Natural by design In a part extract from her Climate Change Garden book, Kim Stoddart explains why mixed planting offers a far more resilient alternative to block planted veg patch produce… What a year it’s been so far. As well as a pandemic lockdown to contend with, we’ve experienced a multifarious succession of weather extremes as the impact of climate …
The Self Sufficiency Surge
Kim Stoddart examines the grow your own phenomenon that has emerged as a result of fears around food security since the pandemic lockdown. In the days leading up to the restrictions (and ever since), there has been a sheer frenzy of interest in fruit and vegetable growing as people seek to turn over their back gardens, patios, windowsills (and indeed any available …
BARTER & EXCHANGE from the veg patch
Kim Stoddart runs a range of grow your own courses from her productive plot in beautiful Ceredigion, West Wales. Here she outlines some of the best produce and materials for some good old fashioned exchange and barter… I gardened entirely for free for a number of years for my writing in the Guardian and as a result, embraced the …
WOODCHIP – making friends with your local tree surgeon
There are many fantastic (and free) materials that can be used to great effect around the smallholding and woodchip has to be one of the best. It’s also one of the easiest to get hold of as most tree surgeons or tree maintenance companies will jump at the opportunity of somewhere to dump their leftovers. So you’ll be doing them …
EMBRACE THE COLD with a lovely warming stew
So it’s almost May but looking outside you wouldn’t know it. This week we’ve had snow, hail and a severe chill that has made the prospect of summer seem all that much further away. Yes it’s annoying but rather than getting down in the dumps about it all I suggest embracing the cold with a lovely hearty meal. We …