Garden Waste – hints from Climate Action Wendover

Thousands of tons of green waste is collected from households across Buckinghamshire every week, but what happens to this once it’s collected? Well, in the first instance, garden waste collected from Aylesbury Vale homes is delivered to a household recycling centre where it is then transported to one of Buckinghamshire’s composting facilities. After an average of 16 weeks the compost is ready for use and after screening for any contaminants, it is distributed and put to good use by local farmers.

But what about your own garden? Compost heaps are a great way to turn waste material from your garden and kitchen into wholesome compost to put back on your garden. The RSPB have just published an article https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/nature-on-your-doorstep/garden-activities/how-to-start-composting giving step by step guidelines on how to make your own compost bin at home as well as recommending the best compost bins to purchase.

Now is the time of year when the garden seems to be inundated with pests such as slugs, snails and blackfly munching their way through our prized flowers and vegetables. Of course, it’s easy to resolve this issue with a wide array of pesticides available to purchase but what about the bigger impact on birds, frogs and other wildlife that live in the garden? What’s considered by us to be a pest in our garden is often food for another animal so the challenge is how can we preserve what we want to grow without causing harm to other animals, pets and the environment.

There are several natural alternatives available to us such as creating barriers, companion planting or water spraying. Whilst these natural methods won’t completely destroy garden pests, they will help to protect plants and crops from serious damage. For more advice and ideas visit https://learn.eartheasy.com/guides/natural-garden-pest-control.