An eco attitude in the garden
Are you a gardener who is aware of what is at stake for the planet? Are you truly close to nature?
Here are some eco-citizen type actions that are easy to perform. These simple gestures produce instant savings and reduce environmental pollution.
Save water
Everyone says: freshwater is becoming increasingly scarce. It is one of the reasons why the price of drinking water is continuously increasing. It is also the reason why watering is sometimes prohibited in some regions in summer time. In these conditions, it is preferable to use the natural resources that we have in abundance: rain water. This water is also better suited to our garden than the hard water available in towns.
How to fit it?
The easiest way and the least expensive is to reroute water from the gutters. A rain water collector is attached to the gutter allowing some of the water flowing through it to be collected. A ring is attached to the gutter. It supplies a barrel which can vary in shape and size. A tap and an over-run are the rest of the equipment. Croix Chatelain stocks collectors between 100 and 350l in size.
Composting as a way of recycling waste
Making one’s own compost is a way of reducing the amount of gardening waste that needs to be disposed of and of producing natural fertiliser (humus) that is good for plants. It is also possible to use it to recycle some kitchen waste. But composting is a skill, it’s not simply a case of “letting a pile of grass rot” at the bottom of the garden! To get good compost, you have to:
1. Sort the composting material
- The “green” material includes lawn grass cuttings, peelings, leftover uncooked fruit and vegetables and seedless “weeds”.
- Straw, hedge cuttings, dead leaves, branches are all “brown” material.
- Coffee grounds, egg shells and animal tray litter (biodegradable) are categorised as “balanced” materials.
2. Balance the supply of materials to the compost and ventilate it
- In order for the compost to be successful, you should alternate between “green” materials, that are wetter and rich in nitrogen and more structuring “brown” materials that are richer in carbon.
- The lack of “brown” materials means that “green” materials become more packed, there is a lack of ventilation and a bad smell occurs