Gardening, seemingly as
green as it gets, can be deceivingly unsustainable and harmful to the
surrounding environment. Pete commonly used as compost is taken from
rapidly diminishing natural reserves, garden furniture is often made
from wood from unsustainable sources in the tropics, and chemical
fertilisers and pesticides pollute water, and often cause death to
many insects, plants, birds and animals.

What can you do?

• Make sure any
  furniture you buy is from sustainable sources.

• Buy organic
  fertilisers and pesticides

• Compost-
  Make your own compost. You can get a compost bin from your local
  council for a reduced price and sometimes free! Alternatively you
  can make your own. You can compost tea bags, coffee grounds, fruit
  and veg, straw, grass cuttings, weeds and even cardboard and
  newspaper. As well as providing an organic fertiliser for free, you
  can dramatically reduce waste that gets sent to landfill!

• Grow your
  own vegetables- If you don’t have a
  garden or don’t have enough space find out where your nearest
  allotment is, details of how to do this are listed below in
  contacts. By growing your own veg you can save money on food
  shopping, and reduce your ‘food miles’ by decreasing the amount
  of food you buy that is transported over great distances, thus
  reducing your carbon footprint.

• Use water
  sparingly- If
  you can collect rainwater in a tank attached to your drain pipes,
  this saves the amount of water you use and also provides a safer
  supply for your plants as mains water is often full of chlorine.
  Use watering-cans as an alternative to wasteful sprinklers and
  hoses. Watering plants early in the morning or in the evening
  prevents evaporation of water during the day and using your homemade
  compost helps retain the water in the soil.

• Alternatives
  to pesticides- Use meshes and traps as
  barriers (halved plastic bottles make good pest traps!),
  alternatively you can remove some pests by hand or use holly leaves,
  broken egg shells, grapefruits and even human hair to deter slugs.

Useful Contacts

To find out where your
nearest allotment is contact:

www.manchesterallotments.org.uk

(0161) 226 3322

For tips and advice visit
Organic UK:

www.organicgarden.org.uk

For composting tips visit:

Fairfield Composting

www.gmcomposting.co.uk

Garden Centres:

Hulme Community Garden
Centre offers info on organic gardening techniques, composting and
pest control.

28 Old Barley Street,
Hulme, , M15 5SF

www.hulmegardencentre.org.uk

0161 227 8198

Parkers Garden Centre

448-452 Chester Road

M16 9HL

0161 881 8142

Chorlton Nursery

18 Vicars Road

M21 9GY

0161 881 8142