Sustainable Gardening
The beauty of many of Churt’s gardens closely rivals the beauty of the countryside around the village. Our local gardening society is Churt Horticultural and Produce Society (CHAPS) - a gardening society with a wealth of talent and experience.
But creating and maintaining beautiful gardens can unknowingly, on the part of the gardener, damage our natural environment, exacerbate the climate crisis and even endanger our health.
Here are a few things that we can do to reverse those trends.
Peat has been a major ingredient of the compost used in gardening for many years but its extraction. 94% of the UK’s peat bogs have been destroyed. Check out how you can keep your garden looking great without using peat. Read more
Reduce your household carbon footprint and save yourself digging and watering work in the garden whilst increasing your yield of home grown veggies. Use decaying wood for nutrients and to extend the growing season. Follow keen Churt gardener and CHAPS member Maggy Sheil’s example and make yourself a Hugelkutur – or hill culture bed.
The use of harmful chemicals in pesticides and weedkillers has already left 41% of our pollinators and other insects facing extinction, as well as causing serious damage to human health. Find out how you can keep garden pests, diseases and weeds under control using organic methods instead of harmful chemicals. Read more
Sharing our gardens with nature brings joy to the majority of gardeners, and never more so than during recent Covid lockdowns. A rich diversity of plant and animal species will live happily alongside people, needing only a little helping hand from us. Discover what you can do to make your outside space a haven for wildlife.