Kim Stoddart is a gardener, journalist, author and gardening teacher. She writes for The Guardian, specifically regarding gardening in the current climate change environment, and is editor of “Amateur Gardening” magazine. She has co-written the book “The Climate Change Garden” which has recently been updated and has just published “The Climate Change Resilient Vegetable Garden”.
She also runs the very popular Green Rocket courses where she teaches techniques which she has taught for many years, and has a smallholding in the Synod Inn area of 2.3 acres, of which a third of an acre is used for growing produce. She keenly boosts biodiversity there and doesn’t use pesticides or chemicals. In general, apart from growing in containers, she does not use fertilisers but concentrates on improving soil health which brings its own challenges, since the property is 750 ft above sea level and is often subject to quite serious flooding.
At the begining of her talk Kim encouraged us to think about how things worked in the past, how people had to have productive gardening plots which were not costly and could be maintained as easily as possible. Some of the solutions found in the past have been forgotten or discarded in favour of a quick fix, off-the-shelf solution.
She encourages us all to make time to sit and be kind to ourselves, enjoy our surroundings, including the wildlife, and not to feel we have to make everything neat – weeds are not the enemy! Examples of extreme weather have been studied by Kim in order to understand weather unpredictability and how to discourage pests and diseases that come with it, and what we can do to effectively and cheaply negotiate problems.
Recycling and upcycling, inventing ways of making making a cost effective, productive and beautiful garden need to be seriously considered and will give lots of satisfaction. Think creatively when problem solving, it does not need to be stressful! Do not pamper plants, overprune, or spend hours weeding, sometimes it works to make plants work harder to survive and flourish. If you have a gap in the flower garden, stick a vegetable in there, they often look great and you can (hopefully) eat them. The “no dig” method is proven to be effective and works well, or the German Hugelkultur method which in addition pretty much eliminates the necessity for watering. It helps to use mycorrhizal fungi which will encourage root growth and improve health – only effective when growing organically, as the fungi and fertilisers/pesticides tend to fight and restrict plant growth.
Kim had brought copies of her book for sale, and answered questions from the audience. The link for Kim’s courses is www.greenrocketcourses.com. Dawn thanked Kim for her very enjoyable talk.
John and Helen’s Plant Sale for NGS Charities on 12 May
We were reminded about John & Helens’ plant sale at Ty’r Maes, Ffarmers, SA19 8JP on Sunday 12th May from 1 pm. Donations are encouraged as payment – the proceeds are for the National Garden Scheme charities. Plants can be ordered in advance – emails will be sent to club members at the end of April with a list of available plants to order.
Remember to browse the website for other upcoming events, the Surplus to Requirements section and updates to Members’ Gardens. If you have any ideas for new content or would like to contribute a piece about your own garden, please contact cothigardeners@gmail.com.
Cothi Gardeners 