such damage will open them up to disease during the winter.
When purchasing shrubs, groundcover plants and new herbaceous plants it is good to make sure that they are clearly labeled and of good nursery stock, true to name and type, and free from all pests, diseases or physical defects. Also ensure that the plant is not pot-bound or that weeds are not growing on the surface of the pot compost. Any new herbaceous plants should be well rooted, healthy, hardy and preferably, have less than one year of full growth.
As I mentioned in my introduction, the best time for planting is during favourable weather and soil conditions between the end of October and the end of March. No planting should take place when the ground is frozen, wet or water-logged or in excessively windy conditions or any other conditions which could adversely affect the successful establishment of plant material.
All container-grown plants and root balls should be thoroughly soaked prior to planting by immersing them for 5 minutes in a bucket filled with water. If the container is too big for a bucket then an empty dustbin will serve perfectly well.
In order to give each plant a good start, they should be planted in excavated holds large enough to ensure adequate root spread and to a depth of at least 75 mm. lower than the root system. Planting holes for climbers should be 150 mm. wider than root spread and 400 mm. deep. All Clematis should be planted approx 25 cm. below the level of the existing compost to help protect against Clematis rot. Before planting, gently tease the roots of all plants apart slightly and carefully prune any badly damaged roots.
It is good practice to include coco-peat or compost (preferably not made from peat - check the label) and bonemeal, or a suitable substitute, into the backfill and at the bottom of the planting hole at the rate of 66% topsoil, 33% coco-peat or compost, and 50 grams/sq m. bonemeal, thoroughly mixed. Place the plant either upright or well balanced in the centre of the pit, with its best side to the front. Carefully return the prepared topsoil, packing around evenly over the spread roots or rootball and heel well in. The finished soil level should approximately be 30 mm. above the surrounding soil level to allow for settlement.
Make sure you water the plants thoroughly immediately after planting, using a fine rose. Immediately after planting shrubs can be a good time to carefully cut back any damaged, dead or diseased branches and remove any weak, thin or malformed growth. After planting, fork and/or rake the soil around the plant to a fine tilth. I have always felt it is a good idea to mulch the area around shrubs and trees with a 75 mm. deep bed of compost, leaf mould or similar material. Birds and other wildlife will enjoy scratching around in this mulch but it will also cut down on water evaporation from the soil, add much needed nutrition and keep the soil warm in the winter.
John Lucas
It is a great shame to rake the leaves up and dump them in the wheelie bin, for landfill, when they could be put to a useful purpose, as soil conditioner or mulch for your own garden - and save you buying the commercial alternative. The process is simple, and foolproof, and does not take a great deal of effort or time.
For information or advice contact:
Jeff Bull on 01372 723454 or
Sarah Clayton on 01372 722341
Clearing up all your leaves has one major drawback - it may destroy hiding places for wildlife. The answer is to leave a pile of disease-free leaves at the base of a hedge or corner of your garden.
Although this provides cover for pests such as slugs and snails, these will attract natural predators such as beetles, spiders and centipedes. These in turn encourage toads and hedgehogs which also use the leaf piles for hibernating. Birds will also visit the leaf pile to feed off insects.
Birds and butterflies will be happy to feast on your rotting fruit, so make sure you leave some on the bird table.
Research through the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) shows a steady decline nationally, over the past 20 years, in the numbers of blackbirds, mistle thrushes, song thrushes and skylarks, to name just a few. However, the figures are ssometimes hard to interpret, with significant seasonal annual variations against the underlying trend.
Some birds appear to be more common when they are seen more in gardens, when this in fact indicates they are having difficulty living in the country and conceals the fact that they are declining there.
The BTO always need more people to take part in their Garden Birdwatch Surveys, and if you would like to help, phone 01842 750050
Gardening for Life is not confined to your own garden!
It seems, from travelling around the borough, that we have quite a lot of new trees, put in by the Council. This is delightful, and most people are only too happy to have their local environment kept green and leafy, by adding trees to the street scene.
But some of the members of the Open Spaces group of the Epsom & Ewell Environment Forum, have been worrying about losses of young street trees locally. Not only do they suffer from vandalism, but they have a lack of water to put up with too.
As we all know, it has been very dry recently (June 2005). Though we don't yet have a hosepipe ban in most of the borough, we may get one before too long. But that does not stop the trees from needing water. Some die each summer, and already members of the Forum have reported seeing trees which look very stressed, if not really in danger of dying.
Though the Borough Council does organise watering for new trees from time to time, this cannot be sufficient for all the trees in a very dry summer.
The Environment Forum are therefore asking residents to "adopt a sapling". If anyone has a young tree near their home which looks to be in need of a bit of water, go out and take out a bucket or two of water for the tree, every week, if there is no rain. That would be a great help. It would be even better if they could recycle clean, but used water, like bathwater (without detergent in it) to be mindful of the water restrictions.
It seems such a shame that Council money is spent on planting trees, and then they die of drought. It would take only a few minutes every week for residents to give their local tree a drink, and that might just save its life. Once established the trees could become a wonderful addition to the street for many decades, as long as we give them a helping hand when they young.
It is normal practice to plant young saplings attached by a tie to a wooden stake for support while the tree is young. This is usually needed until the tree reaches a certain age or the trunk has a reasonable diameter.
Good practice requires that the tie be loosened as the tree grows, and then removed before it can start to cut into the bark, and damage the tree.
However, it is easy to look around, whether near home or in other boroughs, and see trees that have not had their ties cut, and which have deep grooves being formed as the tree has to grow around the constriction. In some cases, the tie can actually constrict the tree to the point that it is strangled and dies. The active part of the trunk, through which water is brought up from the roots and nutrients made by the leaves are taken down to the roots, is close to the surface, just under the bark. Hence a tight constriction of the trunk will damage these active and vital tissues.
It is important not to remove these ties while they are doing a useful job, holding the tree straight, and keeping it upright; but it is helpful to the tree to remove them (using a sharp knife or scissors) when they are obviously cutting into the tree and damaging it.
The Epsom Tree Advisory Board would urge all interested residents to keep a look out for trees in need of help, and release them if necessary.
Mike Ford, the Chairman of the TAB said: “I am surprised how many trees I see on my travels that are being strangled because nobody has got round to removing the tie at the right time. I must have saved the lives of several hundred in my time, with my trusty pocket knife, and it is rewarding to know they have been rescued. I urge anyone who sees a tree that is being damaged to cut any tree ties that are cutting into the bark of young trees”.
Use alternatives to peat. Gardeners use two thirds of the peat extracted in the UK, which is causing further destruction of wilderness bog areas and threatening their specialised wildlife. More than 94% of UK lowland bogs have been destroyed or damaged.
Ask for peat-free products at your garden centre. B & Q, Homebase and Focus supply peat-free products for a range of uses such as a growing medium, soil improver or mulch.
Which composts contain peat? You might be shocked to hear that unless your compost is clearly labelled as "peat-free", then it probably does contain peat. Peat companies know that most people don't want to buy peat any more, so they are deliberately hiding the fact that a lot of their composts contain peat. We recommend that people buy only those products that are clearly labelled as being "peat-free".
The following products are peat-free:
