Before I could start dreaming of what I’d harvest from my London plot, I had to tame it and cultivate its clay soil. Inspired by the writings of Lawrence Hills, I wanted to transform my overgrown haven organically and sustainably, using what little I knew from books and listening to other plot holders. The organic ethos is at the heart of my gardening, and each technique I adopted was a small step towards sustainability.
Homemade compost
Ordering compost to spread over all my beds would be both unsustainable and expensive, so instead, I make my own. When I started, I had just one cone-shaped bin. In went most of the annual weeds I cleared, although not the perennials; those, like invasive bindweed (Convolvulus), I disposed of at my council’s green waste site. Now I have four bays, which produce enough compost for a quarter of the plot, while the rest of my allotment is enriched with green manure.
How to build a compost bin How to make compost Rainwater
Plants love water, particularly pure, untreated rainwater. Water butts are the best way to catch and store this precious, free resource, and mine collect rainwater via downpipes from both the shed and greenhouse roofs. Like most gardeners, I just wish I could store much more of it.
Organic feeds
While homemade compost improves the soil, organic feeds nourish the plants. Two of my go-to feeds are fish, blood, and bone (FBB) and organic liquid seaweed, which are sold by most garden centres.
I also make my own feed, or ‘tea’, which I give to my flowering and fruiting plants. It’s so simple to make. Add enough nutrient-rich nettle tops or comfrey leaves to almost fill a bucket, weight them down with a brick, then top up with rainwater (not tap water). Cover with a lid, leave for six
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