Save Energy With Passive Heated Homes

The Seifert House by Bau Kultur architects in Austria

The UK is going to require that new homes be carbon emissions neutral by 2016. One of the ways that this target can be achieved is by using passive solar building design (English Wikipedia page). This can be used to keep a house cool in summer and warm in winter with minimal energy inputs. There is also the term “Passive House” (not to be confused with passive solar design, though there are overlapping principles) refers to a design and construction standard that aims to drastically reduce heating requirements in homes so that conventional heating systems are no longer necessary. [Read more]

How To Recycle Your Christmas Tree

Wondering how to recycle your tree once Christmas has come and gone? Rest assured, “O Tannenbaum” has plenty of life left in those lovely branches once he’s finished sprucing up your home. The National Christmas Tree Association is a great resource for all of us eco-minded types who want to make sure our trees stay green after the ornaments come off. [Read more]

365 Days of Waste

This is a post about a blog, 365 days of waste , and the remarkable man behind it, David Chameides, an award winning cameraman who lives in Los Angeles. About a year ago, (339 days at the time of writing to be precise) he decided to collect all the waste he generates in a year in his basement, and keep a blog that describes his detritus. He keeps a diary describing in what’s going on in fine detail: [Read more]

December Jobs in the Garden

General care

Winter care
As cold nights bring the final leaves tumbling from the trees, rake lawns, sweep paths and patios, and pick up leaves from borders and rock gardens, where their soggy mass can smother tender alpines. Leaves also provide shelter for slugs and snails, so clear them up without delay, taking care not to disturb any nesting hedgehogs.

Water features
Removing pumps and filters from ponds and water features helps prevent them being damaged by freezing water during the winter. Keep ponds covered with netting to prevent fallen leaves blowing in.

Mail order
Send for the latest catalogues from mail order seed companies. Some new varieties may be in limited supply, so make sure you order early.

Dividing perennials
If conditions are mild and dry, continue to divide hardy perennials. On wet soils, it is best to wait until new shoots appear in the spring.

Soil conditioning
Where areas have been cleared, start digging over and conditioning the soil. It is worth carrying out a soil test now to check its acidity or alkalinity level (pH). Most plants grow best in a neutral soil, so make adjustments if necessary by applying a lime dressing to very acid soils, or sulphur chips to alkaline ones.

Planting shrubs
If the weather conditions remain dry, continue planting evergreen shrubs, conifers and hedging. Even when it’s cold, soil still retains a little heat, especially deeper down, which encourages root growth and helps plants get established. Always take time to prepare the soil well when you are planting long-lived shrubs. Be generous with the compost that you dig in to improve the soil.

Repairs
Repair fences, trellises and wooden features. Once annual climbers have died away and perennial ones have lost their leaves, treat timber with wood colour or preservative. Replace loose posts and those rotting at the base before they collapse and cause greater damage.

Kitchen garden

Old crops
Clear away the remains of old crops to tidy up the garden and prepare the area for next year. Add the material you gather to your compost heap. Spread a layer of compost over the cleared soil and fork it into the surface.

Apples
Fruits that have been picked but won’t be used immediately can be stored in clear plastic bags. Seal the bags, but make a couple of pinprick holes in the sides to release the ethylene produced by the fruits. Only store healthy fruits and keep the bags in a cool place.

Soft fruit
Sideshoots that were shortened to five leaves in early summer should be pruned back a further 5cm to 7.5cm (2in to 3in). Raise extra plants by taking hardwood cuttings from healthy bushes. These shoots should be about 25cm to 30cm (10in to 12in) long and buried to about half their depth. With blackcurrants, leave all the buds intact, but with white and redcurrants remove all but the top four buds. You can also take cuttings from gooseberries. Our guide to pruning soft fruit will help you to get a good crop next season.

Rhubarb
Clumps can be lifted and potted up in large boxes for forcing in a greenhouse or shed. Cover their roots with moist compost and place black polythene, supported on a frame, over the top of them to exclude the light.

Chicory
Now is a good time to lift the roots, cut back their tops and pot them up to force them to produce tender, blanched chicons, their whitened leafy shoots. Each 25cm (10in) pot should contain three roots and be covered with an upturned pot to exclude the light.

Greenhouse

Insulation
Lining the inside of your greenhouse with bubble wrap will keep it warmer and reduce energy costs if you’re providing additional heat. Large sheets of white polystyrene can also be used to line the sides below staging level. Make sure you wash the glass inside and out before you start lining to maximise light levels. Remove any debris from guttering.

Watering
Water plants sparingly during the winter months, as they can become waterlogged and prone to rotting. Check plants weekly and only water if their compost has almost dried out and avoid getting water on the leaves.

Pest watch
Be on the lookout for any pests on overwintering plants. Small infestations of whitefly, red spider mite and greenfly can soon spread, storing up more problems for the future. Control pests now by picking them off leaves, spraying or disposing of infected plants.

Flower garden

Roses
Prune down tall-growing bush roses by about a half to help prevent wind-rock loosening and damaging their roots and shorten all the branches on standard roses. Plant bare-rooted rose bushes this month.

Shrubs
December is a good time to move evergreens and large shrubs that have outgrown their current position. Try to lift them with as large a rootball as possible and tie them to stakes for extra stability.

Cuttings
Take hardwood cuttings now from a wide range of shrubs, including deutzia, wisteria, dogwood and Virginia creeper.

Forcing bulbs
If you haven’t already planted prepared hyacinths in glasses in time for Christmas, try Narcissus papyraceus which will flower in under six weeks if potted now. Check potted bulbs in forcing frames and water them if their compost is dry. Make sure you only bring them into cool, light conditions when their shoots are 5cm (2in) tall.

8 Green Websites for Kids

Eight web sites, in no particular order,  with a green bias that will keep your kids informed and entertained.

1. National Geographic Kids
The National Geographic children’s site is a great resource, which focuses on topics like animal migration, the environment and how it affects the wildlife around us. There are plenty of quizzes, videos, games, stories and tips to bring your children closer to the nature around them. Check out the step-by-step guide to planting your own garden.

National Geographic

2. Kidsrgreen
This hands-on site offers plenty of advice to children who want to go green - both in and out of school time. You can hop on a spaceship for a round-the-world tour or go on a mission with ‘Trip the Drip’ to discover the importance of water to the planet.

Kidsgreen

3. The Greens
Meet the Greens is a website about an environmentally conscious family who are trying to do their bit for the planet. This US-based site features short animated adventures, which all carry an eco-message. ‘Tons of trash’, ‘birds need trees’ and ‘food rescue’ are just a few of the episodes on the site.

Meet The Greens

4. CBeebies Green Balloon Club
The Green Balloon Club stars four eco-warrior children and a dog, who live in a virtual green club house. The site is full of songs, videos, print and colour activities – and there’s a green star club where you can print out a chart and collect reward stickers for good green behaviour.

Green Balloon Club

5. Recyclezone
The Recyclezone is sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and is a great source of green information for school children. It’s bright, interactive and easy to use with a wide range of brain teasers, jokes and ideas – don’t miss Recycler the Rapping Robot’s musical debut.

Recycle Zone

6. Nature Challenge for Kids
Meet David Suzuki - he’ll challenge your children to follow a ten-step action plan covering topics such as food, travel, and the home. The idea is for children to gain better eco-awareness and apply it to their everyday lives. You’ll also find fun role play ideas and activities to encourage kids to express their views on nature and the environment.

Nature Challenge for Kids

7. Charlie and Lola - Look After Your Planet
This popular game is a fun way of familiarising your children with the process of recycling. The task is to navigate one of the Charlie and Lola characters to collect falling rubbish in the correct recycling bins. The fun graphics and illustrations make this a pleasure to play, and you can progress through the site to bigger challenges depending on your level of skill.

Charlie and Lola

8. Scholastic Explorers - Earthwatch Partnership
This educational site is a great tool for inspiring children to expand their learning skills, as well as their knowledge of wildlife and the environment. Find tips on discovering the eco systems in your garden as well as the chance to watch a wildlife video and submit a report on what you see.

Teacher Scholastic

Grants for Green Energy

There are lots of ways to make your home greener, and not all of them will cost you money. But for the more ambitious projects, such as installing solar panels, it’s worth checking if you qualify for any grants.

People are turning to renewable energy sources for many different reasons. Energy Performance Certificates, which form part of the new Home Information Packs, are now compulsory when selling many homes. I just wanted to do my bit for reducing CO2 emissions.

Whatever your motivation, it’s worth checking to see if you are eligible for any financial grants from government, local councils and energy providers. [Read more]

Essential Jobs in the Garden for November

Keep your garden looking its best with our guide to essential jobs that need doing in November.

Kitchen garden

Pot up chives
Chives are a valuable garnish at any time of year for sprucing up a salad, adding flavour to potatoes and colouring winter soups. Lift and divide congested clumps that have lost vigour every few years. Small clumps can also be grown in pots on the windowsill. Keep some chives by the kitchen window for a tasty winter garnish.

Fruit trees
Pick apples as soon as they are ripe, remembering that some varieties can be eaten straight from the tree, while others are best left for a time, stored in a cool place to reach their peak of perfection. Our guide to harvesting apples will give you tips on storage Trap female winter moths as they climb up fruit trees to find a crevice to over-winter in by tightly wrapping grease bands around stems and greasing tree stakes.

Broad beans and peas
Follow our guide to growing broad beans for a tasty spring crop. Sow varieties such as ‘Aquadulce Claudia’ and ‘Reina Blanca’ in early November. For the earliest pea picking in May, sow a row of ‘Feltham First’. Sowing ‘Oregon Sugar Pod’ under cloches this month can also provide a crop of mange-tout from May into June. In colder areas it’s better to wait until spring.

Onions and garlic
Garlic cloves from strains that are selected to suit our climate can be planted outside now. Alternatively, raise them in pots to plant out later. Planting selected onion sets in autumn will give you a crop from late June into early July.

Carrots
Make good use of your cold frames during the winter by sowing a crop of ‘Primo’ carrots.

Blackberries
Prune away canes that have carried fruit this year to soil level and tie new ones into their place. Very long canes can be trained back down towards the soil or wound in circles to ensure the longest length of stem remains. Cane tips can also be buried in the soil to root and form new plants.

Flower garden

Plant spring bulbs
Continue to plant spring-flowering bulbs, making sure you place them at the right depth. If border space isn’t quite prepared, plant them in large pots instead. These bulbs can be planted out to fill gaps later. Follow our step-by-step guide to planting bulbs in order to get the best results.

Tidy borders
Any perennials past their best can be cut right down, clearing away remains and adding them to the compost heap.

Plant new hedges
Container-grown evergreens and conifers planted now will get a really good start in life, so complete new hedging projects as soon as possible.

Divide perennial asters
Perennial asters like Aster x frikartii ‘Monch’ produce striking display of bold daisy flowers from late summer for an attractive autumn show. Lift and divide clumps every second or third year after removing old flowering stems and replant the new sections, watering them in thoroughly.

Wallflowers
Fill gaps in borders with wallflowers for a great blaze of spring colour. Space them so that they will grow into one another and, for extra impact, plant tulips with flowers in a contrasting colour between them.

Greenhouse

Clean greenhouse glass
Every year give the outside of your greenhouse a good wash. General grime and algae accumulates on the glazing, reducing the amount of light getting through to plants inside. Use a hose and a stiff brush, slowly spraying and brushing every glazing panel in turn. Choose a warm day to complete the job.

Insulate your greenhouse
Insulate your greenhouse using bubble polythene. Choose grades made especially for greenhouses, as these contain UV stabilisers which prevent them from breaking down in daylight. Simply pin the polythene to wooden-framed greenhouses. With aluminium models, use special plastic clips that twist into place in the frame. In addition, use sheets of white polystyrene to line the glazing under the staging. This also reflects extra light back into the greenhouse.

Check the health of plants
Check each week that plants being overwintered under glass are healthy and pick off discoloured leaves and dead flowers, which encourage diseases. Make sure plants remain pest free. Water plants more sparingly now conditions are turning cooler and make sure there is good circulation around their foliage, to prevent fungal diseases.

Bulbs in bowls
Finish planting up bowls of spring-flowering bulbs, including crocuses, narcissi, dwarf irises and tulips. Then place them in a cool area to develop, that’s covered for protection from heavy rain.

Lettuces
Plan a continuous supply of crops for harvesting through the autumn months and into winter by planting hardy lettuce varieties such as ‘Winter Density’ in growing bags, pots or border soil.