To celebrate organic September we’ve caught up with our Outback Gardener Verity, to give us insight into how we uphold an organic ethos.

I would love to share with you some of our organic gardening methods we use at the Outback.

Our ethos is to work with nature and not against it!

No chemicals are used here, Chemicals are harmful to wildlife and contaminate the health of the soil, we stay well clear of them. Weeds are annoying at times but they do have their place in the garden for example, dandelions are great for pollinators and nettles are an essential source of food for many native species of insects, including a variety of butterflies. Comfrey and nettles are great plants for making a nutrient rich liquid fertilizer, we use this ‘tea’ to feed our plants.  Weeds do help to keep a natural balance in the soils structure.

We use companion planting to try help minimise the damage insects can have on our food crops. By planting strong smelling plants next to certain vegetable crops this can deter insects by confusing them, for example tomatoes and basil, calendula and courgettes.

Composting is a great way to recycle our green kitchen waste and garden waste.  We use our garden compost to mulch the soil every year.

Collect and conserve

Collecting fallen leaves and composting them separately is a great way to make a rich useful compost great for potting and seed sowing.

We collect rain water in butts around the garden to help minimise our water consumption. We are also in the process of installing solar panels to power our ‘Hive’ building.

The Outback is a very biodiverse garden and we achieve this by planting a variety of trees and plants. This encourages as much wildlife into the garden as possible.  Our native wildflower meadow is not only beautiful, but extremely beneficial to insects, including our own colony of bee hives. Our pond has been a great addition for attracting wildlife.

Seed collecting and taking cuttings is a fantastic way to cut costs and reduce your carbon foot print. 

And finally, we reuse and recycle almost everything! Nothing goes to waste here!