Greener Gardening

SPRING is the obvious starting point in the gardening calendar - a time of renewal and new beginnings. Simon continues this permaculture theme by discussing what greener gardening really means, in theory and practice.

It is often overlooked that a significant proportion of available green space in an urban environment is provided by back gardens! So making a positive contribution to the environment in which we live, like all worthy endeavours, begins on our doorstep.

But greener gardening isn't just about doing our bit for the environment, it's about being good to ourselves. If you look at the box, left, listing the three levels of greener gardening and apply it to yourself, then gardening should, in the first instance, give you more energy; secondly your gardening should help you to conserve energy; and only then should it use up energy that it does not replace.

So how does this work? On a personal level, a garden is somewhere to 're-charge your batteries', so it needs to reflect you as a person and your (and your family's) needs. You might need a secret spot to retreat to when things get a bit chaotic; you might need somewhere to do yoga or Tai Chi; you might well need somewhere to fix your pushbike. So understanding your needs is the starting point for designing your garden so that it nurtures you.

On a practical level, you can create energy in the garden by growing food. This obviously creates food energy, however if it saves you the occasional trip to the shops then it has also helped you conserve your fuel energy.

If you want to conserve your energy in the garden, then for starters, place things relative to where you most need them (a vegetable plot at the bottom of the garden is going to cost you a lot of energy if you like having fresh salad during the summer, for example). You can also conserve energy in the form of water by collecting rainwater. This stores the water until you need it and, if well designed, will be stored up-slope from where you will need to water. Gravity can then do the watering for you.

Conserving energy in the garden on a more global scale however involves making informed choices about what you bring on-site. Are you okay with buying hardwood fencing posts from your local gardening and DIY supplier if it is rainforest wood that has been flown thousands of miles to get here? There are always alternatives and, following the idea of the create/conserve/consume continuum, these alternatives are best sourced (or grown!) in, or as near as possible to, your garden. In practical terms this means using what you've got - and what you haven't got, buy locally!.

Some other ideas for greener gardening are to generate your own fertility on-site. This means making your own compost to feed back to the soil the nutrients you have harvested as food. So try growing comfrey which, when cut and added to a fresh compost heap acts as an activator and speeds the decomposition (comfrey also makes fantastic liquid feed if left in a bucket for a few weeks - be warned: it smells pretty ripe after a while!. Finally you can grow your own green manures which you just dig into the soil before they start to flower - over-wintering ones are best because in early spring you can dig them in ready for the first plantings after the danger of frost has passed.

So what can be done at this time of year to get you started on the greener track? Well, spring is traditionally the time for making new starts, so if you want to plant out salad crops and other easy-to-grow vegetables, then create a bed near to your back door (either by traditional digging, or preferably by mulching) and plant into that. Or, if you are really pushed for space, or time, then find some old containers (remember, using what you already have on site helps conserve energy in the garden - including your energy!) and position them in a sheltered but sunny spot, and keep regularly watered. If you haven't got your own compost to fill them with, then see if any neighbours are willing to do a deal on some or find a nearby community composting scheme that has compost for sale or in return for doing a little work on site. Then collect what green stuff you can and start your own compost heap ready to fill next year's containers.

If you're wondering what to plant, the first rule of thumb is to plant what you are interested in growing (and eating!), and this time of year between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice has the greatest selection to choose from. So you can think about planting out leeks, early cabbage, potatoes (early and late early), garlic, peas and lettuces (including most of the multi-cropping Japanese varieties).

For those of you fortunate to have a greenhouse or conservatory, you can get planting shallots, carrots, French beans, celery, cucumber, melons, sweet corn, tomatoes and broccoli.

So, by combining these simple steps with a little design and an awareness of what your needs are, your gardening can begin to make a big difference to you and to the wider environment around you.