With wildlife organisations and environment agencies declaring climate change emergencies, its hard not to think about what impact we as homeowners have on our environment and what we can do to reduce our carbon footprint. Whether your focus is on growing or relaxing there are little changes that go a long way and we have a few tips on moving towards living a greener life in the garden.
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Water butts are a great way to collect rainwater. A rain diverter kit or rain trap is an easy way to attach a water butt to a down pipe. Guttering can also be attached to sheds, garages and greenhouses, leaving you with plenty of water for the drier months.
Composting is suitable for any sized garden. There are plenty of options available to purchase and you can make you own out of a plastic lidded box. Food and garden waste can be topped up with soil and aim for a 50% balance between green waste and brown waste. Green waste like tea bags, peelings and plants will decompose quickly compared to brown waste such as egg shells, plants and thorny cuttings which take longer to break down. Remember not to add dairy, meat, fish, bread or cooking oils. Shredders are also a good way or reducing garden waste and increase decomposition times.
We recommend the Cobra QS2500 Electric Garden Shredder
Mulching grass cuttings is an excellent way of retaining moisture and keeping your lawn looking healthy. It eliminates the need to use chemical lawn feeds as the mulch breaks down it produces a natural nutrient-rich fertiliser. Mulching promotes fertile soil by encouraging worm activity and soil organisms. It can suppress weeds and discourage moss that can take hold over the winter months.
We recommend the EGO LM1701E Cordless Lawn Mower which gives you the option to collect, mulch or discharge the grass clippings.
For gardeners wanting a striped lawn the Mountfield Princess 34 LI Cordless Lawn Mower will produce a traditional lined finish as well as having the option to collect and mulch grass cuttings.
Replacing petrol tools with cordless or electric tools will allow you to work emission-free and well as costing you a lot of time and money servicing and maintaining the engines. Don’t be put off by experiences with the battery-powered products of the past, the new lithium battery-powered machines produce equivalent power to a small petrol engine and have long running times.
The initial financial outlay for cordless products can be more than purchasing petrol machines, but usually one lithium battery will power all the tools in its range, this allows the user to purchase a ‘tool only’ option to reduce their costs. If you have a large plot of land and a ride on mower is your only option, purchasing a range of cordless garden tools will ensure you can work fume and cable-free around your garden.
We recommend
EGO Grass Shear/Shrub Trimmer Kit
Greenworks Cordless Grass Trimmer
EGO Power Cordless Leaf Blower
Greenworks Cordless Hedgetrimmer
EGO Cordless Multi-Tool Kit
Greenworks 60v Cordless Chainsaw
Swift Cordless Lawn Mower
Any changes we can make towards reducing the human impact on climate change is a step in the right direction. Encouraging children get outside whether it be to help with gardening, growing or just breathing in fresh air costs nothing, it can also teach them beneficial life skills for the future as well as instilling a love of nature.
Useful links
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/watering_savingwater1.shtml
https://www.recyclenow.com/reduce-waste/composting
https://www.edenproject.com/learn/for-everyone/how-to-make-a-compost-heap-10-top-tips
https://www.mowers-online.co.uk/guide-to-lawn-mulching?search=mulch