Amateur Gardening – 29 June 2019

29 JUNE 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 27

Sacrifi cial plants such as marigolds

can attract pests away from your crop.

But ultimately, if slugs start eating your

salad leaves, leave them to it

Avoid killing pests. Benefi cial insects

such as ladybirds, centipedes and

beetles, plus birds, control many insects

and invertebrates that eat your plants

A four or seven-year crop-rotation

system will help maintain soil health

avoid nutrient defi ciency and stop

pest and disease build-up

(you can guess what this comprises) is
also an option – so long as it is well
processed and is from vegans!

Grow for nutritional value
Make your own vegan fertiliser to help
boost crops. I use comfrey stewed in a
bucket of water. The nutrients are
released as the leaves decay. Comfrey is
good at sucking up nutrients from the
soil and its leaves contain three times
more potassium than farmyard manure.
The plant grows vigorously from cuttings
in most soil types. Seaweed, ash, rotted
woodchip and rockdust can also add
nutrients to the soil.
Grow for nutritional value because
vegans need to top up iron and protein.
Every fruit and vegetable has its
strengths and weaknesses in providing
for the optimal diet. Beans, artichokes,
peas, brassicas and pumpkins are
especially good for vegans to grow.
Sunflower seeds and even quinoa are
less traditional foods you could harvest.
Grow banks of plants for predators
to live in, such as dandelions, buddleia,
nettles, grey willow and brambles. Include
log piles as insect habitats.
My tips for dodging problems caused
by pesky animals are, as well as

How I manage my gardening time

VEGAN gardening is probably harder

work than using readymade solutions

to gardening problems. This means

that rather than being a mindful

gardener on my allotment or in my

back yard, being a busy person like

much of the population, I have to

manage my time and get on with

what needs doing on the plot.

If I have five minutes, I water,

fertilise with a bucket of liquid comfrey

fertiliser, pull a few weeds and put

them on the compost, pick something

and eat it and probably take a picture,

preferably of a passing bird or animal,

for posting on social media. I’ll then

make more liquid fertiliser by steeping

comfrey in a bucket of water.

If I have half an hour, I will do all the

above and also tend my seedlings in

my little greenhouse, barrow and rake

some mulch onto bare areas, plant

some seedlings and cover with a net

or fleece barrier if necessary, stir up

my compost in its bins and sit for a

minute to enjoy the view.

encouraging predators by leaving those

wild habitats, to net, use repellent

scents, be careful when bird feeding not

to drop food on the ground that might

attract rats, avoid animal-based fertilisers

which might attract foxes, and to use

barrier methods such as gravel or

woodchip to keep slugs away. The

old-fashioned scarecrow still has

value to discourage seed-eating

feathered friends.

Most of the components of vegan

gardening won’t be new to you. It’s not

TI Media

for everyone, and many gardeners like

their own tried-and-tested methods, and

I wouldn’t want to impose the method on

anyone. But if just a few more people

believe this way of gardening could be

for them, then maybe I’ve done my bit

for animals – even slugs.

Some studies suggest that horse manure

can harm your plants. I recommend

adding veg-based fertiliser to compost

or buying vegan compost

Bird feeding can attract foxes, rats

and squirrels. Ideally, the plants in your

garden should attract birds that will eat

berries, seeds, worms and grubs

Green manures such as phacelia add

nutrients to the soil and prevent erosion.

They harvest nitrogen from the air and

provide a haven for benefi cial insects

Suttons

Matthew Appleby’s book

The Super Organic Gardener

(ISBN 9781526737472) is

available from bookshops

and Amazon, price £16.99.

The Super Organic Gardener