Groundbreaking event
How to make your garden and allotment 'greener'
To coincide with a national groundbreaking event Carlisle City
Council is advising residents on how to make their garden or
allotment cleaner, greener and safer.
As part of National Allotments Week (13 19 August), the City
Council's expert horticulturists have drawn together some top tips
to make your planting even 'greener'...
- Collect rainwater by installing gutters and a rainwater barrel
on all sheds and greenhouses.
- Compost as much organic matter as possible. Even perennial
weeds such as dandelions and couch grass can go on the heap, but
let them dry out first. Compost can be used as a mulch around fruit
bushes or trees; it will help improve yields and prevent the soil
around the bush drying out and will ultimately save on water
- Do not leave soil bare of plants. Plant a green manure crop by
sowing wheat, or clover and lupins seed in late Summer. The
resulting young plants will stay in the ground over Winter
preventing soil erosion and can be dug in the following Spring to
provide further organic matter
- Think very carefully before you buy insecticides. Ladybird
larvae munch through thousands of aphids in their lifetime. Even
slugs can be beneficial in the compost heap, reducing large pieces
of organic material into smaller ones and aiding
decomposition.
Cllr Ray Bloxham, Portfolio holder for Environment and
Infrastructure said:
"Many new gardeners take up their new hobby with a strong desire
to care for the planet; they want to know where their food comes
from, to grow it in a way which respects nature and to husband
resources where possible. We want residents to think about the
environment when they get 'dug in' and think about following our
top gardening tips."
There are currently 771 allotment plots on 65 sites in Carlisle.
The largest site has 66 plots and the smallest has only one. The
oldest allotment site in Carlisle dates back to 1911 at St Nicholas
Bridge in Currock.
Existing allotment plot holders are also urged to join their
local tenants association, as they play a big part in the future
maintenance of the sites. The tenants of Kingstown Road and
Kingstown Nobles allotments are currently setting up a new
association to run their sites. To find out more about allotments
visit http://www.carlisle.gov.uk/.