Garden Organic

First timer on the allotment plot? Head to our beginner guide for handy tips on how to adopt an organic approach this - and boost biodiversity👉https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/expert-advice/growing-in-your-space/allotment-growing

National Allotment Society

The Benefact Group are asking for individuals to nominate their favourite environmental charity for a chance to win them £5K to support their work conserving and protecting the natural environment. We would love your support!

Nomination closes today (16 August) and 10 winning charities will be drawn between 19 and 23 August. It’s easy to nominate here https://climate.movementforgood.com/?cmp=1 and search for Henry Doubleday Research Association, or enter our registered charity number 298104

Nominate a charity - Movement for Good Nominate a charity for a Movement for Good award now.

Much of our cultivated biodiversity – including the vegetable seeds we grow to eat – is in decline or has been lost. Which is why preserving heirloom veg is so important.

Join Marcin Salnikow at his 'Growing Heirloom Veg' workshop on 4 September to learn how we’re helping to conserve historic seeds, knowledge, and skills through heirloom seed saving - and how to grow the seeds so they're true to type.

The workshop runs 10am-3pm at our Heritage Seed Library. Book your place at www.gardenorganic.org.uk/events/growing-heirloom-veg-4th-sept

This , Chris Collins celebrates all that his veg plot has to offer – from vibrant veg to wonderful wildlife.

Read more in his latest blog 👉gardenorganic.org.uk/news/chris-collins-on-the-joy-of-allotments. And tell us what you've spotted at your allotment this summer?

National Allotment Society

What goes into creating our annual Heritage Seed Library Seed List each year? HSL information officer Rachel Crow gives a peek behind the scenes ahead of the 2025 list.

Read more at www.gardenorganic.org.uk/news/get-ready-for-our-heritage-seed-library-seed-list-2025.

Pictured: Flowerhead of lettuce 'Burpees Iceberg'

Blighted by tomato blight? Anton Rosenfeld shares advice about how to spot it and what to do about it 👉gardenorganic.org.uk/news/way-to-beat-the-blight

📣 Competition Alert! 📣
To celebrate we’re highlighting biodiversity in our allotments!
🌸🌿🐝 Show us how your plot is buzzing with life and you could win 1 of 3 £150 vouchers! 🎉

To enter:
Follow us
Like this post
Tag us in a picture / video of your allotment highlighting it’s biodiversity in bloom!

Competition opens Monday 12th August & Closes on Sunday 18th August 2024
T&C’s apply




Entries will be judged based on; creativity, biodiversity, storytelling & aesthetic.
Chris Knott Insurance have kindly sponsored the giveaway.
Top entries will also be shared in our quarterly Magazine!

Ever wondered what happens in the background to make our gardens look so fabulous? Why not come along to 'Barnsdale Gardens; behind the scenes' on 18th August to find out? Join Nick Hamilton on walks while he talks about what's looking good in the gardens & the history behind them!

https://barnsdalegardens.co.uk/august-events.html

Veg plotters can be at the heart of positive environmental action this - by following our four steps to stemming biodiversity loss on an allotment.

Read more 👉 https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/news/four-ways-to-boost-allotment-biodiversity and find out about this year's biodiversity-themed National Allotment Week (12-18 August) at https://thenas.org.uk/NAW-24.

National Allotment Society

Our diverse vegetable plot is bursting with colour, scents and insects. 🐞🌼🦋Come and see for yourself on a guided tour and gather organic inspiration for your own growing space.

Book at www.gardenorganic.org.uk/events today. Tours run 22 August and 19 & 28 September.

Don't miss our tips on building biodiversity at your allotment plot in this issue of the National Allotment Society magazine - to mark (12-18 August). Find out more at https://thenas.org.uk/NAW-24

We are delighted that the latest NAS Allotment & Leisure Gardener membership magazine is on its way to individual members and associations this week. All members can also access the digital version in the members area of the NAS website.

Ahead of National Allotments Week, there are some interesting biodiversity articles in this issue, as well as the many expert tips, seasonal jobs advice, review of the 2024 AGM and articles from allotment sites nationwide.

We hope you enjoy this latest bumper edition.

We'll be at Shrewsbury Flower Show this weekend with our Master Composters. Come and find out more about what we do and learn some composting skills!

"Individually, we can all do our bit to boost biodiversity in the little patches of earth we care for: back gardens, front gardens and balconies. But it’s even more powerful when we join forces," says our head of Knowledge Transfer David Garrett in an article for Housing Quality Magazine.

He explains some of the small steps that housing associations and their tenants can take to nurture nature, and how Garden Organic is supporting communities to make a change.

Read more at https://hqm.hqnetwork.co.uk/?swcfpc=1

Don't miss the at Bisley Community Composting, Gloucestershire, on August 10 - where we have one of our Compost Demonstration Sites. Visit the Chestergate Allotments for drop-in amphibian and moth surveys, life-in-the-soil activities for children and nature drawing.

More at https://bisley-with-lypiatt.gov.uk/local-nature-action-plan/

Working with nature through community gardens is the perfect vehicle to unite people in a common cause, writes Chris Collins, our head of organic horticulture, in the latest issue of Inside Housing. Read more below.

Creating havens for nature must become a priority for housing Housing providers are in a unique position to promote and create biodiverse green spaces, writes Chris Collins, head of organic horticulture at Garden Organic.

Leading wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation has revealed very low numbers of butterflies have been spotted so far in its annual , which ended on 4 August. Did you spot any butterflies in your garden this year?

Read more 👉 https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/news/where-are-all-the-butterflies

Pictured: red admiral on echinacea in our organic demonstration garden

Your compost bin needs some sun to work effectively and get up to temperature, so avoid dark spots behind sheds and under hedges. The composting process will still happen in a shady spot but may take a little longer, so if possible site your bin somewhere that will see at least a bit of sunshine during the day.

Keep following for more composting and food waste reduction tips from Garden Organic.

For more on composting...
https://linktr.ee/gardenorganiccomposting

For more on food waste...
https://linktr.ee/gardenorganicfoodwaste

We're pulling potatoes in our veg beds - have you unearthed any of yours yet? Much of our tasty organic produce goes to a good home at the local The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory.

Help our friends at YMCA Heart of England fundraise for their important projects by entering their competition!

Our Heritage Seed Library's horticulturist Marcin Salnikow will lead an in-depth workshop focusing on heirloom vegetables on 4 Sep. Join us to find out what we mean by heirloom, how to grow these rare vegetables and taste test some of our more unusual varieties! 😋

Book your space at https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/events/growing-heirloom-veg-4th-sept

Looking for some summer holiday upskilling? Join Anton as he shares way to improve your compost, with a one day workshop at our organic garden on 12 September.

Learn how to:
🌼Adjust your compost mixes for sowing, potting on and growing in containers.
🌼Best practice for composing food waste safely.
🌼The nutrient content of different compost mixes, and how and when to apply them in the garden.
🌼How to minimise diseases in the heap, and what to do with weeds.

To join, book at: www.gardenorganic.org.uk/events/improving-your-compost-12-sept

Pesticides are sprayed on pavements, parks and playgrounds across the UK - and these chemicals are harmful to our health, our pets and native wildlife.

Sign our petition calling on the government to ban their use 👉https://pesticidecollaboration.org/go-pesticide-free

Pesticide Action Network UK

Don't miss our Heritage Seed Library tours on Aug 8 and 31! Get to the heart of our seed conservation work with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to our working spaces, which reveal how and why we grow heritage varieties for seed.

Have you tried planting a green roof? They're a great idea for bike and bin sheds, helping to soak up rainwater and attract insects. Ours is looking like something from another planet as the Sempervivums burst into bloom!

Come and see for yourself at one of our garden tours. We have guided tour dates right up until 28 September. Head to https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/get-involved/courses-and-events

Our friend Pauline Pears, former head of the information department at Garden Organic, spotted these unusual parasitised aphids recently. At first glance, they look as if they have a fungus growing underneath them - but, in fact, it's the cocoon produced by 'Praon volucre', a parasitoid wasp, which eats the aphid whole from the inside, leaving just a skin before pupating. 😳

Adult females lay around 500 eggs, but there are at least six hyperparasites known to attack Praon, so the wasps are kept in check. Usually the mummified cases are washed off in the rain or dry out and blow away, so although they are relatively common you rarely see the cocooned aphids. The wasps are used as a bio control.

Here's some tasty things to be sowing and growing this month 😋