Heat in a compost heap is good. A hot compost tip will kill off pathogens and many unwanted seeds whilst it creates good friable compost.

What is a Hot Compost Tip

• Hot compost heaps are just that, hot, they can be so hot you can’t keep your hand in (though why you should want to put your hand in the middle of a compost heap I am not sure).
• The heat is generated by the decomposition process helped by all the biological activity. Microbes, worms and insects need food, air and water to generate this activity. They feed on the plant matter or one another so that takes care of food.
• Much garden refuse contains enough water but if the compost is dry or the weather dries the compost out then some extra water can be added.
• A hot compost process encourages quick breakdown and recycling of compostable waste.

Turning The Compost Heap

• To get air into the compost as it rots down the heap needs to be turned after an initial decomposition period say 8-10 weeks
• Special ‘Tumbler compost makers’ and spinners are now available so that compost can be turned within a plastic drum. You turn the drum daily or weekly to aerate the rotting compost. This speeds up the composting process significantly.
• Turning the compost stops the top forming a crust that fails to rot
• The compost should be turned so that any compost at the sides or back is brought into the middle so decomposition is even and homogenious
• Turning the compost gives a chance for excess water to be redistributed so the heap doesn’t smell
• If the heap is large turning the top two thirds on to a separate pile may leave one third compost ready to use.
• Compost compacts and reduces in size by at least a third as it rots. Without turning it can be more compacted than your own soil.

Credits
layered aerobic compost by adstream CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Masses of wild flowers can produce a scented atmosphere that is second to none. Many plant families have scented species so sniff out your favourite.

Explanation why Wild Flowers are Scented

• Scent is the oxidisation of essential oils of flowers and leaves.
• Oils are mainly found on the upper surface of petals.
• The most scented flowers are those with thick velvet like petals which slow down the evaporation of the scent.
• Double white flowers like the rose are especially fragrant.
• Oils are produced in inverse proportion to colour pigment which is why orange and scarlet flowers tend to have less scent.
• Scent is classified into 10 and more groupings.

Wild Flower Families and Scented Examples.

• Buttercup: Stinking Hellebore is sulphury smelling, Aquilegia vulgaris have a soft clove like scent (without scent in blue and purple varieties) and Clematis vitalba or Old Man’s Beard has a light scent.
• Cabbage: Stinkweed smells when bruised, Sweet Alyssum and Wallflowers are  well known for their scent. Hesperis and Matthoila are also native plants to smell out for.
• Hypericum: All the St Johns Wort family have a foxy or goat like smell but Hypericum androsaemum has a more lemony scent.
• Pinks: include the Dianthus and Silene vulgaris or Bladder Campion have the characteristic clove like scent.
• Geranium: Mallows and Laveteria have little or no scent but Geranium robertianum or Herb Robert is quite pungent.
• Rose: Meadow Sweet says it in the name. Wild Strawberry has scented fruit and the drying leaves also produce a good scent. Geum or Wood Avens and Water Avens have scented roots that traditionally add fragrance to apple pie. For Roses go for the field or musk Rosa arvensis, Sweetbriar or Dog Rose Rosa canina. This is a big family and Hawthornes and Mountain ash have a rubber scented flower on a still spring day. Fruit smells come from Pear and Crab Apples.
• Primrose: This family includes Oxlip, Cowslip and Primrose with the cultivated doubles having the strongest scent.
• Honeysuckle: Family has some of the strongest and most pleasent scents from Viburnum, Sambucus (Elder) and Honeysuckle or Woodbine.
• Daisy: Anthemis or Chamomiles have renown scent as have Achillea or Yarrow  and Feverfew. The Wormwoods are also part of the Daisy family.
• Lily: Probably takes the prize for the most scented family. From Lily of the Valley (Convalleria majalis), Polygonatum, Fritillary meleagris to Hyacinth, Chives, Scilla and the Turkscap Lily they are all fine scents.

Other Wild Scents of Note

• Violet odorata was Shakespear’s favourite flower judging by the mentions it gets in his plays.
• Evening Primrose Oenothera odorata has become colonised on waste land close to the coast
• Berberis vulgaris has a scent to attract flies whilst its cousin the imported Mahonia has a sweet scent in winter.
• Herbs particularly the Thyme and Parsley family have good scents.
• Many wild Orchids have there own fragrance.

Do not be content with a single method of deterring slugs. Alan Titchmarsh told us years ago to ‘use several organic methods and reapply them regularly.’
Why settle for one remedy when you have a veritable arsenal of multiple methods for dealing with slugs.

Organic Slug Methods

• Encourage more slug predators. Ground beetles are the thing and they love undisturbed clumps of Cocksfoot or Timothy grass. Frogs are also a useful predator to slugs
• Read more about biological pest control methods with multiple nematodes to kill your slugs
• There are now numerous packaged products to part you from your cash in return for parting you from your slugs.
• Hoe the ground and bring the slug eggs to the surface for birds to eat.

Copper Based Slug Methods

• Slugs dislike copper (unlike local metal thieves). You can use copper pipe hammered flat or lightening conductor.
• Copper tape is sold for slugging it to slugs at most garden centers
• Copper bands or collars can be very effective against slugs. Use them around your brassicas.
• Copper tools like trowels are satisfying to use but may not do much to your slug population.
• Slug and Snail Shocka is a large mat impregnated with copper.

Take extra care around slug favourites!

Chemical Slug Methods

• If you want to know why you should slug your slugs with some form of chemical treatment look at my Hostas on this page.
• For hard to find slugs and snails I still use a sprinkling of the old blue pellets.
• Slug Pellets and Slug Exterminator at Amazon

So Alan may be right a multi-punch mix and match approach may work. You can never do too much to deter slugs and snails from chomping your delicate plants.
If Frank Bruno was a gardener he would slug slugs with more than one punch at once.
However slugs were around before modern gardeners and you could adopt a policy of live and let live.

Credits
Slug by frankenstoen CC BY 2.0
slug by “Cowboy” Ben Alman CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Every garden has the potential to do more for biodiversity. It need not cost and it may be fun to improve the biodiversity in your garden.
Just undertaking one item from the following top ten tips will help. If you already do all of them then give each one a make over or a little extra space and time.

Top Ten Biodiversity Tips

1. Log piles of dead wood host fungi and insects.
2. Pond life includes amphibians like frogs or newts but a pond also supports many insects and a variety of other creatures.
3. Compost heaps are not only good for creating compost but host worms and insects.
4. A Bug Bivi or multi-habitat insectarium can be made to a size suitable for all gardens. see photo
5. Wildflower meadows or just uncut grass develops wildflowers and grubs.
6. Single flowers preferably from UK native plants provide insects with pollen, nectar and food.
7. Mixed hedges are homes and security for birds and insects.
8. Climbing plants trained up walls help wildlife not catered for elsewhere.
9. Leaf piles can host over wintering hedgehogs and leaf mould from rotted leaves is good soil conditioner.
10. A mature tree can provide a habitat for a host of species and shade and shelter for ground dwellers.

Comment on Improving Garden Biodiversity

Balance in a garden is most important and I like the idea of ‘a bit of everything’ rather than a glut of one feature. However you need to start somewhere so have a go from the list.
Bees are important to pollination and currently receiving large amounts of attention but do not forget the worms and fungus that complete the recycling process.
Create a Butterfly Garden link
Get Butterflies in Your Garden link

Why have a Worm Bin

• Worms can efficiently convert kitchen waste in to compost.
• A free, liquid, organic fertiliser is also produced. Dilute it 10 fold and use on crops and flower beds.
• Worms bins should be treated as fun. The tiger or brandling worms need feeding and looking after like other pets.
• A three tier worm bin allows access to finished compost without disturbing the worms good work
• Read and be enthralled by The Worm Book

Make your Own Worm Bin

• To avoid buying a wormery or worm bin you can modify an old water butt or similar plastic container.
• If the bin has a tap you can drain off the liquid fertilizer.
• If there is no tap drill a dozen half inch drainage holes at the base and stand the bin in a deep saucer to collect the juice.
• Drill air holes at the top near the lid for ventilation.
• Add a 4″ layer of grit, gravel or coarse sand to keep the drain holes clear.
• Cut to shape a piece of old carpet or wood as a divider. Make sure it has holes so liquid can drain through to the grit level.
• Add 4″ of bedding material (partly rotted garden compost will do). You need plenty of worms (circa100) in the compost, more the merrier
• After a week gradually start adding kitchen waste including egg shells tea bags, pasta, bread rice, fruit and veg peelings etc.
• Cover the kitchen waste with damp newspaper at all times to discourage fruit flies and keep worms moist
• Cover with a tight lid

Operating Your Own Worm Bin

• When the bin is full spread the contents on a large plastic sheet.
• To coax the worms from the compost place damp newspaper over some of the compost where the worms will then congregate and you can collect them to start a new wormery.
• Unpleasant smells or dead worms could be caused by over feeding too much waste in one go. Lack of ventilation may be another cause.
• Small black fly infestations can happen if the bin is left uncovered.
• Worm bins can become acidic so each month you can add a handful of ground limestone. Do not compost too much citrus peel.
• Worms have a diet of Dairy Products, Fats, Meat, Feces and Oil.
• Red worms live and eat in the top six to eight inches of material.

Oils

Photo credits
Wormery Top Level, Mid Level and Lower level: Food Waste by London Permaculture CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Tyre Wormery by London Permaculture CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

For more help read Lorene Nancarrows book.

The Tiger Wormery: Easy Access Composter, includes Worms available from Amazon

Healthy, environmentally friendly habitats are areas where wildlife can breed and thrive in safety. They are easy to create in your garden in fact you will want the features anyway. A little prior planning and thought about the wildlife environment can make your feature into a green habitat at little or no cost.

Dry Stone Wall Habitats

• My first garden had a dry stone wall that formed the boundary with the moorland beyond. It was a great feature of sandstone build without any cement or mortar, a labour of love.
• The damp nooks and crannies form hiding places for slugs and snails but also accommodate frogs and toads.
• Mice, spiders and other beneficial insects use a dry stone wall for safety, breeding and a source of food supply. You can even get birds nesting in the larger crevices.
• A micro climate grows around a wall. The stone holds heat and protects from wind to the benefit of butterflies, moths and slow worms.
• Even an arranged pile of rocks and stone can provide some of the benefits but a pukka dry stone wall from local stone is very environmentally friendly.

Green Man Made Habitats

• Nature can be given a bit of help particularly in a built up environment.
• Support birds with feeders, nesting boxes and plants that provide food.
• Create a ‘bug home’ with bricks and twigs to feed and house a variety of insects.
• Keep part of your garden untidy. Leave nature to take its course. Let an old tree trunk decay or pile up some fallen logs.
• Plant insect and seed friendly plants

Woodland Edge Habitats

• Think in terms of a three layered approach to woodland. The top layer is for tall forest trees such as Ash.
• The second layer is tall shrubs and smaller trees like yew, holly and blackthorn. With climbers such as honeysuckle and clematis vitalba you will get evergreen cover and a winter habitat.
• The lower layer is a woodland floor for spring like primroses violets, bluebells and wild garlic.
• Each tier attracts its own abundant array of wildlife.

Hedge Habitats

• Hedges beat walls and fences in to a ‘cocked hat’ when it comes to being green.
• They provide safe corridors for birds and small mammals to pass through from one area to another.
• Mixed native hedging plants will provide food, nesting and shelter for many creatures.
• Hornbeam, beech, privet and yew all can be clipped to make a formal hedge whilst still maintaining the wildlife benefits.
• Berberis, dogwoods, hazel, spindle holly and dog roses are all worth considering for a less formal hedgerow.

Wetland Habitats

• Ponds are a great boon to creating a green habitat
• Bog gardens may be suitable if you have a source of running water to keep the soil in good moist condition.
• Large expanses of wetland area to attract migrating birds are beyond the scale and scope of most gardens.

Compost Heap as a Habitat

• Make your compost heap one of the green habitats.It contains more life than you can believe.
• Worms and microbes need living accommodation and where can be better than in good compost.
• Turn the heap if you want to discourage rats from visiting to eat the kitchen refuse and take advantage of the warmth. They are one creature I wish to discourage.

Read Dry Stone Wall Planting
Hedgerows worth watching

One of the best habitats that a gardener can create is one containing water. Ponds, bog gardens, streams or just a bird bath, all forms of water do their bit for the green gardener. ‘….ponds are one of the most appealing and vibrant small-scale wildlife habitats. Almost one in ten British gardens actually have a pond…’ according to Wildlife Trusts in their Wildlife Pond Handbook by Louise Bardsley

Who Uses a Pond Habitat

• Frogs, toads and newts use ponds to breed.
• Insects and worms use ponds for food and as dwelling places.
• Birds like a drink of water and an occasional bath and butterflies like a drink too.
• Fish add to the charm of a pond but unfortunately provide food for visiting herons in my garden.

Type of Pond Habitat

• The larger the expanse of water the better in terms of environmental impact.
• Preformed ponds are popular for the smaller garden. Made from rigid plastic or rubber they are long lasting and easy to install.
• You can make your own pond and shape it with butyl liner.
• Ensure your pond has an area where the depth is two feet or more to prevent a total freeze up.
• The pond should have at least one gentle slope or beach area where wildlife can access the pond.
• Fill the pond and let it stand for two weeks before adding fish and plants

Plants for your Pond

• Oxygenators such as Myriophyllum spicatum use up excess nutrients and supply oxygen to the pond.
• Floating plants can drift on the surface and curb the growth of unwanted algae. Try frogbit Hydrocharis morsus-ranae.
• Avoid balnket weed and invasive Myriophyllum aquaticum
• The choice of ornamental plants is large from Water lilies through to Iris

Organic Tips for your Pond

• Submerge a bag containing barley straw in the pond in early spring. This contains a natural algicide and will help control blanket weed which grows in the sun.
• Use a rake to remove excess blanket weed but leave it on the side of the pond so creatures can return to the water rather than ending up on the compost heap.
• A balanced pond without too many fish will not need any extra additional chemicals or food supply.
• Rocks and rounded pebbles can enhance the surrounding area and build island habitats. Use local and ‘found’ stone.

Other Interesting Pond Related matters

Frog Spawn hints and tips
More Tips on growing Water Lilies
Ecology of water in the garden
Dealing with weeds in ponds
Pond plants and pond care
Gardening with water features

Credits Garden Pond with fish by pnt103 CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The press have had a field day talking about the reduction in the numbers of bees. It is a problem gardeners can do a bit about but bees are not the only pollinators that need a timely helping hand.

Habitat for Pollinators

• Health and safety are issues for insects just as they are for gardeners. Look after both.
• Often forgotten, but insects need a source of fresh water. A shallow sloping bowl will provide a landing place for safe drinking.
• Insects can be predatory but that is nature. Gardeners need to cater for all life and insects down the food chain to give beneficial insects the best chance of survival.
• Pollen and nectar are key food sources for insects. see below.
• Do not be obsessively tidy, leave places to hide, breed and sleep.
• A log pile, rough grass, bed of nettles, brambles, old plant stems and ivy are worth cultivation ( I mean having but not cultivating)

Health Issues for Pollinators

• Do not use insecticides!
• Do not use herbicides, they will kill off useful plants and chemical residues can alter the natural balance in a garden.
• The aim should be to have a balance with nature allowing all living things a space in the green garden.
• Pollination is less of an issue for the gardener who basically just wants healthy plants that are resistant to attack from all the environment can throw at them. In these cases optimum gardening can come from Integrated Pest Management or IPM.

Food Sources For Pollinators

• Flowers are key to feeding many insects.
• Single flowers where the centre is accessible are great. Asters, daisies, herbs, dahlias, sages and buddleia are known for attracting insects
• Native species of plant and wild flowers are likely to provide appropriate food sources rather than exotic imported or over bred or F1 plants.
• Grow flowers for July and August when nectar and pollen food sources are surprisingly scarce.
• Clover and lawn daisies can be encouraged in a lightly mown lawn.
• Pot plants can add to the food store via cosmos, marigolds, tagetes and toadflax.
• Grow plants that open sequentially up the stem like foxgloves so bees can feed without having to seek out new sources.

Pollinators Other than Bees

• Mites, Ants and creepy crawlies.
• Wind can blow pollen from one plant to another. Just look at the catkin pollen that gets blown around in spring or grass pollen on high pollen count days.
• Moths and butterflies, birds, bats and beetles can often be species specific pollinators. Plants attract the pollinators they need by scent, colour and a range of individual techniques.

.
Credits
Pollination Makes The World Go Around
Sympathy Planting and Vegetable Pollination
Grow Seedheads for Wild Life
Pollination of Crocus by Insects
Sarah Raven and Daily Telegraph for some of the food plant ideas.

What is Integrated Pest Management
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. IPM programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. This information, in combination with available pest control methods, is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment. Read more USA gov

Integrated Pest Management books from Amazon

Feeding and Feeders

• I like the use of a candle or tea light holder to carry a suet ball or piece of fruit on the spike that normally holds the candle.
• Seed feeders come in various shapes. Look for one that allows the seed to run freely and not get wet in a sump. Wet seed will germinate and block the hole.
• Include special feeds for special birds like meal worms, fruit even pasta as well as nuts seeds and your usual bird mix.
• Put some feed on the ground. I put a cover over the seed and bird food. You can get different sized spaces for larger or smaller birds.
• Make or buy a feeder that will stop seed falling on the ground in the slightest puff of wind.
• Make your own fat ball food with seed and fat or suet.

Grow Plants That Help Wildlife

• Grow bushes which produce berries.
• Grow plants that produce plenty of seedheads for winter food. Leave them all winter if necessary.
• Plant perennials that provide all year around habitats rather than short lived annuals.
• Select plants that are rich in pollen and nectar chives nettles and Monardia for example.
• Plant native species and not exotics and F1 plants

Special help for Special Visitors

• Have more than one supply of water for drinking.
• Add some sugar to water to attract butterflies.
• keep water and food away from cats and predators.
• Do not be too tidy, leave an area where wood can rot and feed insects.
• Avoid chemical sprays.
• Plant up winter hanging baskets to provide habitat and varied food sources.
• Think vertically as well as horizontally. Birds like to be above ground for feeding and safety.
• Keep feeders, water and food areas clean.
• Donot bother feeding the sea birds in our picture.

Sources.
Ten Plants from BBC’s suggestions read full article

‘ * Centaura scabiosa – the seeds provide food for birds and other wildlife
* Taxus baccata – this native evergreen shrub produces berries which provide food for birds and other wildlife
* Campanula carpatica – a compact nectar-rich variety that sits well in gaps between paving
* Fagus sylvatica – a native tree that supports a number of insects and food for animals
* Anthriscus sylvestris – a nectar-rich plant attracting lacewings and hoverflies which eat aphids
* Ilex aquifolium – this evergreen shrub produces winter berries which provide food for birds and other wildlife
* Cotoneaster horizontalis – this deciduous shrub produces brilliant red berries in autumn which provide food for birds and other wildlife
* Buddleja davidii – the ultimate attraction for butterflies
* Achillea millefolium – nectar-rich plants which are wonderful for attracting bees and hoverflies
* Lonicera fragrantissima – a fragrant shrub which makes a nesting site for birds and a refuge for insects’

They are not making ‘Carbon’ anymore nor is carbon ever totally destroyed. Carbon is one of natures greatest recycling projects. Carbon is present in gaseous form like Methane(CH4), Carbon dioxide(CO2) and Carbon monoxide(CO). Carbon is also dissolved in water particularly the oceans but is naturally present most notably as a solid in rocks such as limestone, minerals like oil and coal plus trees and plant matter.

Do you think about the carbon cycle?

Is your garden carbon neutral?

Are you offsetting your own carbon emissions?

Environmental Benefits of Planting Trees

Common Sense Carbon Neutral

Do you think about the carbon cycle?

As a conservationist or concerned gardener you probably don’t burn trees, twigs and garden waste any longer. – Burning creates greenhouse gases by converting solid carbon into gaseous carbon. This is done by releasing as heat all the years of sun that have been soaked up by the trees and plants changing the solid carbon into a gas. Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide help create the greenhouse effect and global warming. However burning only changes the carbon from a solid to a gas it is always there in one form or another.

As solid carbon can help control global warming grow longer lived hardwood trees if you have the space. Hardwood trees are usually deciduous such as Oak, Ash and Beech. They lock up the carbon in solid form for a long time and create wood that can be used for furniture, construction and other environmentally friendly purposes.

Is your garden carbon neutral?

Carbon in the forms of fossil fuels such as coal, gas, oil and wood are converted into energy and CO2 by consumption at the point of use, say in a petrol driven mower or via electricity. To be carbon neutral you need to convert CO2 back into a solid in equal quantities to that you have consumed.

Transport is one of the big fuel consumers. Consider the import of plants, from say Holland, which are grown in hot houses, shipped and trucked to a garden center for you to visit in a car. Worse still may be the flowers grown in Columbia or South Africa that are airfreighted.

Packaging uses energy in its production and often in its destruction. I am not totally against plastic in the garden as the carbon is locked in but I detest the disposable nature of thin plastic pots that can’t be reused. Reuse and recycling are two of the best ways to contribute to a friendlier environment in the garden. I buy fresh seed usually in paper packets without a glossy printed picture on the front and a foil wrapped internal packet. Both these later two items the foil and the print are to help retailers sell more and increase the shelf life rather than help the gardener or the environment.

Energy use directly in the garden is not normallyso heavy but a heated greenhouse will have a large carbon footprint. Insulate the greenhouse with bubble wrap in winter and keep the heated area to a minimum by partition or division. You may be able to move plants indoors where it is already frost proof and maintain a cool greenhouse. Where practical locate the greenhouse so maximise solar gain and minimise winter heat loss. Old greenhouses were often against north facing walls or had a solid rear wall. Consider heat pumps or reusing heat from composting or sub soil heat.

Water use if from a mains supply has to be pumped filtered and treated so it is more effective to conserve your water in a rain butt. Hard landscape creates water run off and cement costs energy in production whereas soft landscaping can be carbon footprint reducing.

Are you offsetting your own carbon emissions?

So you have reduced your carbon emissions. You have recycled, composted and reused to the best of your ability. Your buying habits have been tuned to local production that is environmentally sensitive. What is left to do? Big companies can ‘trade carbon credits’ a hot air generating scam in my view. We can join pressure groups, support charities and try maintain rain forests and support replanting schemes.

Above all we can plant our own mini forest. There are schemes for those who do not have the space at home but even small gardens should be able to find somewhere for a small tree or shrub.

Environmental Benefits of Planting Trees

• Trees are like the lungs of the planet. They breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen.
• Additionally, they provide habitat for birds and other wildlife.
• Trees trap CO2 from the atmosphere and make carbohydrates that are used for plant growth. They give us oxygen in return.
• CO2 is one of the major contributing elements to the greenhouse effect
• Trees also help to reduce ozone levels and pollution
• Trees reduce urban runoff and erosion by storing water and breaking the force of rain as it falls.
• Trees can absorb or deflect sound and reduce noise pollution.
• Planting trees can also help cool your home in the summer avoiding the need for air conditioning (with our summers we should be so lucky).
• In the winter, trees can act as windbreaks and can help you save on heating costs. If enough trees are planted the overall microclimate improves and total energy use for heating and cooling is reduced.

Common Sense Carbon Neutral

• Growing your own vegetables and food crops cuts transport, packaging and often chemical treatments of the crop.
• Read more about the subject and think through the cause and effect particularly of the big issues
• Do what works for you economically and socially
• Do not get too stressed out – the carbon cycle balances out – you should retain your natural balance