Five things I have done today to help the planet… [15 Sep ’19]

I've been quiet over the summer, but still been doing my best for the planet.

With the world still going to pot, and the big strike coming up on Friday, I thought it would be a good time to restart my #five4theplanet posts.

Much has changed since my last post in May. My father died, my daughters went back to university, I got back into the garden, and I edged another year closer to 60.

Time moves on. Every day must count.

This is what I did today...

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1. Potatoes & Chard

Not the most exciting vegetables.

But I grew them. In my garden. Organically.

And today we ate them.

Like we have on many other days.

Growing your own food is a special part of life. Please do it.

It doesn't matter how big, how small, what scale or what you grow.

Just start with something. Mustard and cress on a saucer, basil on a windowsill, tomatoes on a balcony, beans in a raised bed or a field of potatoes.

I guarantee you will love it. I guarantee you will want to grow more.

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2. Clearing round the Greenhouses

It had got rather untidy round the greenhouses.

Old pots, piles of leaves, a stack of bamboo canes. All great places for the slugs to hide.

I finished tidying it all up today. Put things away, swept everything, cleaned the gutters. Made it all neat and tidy.

Nowhere to run to now my little sluggie friends. You'll be getting the boot.

I also added some neat white plastic buckets to each corner of the greenhouses to catch the rainwater from the gutters. The buckets had originally come from a honey processing factory, then been used on a buffalo dairy farm, and then reached me third hand via Freecyle. Not quite on a par with the recycling superfinds of @steemmatt but still good for the planet.

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3. The Big Clearance Drive

The lane from our house down the mountain to the road is a bit over a quarter of a mile.

It was tarmac'd back in the 90's but it is narrow, steep in places and boxed in by trees and hedges for most of its length.

So it needs to be well cleared at least once a year.

This work usually starts in October after most of the leaves have fallen but this year I decided to get going on it earlier as we have a couple of special arrivals coming soon so I want it to be in good shape and easily passable.

I have a good little side hustle going with the lane clearance. As well as gaining a least 2 - 3 feet of width when the growth has been cut back I also collect up the fallen leaves to compost down for the garden.

Today I started on the stretch under the conifers as I want some more acidic mulching material to put on my new blueberry bed.

And the lane clearance is great exercise too!

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4. Another seed fix from Seedaholic

I've had a big push on using up old seeds this year. In fact I've cleared all my old stocks on some common veg like carrots now.

My goal is to get down to just one box with seeds that are no more than a year old to ensure maximum vitality.

At the same time I am experimenting with seeing if I can stretch the growing season by a few weeks with the greenhouses and the polytunnel.

Where I live you wouldn't normally sow overwintering carrots beyond the end of August. But I've got a little space left in my undercover areas so I ordered some more organic carrot seeds from seedaholic.com.

I am trying a couple of late varieties - Autumn King and Rothild. I may fleece them as well to get them going quicker.

It will be interesting to see what I can squeeze out of the declining rays of the autumn sun.

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5. Cheers to another organic beer

For another project I am going to write about soon I am on a quest to find organic beers brewed in Wales.

So far I have failed miserably.

But along the way I did pick up the set of the new organic own brand beers from Waitrose in Abergavenny.

They do a Golden Ale, an Old Ruby Ale and an India Pale Ale.

Tonight I am finishing off the India Pale Ale.

I'm not a beer expert but it is more than drinkable. And as a product of Duchy Organic a little donation goes to The Prince of Wales's Charitable Foundation.

So I can drink organically and with good conscience.

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So that's me for the planet today.

Do you fancy joining in?

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[ header image from unsplash.com // other images from @pennsif ]