2 x Bags of Dalefoot Wool Compost peat-Free, Sustainable: 30 litres

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This Peat Free April, award-winning, environmental journalist and co-author of The Climate Change Garden book, Kim Stoddart gets excited about some of the tips and topics she will be sharing with us over the months ahead: Biodiversity is a word used to refer to the number of species and individual organisms in a particular area. When we look at biodiversity, we are often looking at specific areas, like our gardens or nature reserves. Peat bogs are wonderfully biodiverse environments, supporting a whole host of life. Because of the specific environmental conditions in peat bogs, there are many species of plant, insect and animals that rely on these areas. They have formed specific niches within these environments and cannot easily adjust to life elsewhere.

Fungi are an essential part of the soil ecosystem. The importance of its role in protecting our plants and our soils is undeniable. What’s more, is that we still know relatively little about fungi. There could be a whole host of services that fungi are quietly getting on with without our knowledge. Peatlands have been doing this for many thousands – and in some case many millions of years, with peat being the precursor to coal formation, which is almost pure carbon. Turning even some waste items into useful resources for the garden saves money and helps reduce our reliance on buying everything in. Be it compost making, seed saving, mulch making, it is all part of the low cost, self-empowering solution. Too wet? Mulch! Too dry? Mulch! Not enough nutrients? Mulch! Is Mulching really the answer to so many gardening problems? In many ways it is… lets take a look at how mulching improves our soil, and feeds our plants and reduces weeds. Peat is a rich, dark type of soil that is made mostly of plant matter that has been decomposed under waterlogged conditions. It is incredibly rich in carbon but very low in nutrients. It has excellent water-retentive properties and a nice crumbly texture making it an apparently desirable commodity for gardeners.The best compost will provide all the nutrients and support needed for seeds and veg to grow and thrive, while the worst will leave you with meagre crops and feeble plants. Aside from beekeeping being a fascinating and rewarding hobby, bee keeping plays an important role at Dalefoot. Human and environmental survival is reliant on the bees as pollinators, however bee numbers have been falling across the world with climate change, in-organic farming practices and habitat destruction the key causes. At Dalefoot we have continued our efforts to increase our wildlife habitats and biodiversity. We have been adding to our grass leys, tree planting, improving wild flower meadows and increasing our river corridors. Create a calm space to stop, switch off from the stressful world, watch some wildlife, breathe and let the free thinking flow on in. Reach out with little acts of kindness where you can; a warm hello, a compliment to someone who is looking sad… it offers hope for a more resilient future for us all, together. tbsp sugar (or other sweetener eg agave) - optional (I usually skip this part but I do like tart food)

A mini wildlife pond can be created out of an upcycled basin buried into the ground with stones placed in and around. You may attract amphibians, and many wildlife will also benefit from a water source of this kind. Raising young plants - we use 25 different composts to grow tomato and marigolds, sown as seed and transplanted when they have two non-seed leaves. Peat is now being banned in horticulture so we must move to find alternatives. Over the last few years several alternatives have become more popular, such as coir. Coir is a fantastic resource made from the discarded husks of coconuts. Unfortunately, here in the UK we live a long way from the nearest coconut trees and therefore this resource needs to be shipped so that we can use it. Not only does this come with its own carbon footprint, but it is also problematic because it is removing this valuable resource for use from local farmers.Because of this, peatlands also play a huge role in supporting global biodiversity. You may wonder why this is important. Many campaigns use flagship species such as Polar Bears, Tigers and more locally, Otters to signify the importance of biodiversity. It seems a terrible shame that future generations may exist in a world where these species do not exist. However, there is a lot more to biodiversity than just the “when it’s gone it’s gone” problem. Clean water is crucial for creatures during the winter months, for drinking and washing. Here I have a selection of homemade pools for insects - dishes filled with small stones - which are refilled daily and cleaned out often. A simple way to make a bird bath/drinking pool is to use a “dalek” composter. Once the compost bin is full, invert the lid and add some large stones as perches and to ensure creatures can safely get out of the water. This provides a source of water out of reach of most predators. Fungi not only provide the glue to make this soil structure, but they also help to maintain it by facilitating the movement of nutrients and organic matter. Soil structure made in this way is remarkably resilient. It is less likely to get flooded or dry out and less likely to be affected by erosion. A mulch around the outside of water hungry plants can keep moisture in for longer. A thin sprinkling of compost, comfrey, grass clippings, woodchip, sheep wool or leafmould works well It is no longer gardening as usual but there are lots of solutions to be found from the natural world and there is plenty of hope. I will be sharing tips every month here on everything to do with building and boosting soil health, natural pest control, seed saving, water and money saving and much more besides.

Sheep ‘dags’ form a protective layer over the soil and are ideal for established plants. ‘Dags’ are the soiled parts of the fleece which are otherwise discarded after shearing.

This time of year, fungi start to pop up everywhere. They can pepper our vegetable gardens and turn our lawns into little fairy villages. Football-sized puffballs can erupt from the ground almost overnight, and I’ve even seen mushrooms push up through tarmac pavements. But what we see in these beautiful little mushrooms is the fruit of a much larger organism. Think of the fungi as an apple tree. What we see above the ground is the equivalent of apples, and the rest tree is submerged beneath the soil in the form of millions of tiny, microscopic strands called hyphae. Tub and basket composts tend to be more expensive than multipurpose compost, but using a multipurpose compost with a Best Buy controlled-release fertiliser and regular watering will also give good results. The Peatland Pavilion at COP26 highlighted “the importance of global peatlands for the climate, people, and the planet as a key nature-based solution to climate change.” IUCN UK Peatland Programme Our Double Strength Wool Compost is an ideal choice for poor soils with low nutrients. It is high in nitrogen among its many nutrients. Double strength is made using a blend of wool and comfrey, which are both high in nitrogen. When Double Strength is added as a mulch it supplies the soil eco system with plentiful nutrients for maximising growth in the coming season. It will also improve soil structure by adding fibre, particularly, from the wool. Wool is water retentive, and it can seem contradictory, but as mentioned, the fibre improves structure whilst the wool simultaneously improves moisture retention.