I was lucky enough to attend the recent talk by Chris Collins (of Blue Peter Gardening fame) given for the launch event of EcoTitchfield back in February. It was fast paced, fun and super informative.
I say lucky because I thought I knew pretty much everything there was to know about compost & sustainable gardening (being a RHS Chelsea Show Garden Designer myself) but oh no I definitely learnt a thing or two from Chris. What I particularly loved was his down to earth, passionate style, and his deep desire to impart information to us all, as quickly as he could.
My favourite take aways
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Leaf Mulch cages – build quick & inexpensive cages from a roll of chicken wire, held vertically above the ground in a roll, to form a simple tube (say 40-60cm diameter tbc your space) – perfect for collecting garden leave. Add some grass cuttings & water & turn, then leave them to rot down, Use as a simple mulch on your flower beds. They will rot down quickly with open access to the moisture, sun & rain. Simple to do & costs just pennies
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Use Eggboxes & toilet rolls for Seed Sewing (or pricking out) – forget buying plastic trays or pots, simply collect and use your old cardboard egg cartons/ toilet rolls as containers. No need to transfer simply cut into cells & plant the cardboard cell directly into the ground, the pot will rot and the plant roots will go straight into your border
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50/50 Compost – always but always use 50% brown material to 50% green material. To be clear; green material such as grass clippings, leafy pruned foliage etc; brown material such as dead leaves, shredded branches & old used soil.
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Enrich your soil with ‘Seaweed Meal’ & ‘Comfrey Liquid’. Seaweed Meal (&/or SM3 seaweed extract pellets, can be purchased on line and from some nurseries. For Comfrey liquid ideally make a batch using comfrey plants left to steep in water, under a cover, for a month or two (i.e. 1kg plant to around 15 litres of water – or 1-10), You’ll know when its ready by its rather pungent smell. Use undiluted watered onto your beds. Chris described Comfrey Liquid as the silver bullet that made everything flourish & grow. Have to say the veg he grows looked large & lush, so it would appear it works!
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Plant densely – Chris advises to over plant new borders, to reduce the need for watering, mulching & weeding. I’m not sure I agree with Chris however it seems to have worked extremely well in many of his gardens he’s worked in, thought it was worth including here
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Create pollinator corridors in and around your veg garden. Not only do they look good but they encourage the insects we need to come pollinate our edibles. Crops such as marigolds, nasturtiums, cosmos etc are just a few examples of great pollinators
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Go big on variety – Chris advocates growing a wide range of crops in small spaces, this provides a highly eco friendly garden space, and variety is the spice of life after all
You don’t need a big space to have a go, the sun is now shining , so why not give it a go?
Written by Patricia Fox MSGLD (Aralia Gardens) for Eco Titchfield, Based upon the talk given by Chris Collins of CM Collins Horticulture Ltd in Titchfield February 15th 2025
