Wildlife friendly gardening - the many benefits for the wildlife and you

I have touched upon the subject of wildlife friendly gardening in the past on this blog and in the column I write for the Romford Recorder. It is a subject I feel quite strongly about and would, and do, encourage everybody to garden with wildlife in mind as much as possible.  

I am writing this piece having just spent half-an-hour watching the Blue Tits dart back and forth across the garden to and from the nest box in which there are clearly a number of hungry mouths to feed. It is very satisfying to watch them pop their heads out of the next box and fly straight to the Runner Bean bed, where they are clearly finding plenty of little beasties to feed to their young, and fly straight back to the nest.

At this time of year you do need to remember to check your plants for Aphids such as Greenfly and Blackfly and rub off any you find before they become an infestation. There are hundreds of products on the market to deal with Aphids but the easiest, quickest and most environmentally friendly answer to the problem is to squash them by running your finger and thumb along the stem of the plant. On my Runner Beans each year, which will get attacked by Blackfly you can be sure, I find blasting them off with the hose works nicely as well.

I do have a pack of slug pellets but the environmentally friendly variety, luckily most of the old types that harmed so much wildlife are now banned, and I do use them sparingly when planting tender seedlings out but that is the only time. You can spot many a Slug and Snail if you take a walk around your plot after some rainfall and simply pick the little blighters off plants or a couple of strategically placed Slug Traps around your veg will work wonders. An old tin can or bottom off of an old plastic bottle will work fine placed with about an inch or so above soil level in and around your crops with a splash of beer at the bottom; the Slugs crawl in, get boozed and can't get out - I am not sure if that is strictly true that they get drunk but I like to think I gave them one last good night out before dispatching them. It should be mentioned that your beer will probably need to be replenished every two or three days as it will evaporate in warm weather or become diluted if it rains so a cheap brew is advised rather than an expensive artisan local micro brewery beer!

For wildlife friendly pest control you are actually best to let Mother Nature get on with it as much as possible. By not using sprays you will be amazed by the number of friendly little beasties that will arrive in your garden. Between Ladybirds, Lacewings and the larvae of the Hoverfly that all gorge themselves on Aphids and a helping hand from Sparrows as well Blue and Great Tits you do not need to spray. Starlings, Blackbirds, Thrushes and others will feast on slugs and snails given the chance; if you have a wildlife pond hopefully a Frog and Toad will also be there to help.

The added bonus of gardening with wildlife in mind is, of course, if like me you place a next box or two around the garden, you might just get to sit and watch the goings on safe in the knowledge that you have done your little bit to help to environment and have a wildlife friendly garden.

Cheers 🍺