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Sustainable media

beatajclarkbeatajclark Posts: 9
in The potting shed
Was great to see a segment on the show about sustainable gardening.  I'm very concerned about the use of mineral products in the garden: gravel for paths, grit and sand for potting mix, vermiculite and perlite.  I would like to find an alternative.  I have heaps of compost but it doesn't drain well. Is there something I can add that is not quarried or manufactured?
Nadia
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  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    What's wrong with quarrying?  Old quarries can provide fabulous wildlife habitat.   Just make sure any stone or gravel you use isn't imported form places like India or Africa where working conditions and pay are usually appalling and child labour all too common.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • beatajclarkbeatajclark Posts: 9
    What's wrong with quarrying? Where do I start?  
    • Loss of natural landscape and biodiversity
    • Loss of aesthetic value to the local landscape
    • Noise pollution
    • Air and water pollution(some mine waste is highly toxic)
    • Dereliction
    • Changes to local water flow and quality
    • Erosion
    • Global demand unsustainable
    https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2017/04/24/why-there-is-a-shortage-of-sand
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    I guess it depends on the size of the quarry.  If you're talking whole mountainsides then yes, not good, but stone for building has to come from somewhere and better it be local than shipped for miles or across oceans and continents.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • beatajclarkbeatajclark Posts: 9
    In 2017, there were 17 500 mines and quarries in the EU alone.  They're not bottomless pits.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I suppose if you could smash up old bricks, concrete etc into small enough bits it might work (but maybe not for lime-hating plants). Of course the raw materials that they're made from would have been quarried originally.
    Coarse twiggy compost drains better than fine stuff so maybe if you could get some and mix it in? For paths you could maybe use chipped bark if it suits the look you want.

    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • beatajclarkbeatajclark Posts: 9
    Thanks for that.  I did consider sifting my compost and using the coarser material.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    There is a quarry up the road from us - ancient volcanic something which is pink and used for road building and repair altho they've recently found a process that makes it more useful for other building needs and thus adds value.   It is 40m deep at the deepest point and they've recently applied to extend their quarrying activities. 

    This includes changing the access roads and creating a new wildlife zone.  It currently includes a patch of land that is left wild for native species of flora and fauna (SSSI) which will be maintained.  The estimated life of the quarry will be another 30 years after which the hole will be left to fill up with water and provide more water for domestic use than the current reservoir lake in the village.

    As nearish neighbours we are offered a trailer-load of the pink stone every year and a previous owner very kindly used it to cover a large expanse at the back of the house.  It's a b*gger to maintain.   On the other hand, the quarry provides jobs and a use for ground which is no good for agriculture. 

    I can't buy horticultural grit or vermiculite or perlite here so I modify my composts with soil from mole hills.   If I'm doing cuttings that need good drainage, I use terracotta pots which absorb excess moisture.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    This summer grey cranes have bred successfully in Lincolnshire for the first time in 400 years at a nature reserve adjacent to these flooded gravel pits

    https://www.birdguides.com/sites/europe/britain-ireland/britain/england/lincolnshire/baston-langtoft-pits/

    We can't restore the fens to their pre industrial revolution wetness because we can't easily reduce the population to a number which will not make such demands on the environment ........ one thing we can do is try to ameliorate the effects of those demands so that there are still wild places for wildlife.  

    https://lincolnshirereporter.co.uk/2020/07/first-cranes-breed-at-lincolnshire-nature-reserve-in-400-years/



    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    Nut sells?  You could probably source bags from the nut industry.  (Do not use walnuts).  They sell them here in the US as mulch.  Oyster shells?  They sell it as grit for chickens to eat, so it should be fairly easy to get ahold of.  I think they also sell it for landscaping in larger chunks?  
    Utah, USA.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I think I'd just find another hobby.... ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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