The Organic Gardening Podcast

Our CEO Fiona Taylor visits Slimbridge to chat to Simon Rose from the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) about ways to create similar habitats in your growing space.
With 75 per cent of wetlands in the UK lost in the last 300 years, Fiona explores the importance of urban bluescapes and bogs as a homes for wildlife.
“Wetlands are really rich in wildlife – in fact 40 per cent of the world's species are reliant in some way on wetlands,” says Simon, who is Head of Experience Development at the WWT, which is based at Slimbridge Wetlands Centre in Gloucestershire. “But they also help prevent flooding and reduce carbon emissions. Wetlands are actually faster than rainforests at locking up carbon.”
Simon and Fiona discuss ways you can mimic these diverse habitats in your own growing space.
“Whenever you introduce water into the garden it's one of the best biodiversity boosters, and that could be anything from a bucket to half a barrel. Dig a hole, fill it with water, put some rocks and some plants in it and I guarantee that within weeks you’ll attract wildlife,” says Simon. “The sediment that settles on the bottom of a pond is another opportunity for carbon sequestration, even in a back garden setting.”
Also in this episode...

Chris Collins and Fiona chat about jobs you can be getting with this month, and Anton Rosenfeld delves into the postbag to help answer your questions. This month, they chew over using woodchip as a mulch, how to tackle rats, and ways to save money in the garden.

Garden Organic’s President, Professor Tim Lang talks about food policy. We discuss food security, obesity and malnutrition - and the vital role food policy has in our health, society, economy and environment. Prof Lang is Head of City, University London’s Centre for Food policy, and has advised governments around the world on food matters.

Chris Collins chats to Josiah Meldrum, co-founder and owner of Hodemedods, about growing beans and pulses in the UK climate.
Josiah explains how Hodemedods works with British farmers to supply pulses, such as lentils and chickpeas, in as sustainable way as possible and often using organic methods.
He shares some varieties that can grow well in our gardens and how they grow more unusual crops such as chickpeas and lentils. He also shows how easy it is for British gardeners to overlook the multiple uses of beans.
“People miss a trick in the UK when it comes to runner beans. We tend to think of them as something you harvest green, but the rest of the world don't do that: they also dry them,” says Josiah.
“In Poland, they've got a fantastic tradition of growing and harvesting these delicious white runner bean seeds...and in Greece, you'll have giant ‘Gigantes’. I would encourage everyone to save beans and eat them. The scarlet runners and the white seeded beans are absolutely delicious!”
Also in this episode...

Anton reveals how to grow ‘green chickpeas’, and whether it’s worth growing a crop of lentils. From the postbag, he discusses how to deal with moss on vegetable plots, and Chris and Fiona chat about the effects of the wet and windy spring.
Many thanks to our sponsor Andermatt Garden, which offers high quality environmentally-sustainable products for the home and garden at andermattgarden.co.uk.

Join Chris and George as they stroll around George's much loved Edinburgh garden, full of rare varieties.

Chris and Sarah share gardening tasks in May, and we meet the private side of TV gardener Frances Tophill.