Forum home Talkback
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Talkback: Wildlife

Hello I recently joined Gardeners World.com and find the site very helpful,especially your regular blogs.I am lucky that all through my 46 years I have had access to a garden learning and still learning along the way. A garden to me,is not just for the enjoyment of my self,but to get a happy balance for humans and wildlife. I have never used any chemicals in any garden. I feel chemicals eradicate one problem and then cause another. Chemical chain reaction I call it. I would love to know you're own views on this. I would also like to say even after this site revamp, I hope you can continue with your valuable regular blogs.
«1345

Posts

  • I am not sure your question is well founded, sorry. Very few gardeners use chemicals to the complete eradication of all wlidlife. What would be the point of that? No insects, no birds, no whatever. 

    Gardens are one of the country's most important wildlife refuges, chemicals and all. I use some chemicals when I think it wise, after all I spend a great deal of time and money on my garden. It belongs to me and is my main hobby.  Wildlife teems.

    I live in the New Forest, and my garden has more birds per sq.m. than the NF.

    Discuss.

     

  • I have gardened here for 30 years and have never used chemicalls either. I enjoy hand weeding - you never know what you may find and I have had several nice plants as presents from the birds.

    Pests are not a major problem as I have an army of helpers - hens and ducks - who generally keep on top of things, though I do use organic slug pellets around new plants and in the greenhouse where they can't go. Though a bit like chemicals, sometimes you exchange one problem for another - dust baths and big webbed feet aren't exactly good for all plants either!

    The one thing that tempts me to break my own rule is fungus.  Occasional rots and rusts and grey mould in the green house can either be lived with or managed by good garden hygiene. But I love roses and live in the country with no air pollution (good,)but that makes my roses martyrs to black spot (very bad!) however hard I try. Very few are really resistant though the very old ones like Rosamundi cope better than the rest.

    However the upside is that the garden is full of insects including lots of bumble bees and butterflies as well as ground beetles and hover flies. Aphids never last more than a couple of weeks; if the ladybirds don't get them the bluetits do. These little birds cleared up an infestation of chafer beetles that ate all the buds on my cherry tree and turned the leaves to lace - I just put up a bird feeder nearby and they polished off the bugs while they were queuing! I love the buzz in the air when you go outside on a summer morning, I love watching the different sorts of bumble bees on the cotoneaster and I love watching the birds and the bats that the insects attract. I'm somewhat less happy with the badgers that dig up the grass to find grubs or with the rabbits that nibble the flowers off my early crocuses.The worst though are the mice that eat crocus and tulip bulbs and decapitated all my sweet pea seedlings to eat the seeds. I don't feel very wildlife friendly towards them!

  • I too have badgers, bats, mice, birds, fungus, slugs, snails, bees, wasps, beetles, ladybirds etc... all the life you list. And yet I chose to use chemicals too, on a controlled and specific basis. 

    Wildlife and chemicals don't seem to be mutually exclusive?

  • Well thankyou for your views,every one is entitled to their own opinion regarding chemical use in the garden. However all chemicals have a side effect. I have no wish to offend anyone by this statement,so happy gardening chemical free or not.
  • completely organic and peat free, both at home and at work (although I work for an environmental charity - so that's not that unusual!)

  • AWBAWB Posts: 421

    The judicious use of chemicals is definitely beneficial. Many plants and animals have chemical defences, you can't get more natural than that. All chemicals cause changes that is why they are used. Having said that to use chemicals indiscriminately is wrong and a waste of time and money.

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,888

    when we moved here 3 years ago, the garden ( 7.6 acres) was full of docks and bindweed to name but two. As we're on heavy clay it would have been impossible to eradicate these by any other means than the careful use of glyphoste. I'm sure others might disagree, but , trust me, digging down over a foot into heavy clay soil to remove the tap root of a dock doesn't work, there's always a  bit left to regrow.

    Other than that I don't use much in the way of chemicals.

    Devon.
  • The current level of population in the world cannot be fed by organic food alone; it's too inefficient a use of the available land. Mass production of affordable food to feed the billions is only possible if farmers and scientists work together to maximise and then increase production. 

    What I object to is the bald conjecture that chemicals equals bad, and no chemicals equals good. 

    My old chemistry teacher would probably remind us at this point that everything is made of chemicals. It's how we manage their use that is the issue. If side effects are a worry to you I suggest you stop taking the medicine?

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,888

    indeed so Ww. One could analyse everything "organic" eg bone meal and find out it's chemical reactions which actually benefit us .

    I've never been one for the , IMHO dogmatic, I'll NEVER  use this , or I'll  ALWAYS use that, approach.

    I fully respect that others have a different point of view.

    Devon.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    I totally agree Woody. It's a balance - like many things in life. I don't use a lot of weedkillers or other chemicals but I will use them when I feel it's necessary. Good hygiene and husbandry in a garden makes for a good environment for all types of life - wild or otherwise!

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Sign In or Register to comment.