Your Planet: The ten best gardening products
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Your support makes all the difference. 1.Wiggly Wigglers Beehive Composter
There's no need to hide this attractive composter away at the bottom of the garden. Made from sustainable, treated timber, this comes in four stackable sections and features a front door to harvest your compost. The clever design allows air to circulate within the bin and it's available in a range of seven new colours including pink. 0800 216990 www.wigglywigglers.co.uk £120 plain, £140 painted
2.Nemaslug
A natural powder that will control slugs for six weeks, Nematodes are tiny parasites that kill slugs - harsh but fair when you see the damage they do to your hostas. Simply mix with water and apply to soil around any plant. Perfect for shrubs, herbaceous borders and food crops, they are totally safe around children and animals. Green Gardener, 01603 715 096 www.@greengardener.co.uk. £9.99 to treat 40 sq m.
3.Allotment Gardening by Susan Berger
Aimed at beginners, this is a practical guide to growing your own organic fruit and vegetables in your allotment or garden. Full of advice from choosing and planning plants, there's also a calendar with activities for each month, recommendations on tasty plant varieties, and a recipe section. Green Books £9.95 ISBN 1903998 54 9 Green Books, 01803 863260 www.greenbooks.co.uk
4.Lacewings
These insects with pretty, green lacy wings are as beautiful as they are useful. They love to eat green- and black-fly and aphids and are an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical pesticides. Supplied as larvae in a cardboard wafer and tapped onto any plant, they will lunch on a wide range of garden pests. 500 larvae for £14.50 inc p&p Green Gardener, 01603 715 096 www.@greengardener.co.uk
5.Organic Compost
If you're growing organic plants it makes sense to start off with a good-quality organic compost and this, from J Arthur Bower's, is ideal. Made from recycled, renewable resources that all have their origin in the UK, it is, of course, peat free. It's suitable for a variety of plants with the exception of acid-lovers. £3.99 for 15 litre bag , J. Arthur Bower's 01522 537561. Available from Garden Centres.
6.Organic plant seedlings
Defland Nurseries supplies organic plants, all grown from seed. Choose from their seasonal deliveries and you can enjoy fresh organic fruit and vegetables all year round. Full instructions come with each variety and if you only have only a small garden, growing herbs or strawberries in pots is easy. From £7.50 for 25 plants (plus £4 p&p) Defland Nurseries 01354 740553 www.organicplants.co.uk
7.Recycled Plastic Cloche
Made from recycled UV-stabilised plastic, these bell-shaped cloches allow sunlight to reach the plant and encourage early growth. Their unique design channels condensation back into the soil and each bell is secured by four pegs that can also be used to raise the cloche for ventilation. £12.45 pack of three. Chase Organics. 0845 130 1304 www.organiccatalogue.com
8.Can-O-Worms
The superior way to compost is to use worms. This clever box lets you see at a glance what the worms are doing. They climb upwards constantly, searching for organic waste, leaving behind fully-worked worm casts. As each bottom tray fills, simply harvest it and put the empty tray back on the top of the tower. £89.99 Crocus, 0870 787 1413 www.crocus.co.uk
9.Firefly Solar Lamp
Solar lighting is perfect for summer al fresco dining and will cause no environmental damage. Casting a delicate amber light through its hand-blown, cracked glass ball, the Firefly glows for eight hours. It comes with two different post heights - tall, which will accent your pathways and hedging, and short for borders and paths. £27.50 from Chase Organics, 0845 130 1304 www.organiccatalogue.com
10.Recycled Plastic Raised Beds
Perfect for gardens with poor soil or limited space and great for children and the disabled, these 100 per cent recycled plastic raised beds can be assembled in minutes. They drain well, warm earlier and are ideal for raising vegetables - 24kg of potatoes can be grown in just one bed. £34.99 from Centre for Alternative Technology 0845 3304592 www.cat.org.uk
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