A lot of the food in our local supermarkets has had to travel a long way to reach the shelves, and this all adds up to your own carbon footprint when you purchase these products. Even if you do not have a big garden, (or no garden at all) you can still grow basic vegetables, which will not only reduce your carbon footprint, but will also save you money.
For example you can grow rocket leaves in a pot on a sunny windowsill, and when you cut them they will grow again. Seeds and compost will cost you under a £4 and will give you a whole summer’s worth of salad leaves, which is a great saving compared to a bag of rocket from the supermarket, which costs over £1.50 and can only be used for a few days.
If you are planning to grow your own food to be more eco friendly, you will need to try and avoid using chemicals, either as pesticides or fertilisers. Here are a few tips on how to go about this:
* Slugs are a huge pest for vegetable gardeners, but chemical slug pellets can be ineffective, and also poison other beneficial wildlife in your garden. Try watering the garden, or waiting until a shower and then patrolling the lawn and
borders, picking up slugs as they come out in the damp weather.
* Hoe the ground around your plants regularly to prevent weeds from forming, but leave some spaces a little wild to encourage wildlife into your garden.
* Research about plants that complement each other, and those that discourage pests. For example marigolds are known to put off pests, and their bright colours and strongly scented pollen attracts a number of useful pollinating insects.
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