I love gardening as I find it relaxing and I love to watch my garden change over the seasons and years. My approach to gardening has somewhat changed recently though. I do less in the garden (partly because I’m busy, I’m not going to lie) because I want it to be as insect friendly as possible.
To have a garden that’s pleasant to sit in and that’s wildlife friendly, to me, is paramount. I know that people with children probably like to have a lawn so that their kids can play outside but having just a lawn is not great for the environment, and possibly not good for your kids either depending on how you keep it looking good. To have a garden that’s good for everyone and everything there are certain things you should avoid in a garden centre.
What to Avoid in a Garden Centre (and why)
Netting
You can buy netting to protect your plants from insects, netting to protect the fish in your pond and netting to protect your trees from birds nesting. Netting kills wildlife though. No matter where the netting is located and what it’s being used for, animals and birds get trapped and if they don’t die they can be seriously injured. Hedgehogs, deer, foxes, cats, bats and birds are all victims of netting. Sometimes it’s just that a bird or bat has nowhere to nest, other times it’s because they get trapped in the netting itself. Whatever you do, don’t put netting up in your garden. This includes football nets. If your kids have small goalposts with a net in the back garden, please make sure to take the net down after using it, every time. You don’t want your kids to see a dead or injured fox or cat when they wake up.
Netting should not only be avoided for use in your own garden. Abandoned fishing nets are causing numerous deaths, and building companies are covering so many trees, hedges and buildings with netting that birds in particular are suffering. Follow NestsNOTNets on Twitter to see how you can help.
Glyphosate
What is glyphosate? “Glyphosate is the active ingredient in many weedkillers, including Monsanto’s Roundup – used in farming, public places like parks, streets and schools and also by people in their gardens. It is the world’s most widely sold weedkiller.”
Why should you avoid it? Read about these lawsuits against Monsanto, which includes details of one where the plaintiff was awarded $78.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages. If glyphosate is safe why on earth would they have to pay such huge damages? Glyphosate has been linked to several types of cancer like non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, b-cell lymphoma, leukemia, and others as well as being linked to birth defects and other developmental disorders.
Disturbingly, glyphosate might even be in your bread. Farmers use glyphosate as a weedkiller and to dry out the crop just before it is harvested. Steer clear in your own garden for your own family’s health!
Slug Pellets
Slug pellets are generally small blue pellets that you spread around the base of your plants to protect them from slugs. The pellets normally contain one of two toxic chemicals Methiocarb or Metaldehyde. Methiocarb has been banned in many countries, and although Metaldehyde is 10 times less toxic than Methiocarb it’s still extremely bad for wildlife, pets and your own children.
Slug pellets kill slugs, this means fewer slugs eating your plants but slugs are eaten by hedgehogs, birds and frogs. This unfortunately means that hedgehog, bird and frog populations are also decreasing. But the slug pellets are not only dangerous for this reason, hedgehogs, birds and pets are also attracted to the blue pellets and consumption can be fatal. Being colourful little pellets small children are also at risk, whether they just play with them or ingest them. Using slug pellets to reduce damage to your plants is just not worth it.
Check our some wildlife friendly alternatives to slug pellets.
Compost with Peat
When buying compost always buy peat-free compost. There’s no denying that peat based compost is extremely effective for your garden, but peat is classed as a non-renewable resource due to how slowly it renews (1mm per year).
Peat bogs are also highly effective carbon stores. “the equivalent of 20 years of industrial carbon is stored in British peat bogs alone. The more that this erodes, the more carbon is released into the atmosphere. What’s more, exposed areas can dry out, thus releasing carbon even when not harvested.” Peat bogs also support a variety of flora and fauna. Peat is used as fuel by some people but the majority is used by gardeners and as this website puts it “It seems in our attempt to create our own little wilderness that we are selfishly robbing another.”
Always buy peat free compost and ask your local garden centre to stop selling peat based compost.
Plastic Lawn Ornaments
Why avoid plastic lawn ornaments? Firstly the production of plastic is a toxic process, plastic takes a very long time to decompose and is a hazard to wildlife, marine life and ourselves. But mainly, they generally look really tacky. Just don’t buy them! Avoid plastic whenever you can.
Is there anything else you think should be avoided when visiting a garden centre? Let me know and I’ll add it to my list of what to avoid in a garden centre.
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