wildlife on allotments
TRANSCRIPT
Natural England works for people, places and nature to
conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife
in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. We conserve and
enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the
wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic
prosperity it brings.
www.naturalengland.org.uk
© Natural England 2007
ISBN 978-1-84754-018-8
Catalogue code NE20
Written by Stephen Arnott. Designed by RR Donnelley
Front cover image: Allotments are scarce in some urban areas. Judith Hanna/Natural England
Wildlife on allotments
www.naturalengland.org.uk
Although allotments will always bemainly used for growing food, theyhave other values that are now gaininggreater recognition. They are greatplaces for healthy exercise, providegood opportunities for socialising, andput us back in touch with the earth. Weall, ultimately, depend on the soil forour foods but in this highly processed,pre-packaged age the connection isoften forgotten.
Allotments are also an increasinglyimportant resource for wildlife. Manyof the plants and animals that struggle
Allotments are a refuge for both people and wildlife. Peter Wakely/Natural England
2
to survive on intensively managedfarmland find a refuge on allotmentsites. This leaflet will help you enhancethe conservation value of yourallotment, while continuing tocultivate it for fruit and vegetables.
History
Allotments have been around for along time. They were originally createdfor poor agricultural workers tocompensate them for the loss ofcommon land during the enclosures ofthe eighteenth century. Allotments
Wildlife on allotments
Fres
h fo
od a
nd
fres
h a
ir.
Pete
r Wils
on/F
LPA
3
54
own food and escape the noise of theirfactories and workshops. These days,many office workers feel the same way.
Allotments today
Despite their popularity, allotmentnumbers have been in decline sinceWWII. In 1950 there were over onemillion in the UK, but today that numberhas dropped to around 250,000.
The majority of allotments have legalprotection and cannot be sold withoutthe permission of the Secretary of State,but despite this many sites have beenswallowed up by development whilesome, for various reasons, have simplybeen abandoned.
A number of organisations are workingto reverse this trend including theNational Society of Allotment andLeisure Gardeners (www.nsalg.org.uk)and the Allotments Regeneration
Initiative. The latter has published arange of literature on the subject. Formore information visit their website atwww.farmgarden.org.uk/ari.
Finding an allotment
If you’d like to take on an allotment,contact your local council in the firstinstance. They will have a list of localallotments and may manage most ofthem. In some places the take-up ofallotments is very high and you may beplaced on a waiting list.
If there are insufficient allotments inyour area your local authority has alegal duty to provide more. However,an authority is only obliged to considera request where there is sufficientdemand; in practice this means gettingtogether with at least five other localpeople (registered on the electoral roll)and approaching the authority as agroup.
Size and price
Allotments are traditionally measuredin ‘square poles’; a pole (also known asa ‘rod’ or ‘perch’, or even a ‘lug’) being5 1/2 yards or 5.03 metres. A squarepole covers just over 25 square metresand the largest allotments availableare usually ‘ten pole plots’ of 250square metres.
You will have to pay an annual rent foryour plot, the price depending on itssize and the level of local demand. Onaverage, expect to pay between £30and £40 for a 250 square metre plot,though this price can more thandouble in areas where land is scarce.Some allotment authorities vary theircharges according to the availabilityof water and other amenities, andmost have concessionary rates forpensioners and the unemployed. Moredetails can be found in Allotments: aplot holder’s guide available fromwww.communities.gov.uk
The next generation will need allotments too.Federation of City Gardens
The size of your plot will vary according to localdemand. Stephen Arnott/Natural England
Diverse, wildlife-friendly farmland is under threatfrom intensive agriculture. Peter Wakely/Natural England
An urban oasis. Federation of City Gardens
proved a good way of alleviating ruralpoverty and their creation becameofficial government policy in 1845. By1873 there were 242,000 of them, oneallotment for every three maleagricultural workers in England.
Most new allotments after 1875 werecreated for the benefit of urbanlabourers. Rising wages meant thatmany agricultural labourers no longerhad to work their own land to makeends meet and, having toiled in thefields all day, few dug plots forpleasure!
The situation was different in towns.Here, labourers welcomed the chanceto be out in the fresh air, grow their
An urban allotment. Judith Hanna/Natural England
76
Allotment authorities and land use
The name of your allotment authoritywill be on the tenancy agreement yousign when you take on your plot. Theagreement will outline yourresponsibilities as a plot-holder. Youshould always consult your allotmentauthority if you want to do somethingthat changes land use (that is, doingsomething other than growing fruit andvegetables) for example, plantinghedges, ‘fedges’ and trees, digging apond etc. (see Habitats, nesting sitesand refuges, page 11).
Thinking green
Some growers (but a diminishingnumber these days) may still regardwildlife as ‘the enemy’; imagininglegions of furry, feathered, slimy and
shelled pests with their beady eyesfixed on carrots, strawberries andprize-winning marrows! It’s true that,left uncontrolled, many creatures canplay havoc with a crop, but for every‘pest’ there is at least one predatorspecies ready to step in and tackle it onyour behalf.
Attracting beneficial wildlife can bequite straightforward and this leafletcontains many tips for doing so.However, once you’ve encouragedsome of nature’s helpers to live on yourplot you can’t expect them to do all thework! A healthy population ofpredators on your allotment will helpsubdue a host of pests, but sometimeseven they will be overwhelmed. In thesecases you may have to step in to removeinfested growth or even whole plants.
Cut out the chemicals
The key to getting wildlife to workwith you is to look after the beneficialcreatures that already live on yourallotment and to encourage more –and different ones – to settle there.Perhaps the easiest way of conservingwildlife is to reduce your use of toxicchemicals, ideally cutting them out alltogether (see also Companionplanting, page 22). Most toxins foundin pesticides are non-specific and arejust as likely to kill friends as foes.Spraying against pests will often killtheir predators as well, meaning thatthe next wave of pests that blows in
has a free hand and can multiplywithout check, forcing you to sprayagain and again.
In some cases the use of pesticides haseven created pest problems! Forexample, the fruit tree red spider miteonly became a significant pest in the1930s following the widespreadagricultural use of tar-oil sprays – themites could cope with spraying farbetter than their predators and thrivedas a result.
A valuable ally, the seven-spot ladybird Coccinella septempunctata. Roger Key/Natural England
They all work, but they may kill friend as well asfoe. Roger Key/Natural England
Look after beneficial insects such as the greenlacewing Chrysopa carnea. Roger Key/Natural England
Creating habitats
The next step towards befriendingwildlife is to encourage more of the‘right’ kind of creature to live on yourallotment by creating suitable habitats.You can do this at two levels: there arehabitats you could create on your ownplot, and there are larger habitats youand your fellow plot-holders couldcreate within the wider allotment area.A good example of the latter is a pond(see Habitats, nesting sites and refuges,page 11). Many beneficial creatures willuse a pond as a watering hole, anddigging a wildlife pond will boost the
Do you have room for a pond? Shona Turnbull/HBP
9
local frog population, theseamphibians being some of the best slugpredators there are. Unless you have avery large plot it’s unlikely you’ll beable to sacrifice the space for asubstantial pond, but within the widerallotment area there might be a suitablepatch of land that is lying unused.
Managed wildlife areas
Empty, overgrown plots can make anallotment look unkempt and uncaredfor, but a solution is to ‘manage’ thesesites as wildlife areas.
Untended plots may be taken over bybramble which is an excellent foodsource and refuge for many kinds ofwildlife. Apart from attracting insectssuch as hoverflies, bees andlacewings, a tangle of brambles is afavourite nesting site for birds likerobins, wrens, song thrushes andblackbirds. Some warblers and finchspecies may also use bramble in thisway. To control bramble, cut differentsections back on a three- or four-yearrotation so there is always a gradationbetween first-year growth and maturestems; this means you can keep a plotrelatively tidy but still retain much ofthe wildlife benefit.
The same is true of many othervigorous plants (Russian comfrey, forexample) that will take over a plot ifA
taw
ny
owl S
trix
alu
co. I
t’s n
ot ju
st b
lue
tits
that
ben
efit
from
nes
tin
g b
oxes
. Dav
id H
oski
ng/
FLPA
Brambles will provide food and shelter for a widevariety of beneficial wildlife. Peter Roworth/Natural England
An emperor moth caterpillar Pavonia pavonia onbramble. Chris Gibson/Natural England
Habitats checklist
Do you have room for any ofthese?
hedges and ‘fedges’ponds and bog areasnest boxes for birdsroosts for bats‘beetle banks’overgrown, undisturbed areaslog and stone pilesa wildflower/herb patch.
8
11
they are not controlled. You shouldtake particular care to controlpernicious weeds such as couch grassto make sure they don’t cause aproblem for other plot-holders.
Orchards
In some cases it might be possible toconsolidate unused plots and plantthem as an orchard. However, this mustbe done with the agreement of yourallotment authority which must thenfollow a set legal procedure topermanently change the land use fromallotment garden to orchard. In somecases the planting of trees might resultin allotment land losing its legalprotection.
Orchards can be superb wildlifehabitats providing food and shelter fora wide range of creatures, particularlybirds. Crops to consider include apples,pears, cherries, plums, quinces,damsons, gages and cobnuts. Why notplant a range of traditional varieties?Many ‘old English’ varieties havebecome very scarce and you could doyour bit to help preserve them (see alsoHeritage seeds, page 36).
Plant two-year-old trees (older treesrequire a lot of staking) and for the firstthree years keep the ground aroundthem clear of grass and weeds to adiameter of one metre. After this theground can be left to grass over, orperhaps planted with wildflowers. If
there is enough space, choose‘standard’ sized trees rather than thosegrafted onto dwarfing rootstock asthese will support far more wildlife.
Some local authorities provide grantsfor the restoration of old orchards andthe creation of new ones. Most grantschemes are designed to fund largeplanting projects but there’s no harm inasking if your allotment could benefit.
Habitats, nesting sites and refuges
Bird boxesMany birds are excellent predators andwill eat all manner of pests. Blue tits area good example, the average pairconsuming around 15,000 caterpillarsfor every brood they raise.
The best ways to encourage beneficialbirds onto your plot are to put up bird
Orchards can be superb wildlife habitats. Roger Key/Natural England
Bats need boxes too! Chris Gibson/Natural England
Blue tit chicks have a big appetite. B. Borrell Casals/FLPA
boxes and provide drinking water. Fordetailed advice on building andpositioning bird boxes get in touchwith the British Trust for Ornithology(BTO) or the RSPB (see Contacts, page37). Most plots should be able toaccommodate a small nesting box, butperhaps the wider allotment areaprovides opportunities for a moreambitious housing project? Forexample, is there a site that couldaccommodate a box for owls? A familyof these night-hunters on the premises
A single pipistrelle bat can catch over 3,000 flyinginsects in a night. Michael Hammett/Natural England
10
12 13
would certainly discomfort the localrodent population!
Bat boxesBats are superb insect predators. Asingle pipistrelle (the smallest of ourbats) can catch over 3,000 flyinginsects in a night. Bat boxes are noharder to make than bird boxes buthave to be built and positioneddifferently and must always be madefrom untreated timber. For moreinformation, contact the BatConservation Trust, or read the NaturalEngland booklet Focus on bats (seeContacts, page 37).
PondsA pond is one of the most usefulhabitats you can create and is an idealway of utilising an empty plot. Digginga large pond would be a communityproject rather than a job for anindividual allotment holder, but even asmall body of water on your plotwould be useful to amphibians andbird life. Information on creatingponds can be found in the NaturalEngland booklet Garden ponds andboggy areas: havens for wildlife (seeContacts, page 37), but bear in mindthe following:
Ponds should be in a sunny location away from trees.
The larger the pond the better – aim for a minimum surface area of six square metres.
Create a range of depths, from shallowsloping sides to at least 60 cm.
Roughly half the pond’s surface should be shaded by aquatic plants such as Potamogeton sp. (various pond weeds) and amphibious bistort.
Do not introduce fish into your pond – they will eat many of the creatures you are trying to encourage.
Beware of invasive pond plants – non-natives such as parrot’s feather and Crassula helmsii will quickly take over a pond and can cause problems for others if they escape into the wild. Even some native species, such as bulrush, can run riot.
Plant suitable species on the pond’s fringes to provide shelter for visiting animals – even long grass will do.
Try to incorporate a boggy area next to your pond – perhaps fed by a pond overflow.
Before creating a pond you mustobtain the permission of yourallotment authority. Ponds can be ahazard, especially where youngchildren are concerned.
Bug hotelsEncourage beneficial insects tooverwinter on your plot by providingthem with a place to hibernate. If youhave a shed – and it’s not already full ofholes – you might consider creating afew gaps for insects to find their wayinside in the autumn. If not, a woodenblock or an old log bored with holeswill be a valuable refuge for manyuseful insects. Make a number of holes1 to 10 mm in diameter and 5 to 10 cmdeep, and put the block or logsomewhere dry, out of direct sunlight.
A prime slug predator, the common frog Ranatemporaria. Chris Gibson/Natural England
A pond will attract many kinds of predator, such asthis southern damselfly Coenagrion mercuriale.Michael Hammett/Natural England
Position the wood so the holes aresloping downwards to keep out therain.
Alternatively, cut the base off a plasticbottle and stuff it full of lengths ofbamboo or rolled-up corrugatedcardboard. Hung in a quiet spot thesebottles will be useful refuges. Shortlengths of old hosepipe – foldeddouble and hung in a tree or bush – willalso attract tenants.
‘Beetle banks’There are many different groups ofbeetles and although some (fleabeetles, for example) can be anuisance, many are valuable allies.Useful species include ladybirds,ground beetles, rove beetles (such as
A ready-made ‘bug hotel’. Roger Key/Natural England
better to supply them with a purpose-built hedgehog home.
Old vegetationIn the autumn it’s very tempting tocompletely clear an allotment of oldgrowth and dig it over to make it tidy(see Winter digging, page 25). Whiledigging can be beneficial, it is equallyuseful to leave some plant litter inplace to provide winter hibernationsites for insect predators such asladybirds, lacewings, harvestmen andspiders. Try to delay tidying up yourplot until the spring, but if you have toclear old growth to dig a bed, don’tburn it – add it to your compost heapor pile it in a corner and leave it for thewinter. The debris will make a valuablerefuge for many creatures. (See alsoBonfires, page 19)
Box ends
1514
the devil’s coach-horse) soldier beetlesand carrion beetles. All these prey oncommon pests such as slugs, snails andcaterpillars. Ground beetles are thoughtto be the ‘number one’ slug predator,better even than frogs!
The larvae of many predatory beetlesoverwinter in the soil, so the best wayof keeping a healthy population is tominimise digging. This can be aproblem on an allotment that isregularly cultivated (see Winter digging,page 25) but a compromise is to setaside strips of ground and allow them
Broad grassy strips make excellent refuges and breeding sites for predatory beetles. Stephen Arnott/Natural England
Ground beetles like Pterostichus niger willappreciate undisturbed ground. Roger Key/Natural England
to develop a covering of thick mattedgrass. These strips (known as ‘beetlebanks’) will act as breeding sites andrefuges for predatory beetles fromwhere they can emerge in the eveningto sweep over ground that has beencleared for cultivation.
Large-scale beetle banks are often seenon organic farms where field marginsand mid-field strips are deliberatelyleft unploughed. Some allotmentholders subdivide their plots intoseparate beds using grass strips, andbeetles will benefit if you broaden
these as far as practical and let thegrass grow long.
Log and stone pilesThese will create a multitude ofhabitats for beneficial animals. Even asmall stone pile on your plot will be ahome to useful beetles and centipedes.Larger piles may shelter slug-eatingfrogs, toads and slow-worms or, veryoccasionally, a family of stoats orweasels to help keep down any localrodents and rabbits. Hedgehogs canalso benefit from these structures(though logs will have to be at least 10cm apart) but if you wish to encouragethem to feed on your slugs it might be
The small garden bumblebee Bombus hortorum.Roger Key/Natural England
BumblebeesThere are around 20 bumblebeespecies in the UK and they areexcellent pollinators. Unlike honeybees, bumblebee colonies die inthe winter and only the youngqueens survive, hibernatingthrough the cold weather toemerge in the spring and look fornew nest sites. Some of the insectrefuges described here will benefithibernating queens and they willfind overgrown, undisturbed areasideal nesting places; theyparticularly like old mouse and vole nests in tussocks or undersheds etc.
herbs on your plot will make anattractive feature and be an invaluableresource for many beneficial creatures.
Some plot holders grow non-nativeornamental flowers as a crop in theirown right. Non-natives can be avaluable nectar source but you shouldavoid highly-bred plants with ‘double’flowers. These are hard for insects topenetrate and often contain littlenectar. As a rule, simple open-facedflowers will have the most wildlifebenefit.
HedgesIf your plot has a hedge or fence as aboundary there might be anopportunity to increase itsattractiveness to wildlife. Plantingnative hedging plants and trees such ashazel, elder, blackthorn, hawthorn, dogrose, field maple, beech, yew and thelike will create nesting places for birds,shelter beneficial insects and provide
1716
FlowersThe benefits of attracting pollinatinginsects, such as bees, to your plot areobvious, but other beneficial insectsand animals will also be drawn by theright display. Hoverflies and bees areattracted by open flowers such as wildcarrot, lovage, caraway and yarrow, anddill, ragwort and parsnip are alsopopular. Bees will also appreciatetubular flowers such as sage, clovers,peas, beans and comfrey. Comfrey is agood choice as, apart from havingattractive flowers, its leaves can beused to make manures and mulches(see Green manures, page 33). Late- andearly-flowering plants such as aster,hellebores, ivy and spring bulbsprovide nectar when little else isavailable (bumblebees will particularlyappreciate these) and planting night-scented flowers will draw out themoths and insects that will attract bats.A sunny patch of native flowers or
Old growth can make a valuable refuge for over-wintering wildlife. Stephen Arnott/Natural England
Plants such as dill Anethum graveolens have openumbelliferous flowers that are popular with manyinsects. Chris Gibson/Natural England
berries for food. Plot holders can alsobenefit from this natural harvest; theberries and flowers of elder, rosehips,and blackthorn sloes all having a use in
the kitchen. The leaf litter and densegrowth at the base of a hedge will alsoprovide a home for hedgehogs andcreate a sheltered corridor for smallmammals to travel along.
Of all the hedge plants the mostvaluable must be hawthorn: it is fastgrowing, tolerates most soils, respondswell to pruning and supports a hugerange of wildlife. However, it must beallowed to flower to reach its best sotime any pruning accordingly. If there is a hedge on your allotment,prune it in late winter after the berrieshave gone, but before the start of thenesting season as it is illegal to disturbnesting birds. The end of January is agood time. To lessen the impact ofpruning, cut back only a third of your
Hawthorn is one of the most valuable hedging plants. Mike Henchman/Natural England
A display of flowers will draw many beneficialcreatures to your plot. Judith Hanna/Natural England
but most compost heaps take muchlonger to do their work and these canbecome valuable resources for wildlife.Many of the invertebrate species thatlive in your heap will be activelycontributing to the compost processwhile others, such as ground beetlesand centipedes, will use it as atemporary refuge.
1918
hedge in rotation each year. This leavesone third undisturbed for at least twoyears. Remember to consult yourallotment authority if you plan toreplant an old hedge or start a new one.
‘Fedges’If you don’t have the opportunity tocreate or improve a hedge you mightbe able to grow plants through a man-made fence to create a ‘fedge’. Ivy is aparticularly good fedge plant as itsdense growth is a refuge for insects andsmall birds, and its nectar and berriesare a valuable food source for wildlife.You could even turn a chain-link fence
Time hedge pruning to avoid the nesting season.Roger Wilmshurst/FLPA
into a wildlife resource by growingflowering climbers such as bryony,sweet pea and honeysuckle through it(but make sure you have thepermission of the fence’s owner).
Dead hedgesA dead hedge is essentially a line ofbrash (bushy cuttings) pushed into thesoil to form a barrier. Alternatively,layers of brash can be piled betweentwo parallel lines of stakes stuck in theground. A dead hedge is one way ofutilising woody cuttings that areunsuitable for composting and theycan form useful windbreaks as well asvaluable wildlife refuges.
Compost heapsHeaps and compost bins are the idealway to dispose of organic allotmentwaste and the compost they produce isan excellent soil improver. Under theright conditions organic waste can becomposted in as little as two weeks,
A bonfire pile can be a valuable winter refuge. Stephen Arnott/Natural England
SecurityIf your allotment suffers theunwelcome attention of humanpests why not bolster your securitywith a prickly wild hedge? Holly,blackthorn, buckthorn, gorse,hawthorn, pyracantha and berberiscan all be planted to create aprickly barrier; while bramble, dogrose and sweet briar can be grownthrough existing man-made fencesto make climbing them a thornyproblem!
These invertebrates will, in turn, attractuseful predators such as birds, frogs,toads and slow-worms. The latter willfind the heat generated by an activelycomposting heap particularlyattractive. For more information oncomposting consult the NaturalEngland booklet Composting and peat-free gardening. (See Contacts, page 37)
BonfiresSome allotments allow bonfires but itis often more useful to compostwaste than burn it. If you do have abonfire try to leave burning untilMarch, and move or turn-over a pilebefore you set it alight. Manycreatures will find a pile of dry
garden leaves an ideal hibernationsite for the winter. By postponingyour fire you will be preserving avaluable wildlife resource. To avoidincinerating any ‘tenants’ toss the pilea few times to wake them up and givethem a chance to escape.
21
Best of the bugs
Many insects are valuable pestpredators but the following are some ofthe best:
LacewingsBoth the adults and larvae eat aphidsand other soft-bodied insects.
LadybirdsA single ladybird can eat 100 aphids aday and they will also consumewhitefly, potato beetle, bean beetleand mealy bugs, amongst others.
The two-spot ladybird Adalia bipunctata. Roger Key/Natural England
A hoverfly Metasyrphus luniger. Roger Key/Natural England
A tachinid fly. Their larvae are parasitic on manypest species. Roger Key/Natural England
The French wasp Dolichovespula media is nowcommon in many gardens. Roger Key/Natural England
Less than 3 mm long, this gall wasp is parasitic onother insects. Roger Key/Natural England
HoverfliesThe adults are not carnivorous butmost hoverfly larvae are ravenoushunters: each consumes around 900
aphids in its short life, together withscale insects and young caterpillars.The larvae look like small, flattened,green maggots.
Tachinid fliesThese look like bristly versions of thecommon houseflies but their larvae areparasites on butterfly and mothcaterpillars, sawflies and sucking bugs.
WaspsBoth solitary and social wasp speciescollect insect larvae, such ascaterpillars, for food. Close relatives arethe parasitic wasps. These are often
Lacewing larvae are voracious feeders! Roger Key/Natural England
20
2322
tiny, some as small as 0.25mm, andnearly every insect species has a waspspecies as a parasite.
CentipedesThese feed on many ground-living andsoil-dwelling insects and will also eatslugs and their eggs.
EarwigsOften regarded as pests, earwigsactually prey on aphids, codling mothcaterpillars and vine weevil eggs.Although they can destroy flowers theydo little other damage – if you find anearwig living in a cavity in a fruit ortuber, it didn’t make the hole, it’s just asquatter.
Ground beetlesThese are often shiny black or metallicin colour with obvious grooves downthe wing-cases. They are voraciouspredators of slugs and other pests. (SeeBeetle banks, page 13.)
Companion planting
One way of controlling pests withoutresorting to chemicals is to trycompanion planting – a system wheredifferent plant species are grown
together so that one, or both, benefitsthe other in some way. Although thereis little scientific evidence that it works,the technique has been used bygardeners around the world forcenturies. The following are a few ofthe better known examples.
Carrots and onionsA field trial by Garden Organic(formerly the Henry DoubledayResearch Association) found that,where onions and carrots are growntogether (and onions outnumbercarrots four to one), attacks of carrot flyare far less severe. It is believed that thesmell of the onions masks that of thecarrots, literally throwing the carrotflies ‘off the scent’. Onions and carrotsmake good companions for anotherreason – carrots are long-rooted andA ground beetle Pterostichus madidus.
Roger Key/Natural England
onions short-rooted, so there is lesscompetition for nutrients and water.
Cabbages and beansThere is anecdotal evidence that wherecabbages are grown with unrelatedplants like runner beans, there’s areduced incidence of cabbage aphidand cabbage root fly. It’s thought theseinsects will land on a selection ofplants to make sure there is a sufficientdensity of cabbages to support theiroffspring. The theory is that, afterlanding on one or two cabbages, theywill get discouraged and fly away if thesecond or third plant they land on is abean, or some other non-cabbage.
Other combinationsSome companion planting might be assimple as cultivating shade-loving, low-growing crops alongside taller, sun-loving varieties (a technique sometimesknown as ‘nurse cropping’). Other aspects of companion plantingare more complex. For example, someplants are known to exude chemicalsthat suppress pests, which is why somegardeners swear by planting rows of
Cabbages and beans seem to make good plantingpartners. Mr Fothergill’s
strong-smelling garlic and chivesbetween other crops. Similarly,marigold roots are known to release anematode repellent so, in theory, theycould help repel potato cyst eelworms.An added advantage of plantingflowers like marigolds is their brightblooms which help attract beneficialinsects such as hoverflies and bees.Strong-smelling French marigolds arealso said to repel whitefly.
Other useful companions are legumes,such as lupins, that fix nitrogen withtheir roots for the benefit of adjacentcrops. It seems that companion plantscan even be from the same species.Research has shown that non-resistantcultivars can benefit when inter-planted with disease-resistant varietiesof the same crop. The theory is thatresistant rows act as barriers, blockingthe path of pests and diseases thatmight otherwise pass easily from plantto plant.
Strong-smelling herbs may distract or repel pestspecies. Judith Hanna/Natural England
Composting toiletsIf your allotment lacks toiletfacilities, installing a compostingtoilet might be a solution.Composting toilets range from basicstand-up urinals that use a strawbale to soak up fluid, tosophisticated sit-down electronicmodels that incorporate a fan andheater. In all cases the end productis said to be surprisingly inoffensive!For more information oncomposting and waterless toiletscontact the Centre for AlternativeTechnology and the AllotmentsRegeneration Initiative (seeContacts, page 37).
2524
Crop Good companions Bad companions
Asparagus Tomato, parsley Onion
Beans Celery, corn, cucumber, potato Chive, garlic, leek
Cabbage Celery, onion
Carrots Pea, rosemary, onion, sage, tomato Dill
Celery Onion, cabbage, tomato, beans
Corn Beans, pea, squash
Cucumber Beans, pea, radish
Lettuce Radish, strawberry
Onion family Beets, carrot, celery, lettuce, cabbage Beans, peas
Pea Carrots, radish, turnip, cucumber, corn Onion
Potato Beans, cabbage Pumpkin, tomato
Pumpkins Potato
Radish Pea, lettuce, cucumber Hyssop
Spinach Strawberry
Squash Nasturtium, corn
Tomato Asparagus, onion, carrot, celery, cucumber Potato, cabbage
Turnip Pea
The table below is a list of traditional planting companions. But be warned, fewauthorities agree absolutely on what are good or bad companions. An exception isthe combination of beans and peas with onions which is widely acknowledged asbeing a bad mix!
Companion planting, traditional friends and foes
Netting will exclude a wide variety of pests. Garden Organic
NettingNetting is a good way of keepingbirds and larger flying insects awayfrom your crops. However, after thegrowing season, netting should betaken down and put into storage.Netting is dangerous to manyanimals, trapping and killingcreatures such as frogs, slow-wormsand hedgehogs. Nearly all these
Winter digging
Some people recommend a techniqueknown as ‘no dig’ gardening where thesoil is only lightly forked (if at all) andnever turned over. The theory is thatnaturally-layered, undisturbed soil ishealthier than disturbed soil. It is alsoless likely to dry out and, as buriedseeds are not bought to the surface, itneeds less weeding. However, diggingdoes have advantages. It allows you toquickly improve the soil with additivessuch as rotted manure, improves thedrainage of heavy soils and exposesinvertebrate pests, their eggs and larvaeto predators.
The latter is important as a number ofnotorious pests survive the winter asground-dwelling grubs, including
carrot fly, chafer beetles, cutworms,gooseberry sawfly, Solomon’s sealsawfly, onion fly and the pea moth –not to mention slugs! By turning thesoil in winter these creatures areexposed to the cold and made availableto predators such as birds, groundbeetles, centipedes and hedgehogs.
However, there is a down-side; thegrubs of many beneficial beetles willalso be unearthed by digging so try tolimit cultivation to a single session andleave some areas undisturbed. (SeeBeetle banks, page 13.)
Less welcome visitors
AphidsCommonly known as greenfly andblackfly, aphids will often spend thesummer on one host before moving toa different one in the winter. Thehoneydew they exude can encourage
Winter digging exposes pest larvae to predatorsand the cold. Stephen Arnott/Natural England
animals feed on pest species andare to be encouraged. Removingnetting will also allow birds andhedgehogs to get in amongst fruitbushes and hunt out the pest larvaethat often overwinter in leaf-litterand the topsoil.
The dreaded greenfly (top) and the equally dreadedblackfly. Roger Key/Natural England
2726
sooty mould fungi and they alsotransmit diseases such as cucumbermosaic virus. Overfeeding plants withnitrogen often encourages aphids asthis results in the soft sappy growththey love.
Where an aphid infestation is small it’soften best to simply squash them withyour fingers. For more serious
infestations, pinch-out the affectedgrowth or remove the whole plant. Inthe case of broad beans, early sowingcan make them less susceptible toblack bean aphids.
Cabbage white butterfliesTwo species of butterfly, large whitesand small whites, are often lumpedtogether as ‘cabbage whites’ (the
closely related green-veined white isnot a pest species). Squash their oval,yellow eggs when you find them andexclude the adults with a fine meshnetting.
Cabbage root flyThis fly lays its eggs in the soil oroccasionally on the plant itself. Coverthe ground with fleece or a fine meshstraight after sowing or planting, orprotect individual plants with specialroot fly mats. You can buy these ormake your own from 12 cm squares ofany soft woven material. A traditionalremedy is to plant young brassicas inholes lined with rhubarb leaves.Apparently the smell puts them off.
Capsid bugsThese feed on the growing tips of manyplants such as currants and runnerbeans causing distorted growth. Birdsfind the bugs tasty so encourage themwith bird feeders placed near infestedplants.
Carrot flyThese also attack parsnips, celery,chervil and parsley. The adults are weakflyers so planting on a windy exposedsite will make their lives difficult. Theywill be unable to fly over an enclosureof fine netting that is at least 50 cmhigh, and fleece is also effective. Anumber of generations of fly will attackyour carrots throughout the year. Thefirst is the most damaging but will havedied off by June so avoid plantingbefore then. The smell of bruised carrotleaves will attract adults so sow seedssparingly to reduce the need forthinning. (See also Companionplanting, page 22 and Winter digging,page 25.)
Celery flyThis also attacks plants such as celeriac,parsley and lovage. Cover your cropwith a fleece or fine mesh netting.
Codling mothsThese attack fruit trees. Stickypheromone traps are successful againstadult moths, and earwigs eat thecaterpillars. Encourage earwigs withartificial refuges such as short lengthsof hosepipe bent double and hung inthe branches.
A large white cabbage butterfly caterpillar Pierisbrassicae. Roger Key/Natural England
Caterpillar of the small white cabbage butterfly.Roger Key/Natural England
The potato capsid Calocoris norvegicus. Roger Key/Natural England
Small but pesky; the carrot fly Psila rosae. Nigel Cattlin/FLPA
The
smal
l whi
te c
abba
ge b
utte
rfly
Pier
is ra
pae.
Rog
er K
ey/N
atur
al E
ngla
nd
2928
CutwormThis is a generic name for a variety ofnocturnal moth caterpillars that attackcrops such as lettuce, brassicas, carrots,celery, beetroot, potatoes andstrawberries. Protect young transplantsby pushing a collar (a cardboard tubeor open-ended tin can) into the soilaround the plant. (See also Winterdigging, page 25.)
Flea beetlesThese can be a problem on brassicasand potatoes. Grow affected plantsunder a fine mesh or fleece. Thedamage these beetles do is made moresevere by dry weather so don’t letplants go short of water. Japaneseradish may divert these beetles awayfrom other brassicas but if you want totake more direct action, run a greasedboard over infested plants – the beetlesshould jump off and stick to it.
Gooseberry sawflyTry to grow the plants as a cordon orfan. This makes infestations moreobvious enabling you to removeaffected leaves. Remove mulches in the
autumn as these will harbour grubs.(See also Winter digging, page 25.)
LeatherjacketsThese are the larvae of crane-flies andwill attack the roots of brassicas,strawberries and lettuce. Try wateringthe ground thoroughly, then coveringit with a thin layer of grass clippingand black plastic. The leatherjacketsshould rise to the surface over a fewdays and hide in the grass where youcan pick them up. A similar techniquecan be used for cutworms ingreenhouse soil. (See also Winterdigging, page 25.)
MillipedesMost of the millipedes you see in yourgarden will be harmless but a fewburrowing species are troublesome.The worst villain is the spotted-snakemillipede that can damage root cropsand potatoes. There’s little that can bedone about them but as they oftenexploit damage caused by pests suchas slugs, action against these will oftenlimit the damage millipedes can do.
Onion flyThese also attack shallots and leeks. Trygrowing onions under fleece or finenetting and make sure you grow thecrop on rotation. (See also Winterdigging, page 25.)
Pea and bean weevilAvoid using vetch or winter tares (bothlegumes) as green manures as thesewill attract the weevils (see Greenmanures, page 33). Protect the cropwith a fine mesh or fleece.
Pea mothThis lays its eggs inside pea flowers soearly and late sowings may avoid thetimes the moth is in flight.Alternatively, cover the flowers in afine mesh. (See also Winter digging,page 25.)
Pea thripsThese also attack broad beans. Earlysowing will help avoid the peakinfestations of midsummer. (See alsoWinter digging, page 25.)
Expose pests by growing gooseberry plants as acordon or fan. Mr Fothergill’s
The pea moth caterpillar Cydia nigricana. Roger Key/Natural England
The pea and bean weevil Sitona lineatus. Roger Key/Natural England
Pollen beetlesWhile largely harmless they mayoccasionally damage cauliflower orcalabrese so protect these crops withfleece. They often migrate to allotmentsfrom nearby agricultural crops,especially fields of oil-seed rape.
Potato cyst eelwormThis can be a real problem forallotment growers as they thrive incultivated soils and can survive asdormant cysts for up to 10 years. Thereare two eelworm varieties: golden andwhite. Some potato varieties areresistant to one or the other, but few toboth. Bulky organic soil improvers canencourage predators, and earlyplanting can sometimes secure a cropbefore an eelworm attack reaches itpeak. (See also Companion planting,page 22.)
Raspberry beetlesThese also attack tayberry, blackberryand loganberry. Remove mulches in the
Potatoes damaged by slugs. Nigel Cattlin/FLPA
30
autumn to expose the grubs topredators and gently dig the soil to dothe same. After fruiting, remove nettingto allow birds to hunt down adults andlarvae. Cutting the canes to the base atthe end of the year can also help.
SlugsMany slug species are harmless and dolittle damage in the garden but a fewcause huge problems. The followingwill help keep them at bay:
Slugs dislike dry ground so water your plants early in the morning rather than the evening when they will be most active. Damp foliage leftovernight is also a breeding ground for fungi – another good reason for morning watering. When planting, water seeds when they’re at the bottom of the drill, then cover them with dry earth.
Plant only sturdy seedlings and protect them with cloches or tall collars (at least 15 cm high) made from old plastic bottles. Do not mulch young plants.
Hoe the ground between your crops to disturb existing slime trails – there’s evidence that other slugs use these tracks as guides to food.
Dig over the ground in the winter to expose adult slugs and their eggs. (See also Winter digging, page 25.)
Set baited traps. Use old plastic containers buried in the soil and partly filled with beer, milk or grape
juice. Slugs will be attracted by the smell, crawl into the containers and drown. Ensure that the lip of the trap is raised 2 to 3 cm above the ground surface to avoid trapping beetles andother useful insects. A stick placed in the trap will help trapped beetles escape.
Leave decoy foods such as comfrey and lettuce leaves near young crops. Put the leaves under a slate or piece of wood to keep them moist. Any slugs that gather to feed on the leaves can then be collected by hand. Plant tasty sacrificial plants such as French marigolds near vulnerable plants, and provide pinhead oatmeal as another sacrificial food. An added advantage of the latter is that birds are equally fond of oatmeal and may polish off your slugs for dessert!
Create barriers. Many materials have been suggested as slug barriers, including gravel and broken egg shells. Unfortunately this method
31
relies on the barrier being dry and, even when it is, many slugs can burrow underneath. Laying copper strips or old copper pipes around raised beds can help as these generate a weak electric current that slugs find unpleasant.
Encourage slug predators, such as frogs, hedgehogs, beetles, centipedesand birds. (See Habitats, page 11.)
If all else fails – grow plants that slugs don’t like! Never use slug pellets – birds and hedgehogs may die if they feed on poisoned slugs.
SnailsWhat goes for slugs generally goes fortheir shelled cousins. However, havinga bulky shell means that snails havefewer hiding places than slugs. Trycreating tempting refuges by leavingArion rufus, the red slug. Roger Key/Natural England
Snails like artichokes too. Nigel Cattlin/FLPA
A wire worm Athous haemorrhoidalis. Roger Key/Natural England
upturned flower-pots lying around.Leave a gap for snails to squeeze in andthey will soon find their way inside.When it’s convenient these lodgers canbe collected and disposed of.
WirewormsThese are the larvae of click beetles.They live in the soil and will attackmany crops including potatoes,strawberries, brassicas, beans,beetroot, carrot, lettuce, onion andtomatoes. They dislike disturbance soare usually found on newly clearedground that was previously undergrass. Try cultivating the soil in winterto expose the larvae (see Winterdigging, page 25). Lifting root crops inearly autumn can also minimise thedamage they do.
WoodliceThese are rarely a problem, but theymay gnaw the stems of young or weakseedlings at ground level. Avoidmulching very young plants as thisgives woodlice cover. Woodlice havevery weak jaws and are unable toattack older transplants.
3332
Mammals
You can exclude rabbits with meshfencing, but there is little defenceagainst moles and these are besttolerated. The most common ‘nuisance’mammal is the wood mouse which isnotorious for sniffing out buried peaand bean seeds. You can catch micewith humane traps baited with chunksof carrot, apple or potato, then releasethem at least 2 km away; but it’sprobably easier to protect seed bedswith wire mesh laid on the soil.Alternatively, avoid autumn or earlyspring sowings (when mice will be attheir hungriest) or raise pea and beanseedlings in pots.
Far from all small mammals are pests!Shrews are extremely efficientpredators of insects and slugs. They
will particularly appreciate hedges,leaf piles and undisturbed, overgrownareas that give them cover while theyhunt.
For more advice on mammals on yourplot contact The Mammal Society orMammals Trust UK, or consult theNatural England booklet Mammals inyour garden. (See Contacts, page 37.)
Mulches
A mulch is a protective layer of matterspread over the soil to help suppressweeds and reduce the need forwatering. Popular mulches includegarden compost, mushroom compost,well-rotted manure, bark chippings andgrass cuttings (though a thick layer ofclippings often congeals into anunpleasant slime!) You can use plastic
for the same purpose but some saythat the prolonged use of sheet plastic(as opposed to woven plastic) will sourthe soil by depriving it of air.
As well as suppressing weeds someorganic mulches will also raise fertility– leaching nutrients into the soil asthey decompose. In fact, mulching isthe main way in which ‘no dig’gardeners improve their soils (seeWinter digging, page 25). A mulch willalso provide predatory beetles withcover, though a few species prefermore open ground. On the downside,many pests – slugs in particular – willwelcome the moist, shelteredconditions that mulching creates. Forthis reason it’s best to avoid mulchingyoung plants.
Green manures
These are sacrificial crops planted onfallow ground, their main purposebeing to trap nutrients that mightotherwise be leached away by the rain.Like mulches they help to suppressweeds as well as attracting andproviding cover for many beneficialinsects. Some green manures arelegumes and these will also increasesoil fertility by fixing nitrogen.
Popular manures include winter taresVicia sativa, a good nitrogen fixer andweed suppressor, and grazing ryeSecale cereale, reputedly the bestmanure for over-wintering. Crimsonclover Trifolium incarnatum is also agood nitrogen fixer and, if left to
A pygmy shrew Sorex minutus on the look out for its next meal. Roger Key/Natural England
A fallow bed sown with Italian rye-grass Loliummultiflorum. Vicky Morgan/Natural England
flower, is an excellent nectar source forbumblebees. Poached egg plantLimnanthes douglasii and phacelia aresometimes grown as weed suppressersthat will also attract bees and otherbeneficial insects.
If you let green manures flower, it isimportant to cut them down beforethey set seed. The cut plants can be lefton the soil as a mulch, dug into theground, or added to the compost heap.
Liquid manure
Comfrey is another plant that can beused to increase fertility. It has longroots that tap into stores of nutrientsthat have leached deep into the soil,the result being that comfrey leavescontain nearly as much nitrogen asfarmyard manure and twice as much
34
potassium. Some gardeners maintain apatch of comfrey and use its leaves tomake a liquid manure. To make yourown, steep 1 kg of leaves in 15 litres ofwater, let the mixture stew under cover
Comfrey makes an excellent liquid manure.Rosemary Mayer/FLPA
for four weeks, then use undiluted. Thesame can be done with nettles using 1kg of leaves for every 10 litres of water.After two weeks the resulting fluid isdiluted by adding 10 parts water to 1part nettle liquid.
City Farms and CommunityGardensAllotments aren’t the only placesyou’ll find people growing things intowns and suburbs. Across thecountry there is a growing networkof community gardens, wildlifegardens, city farms and schoolfarms that has developed inresponse to a lack of access togardens and green spaces. Many ofthese projects are members of theFederation of City Farms andCommunity Gardens, a charity thatsupports and promotes city farmsand community gardensthroughout the UK. Currently theFederation represents 59 city farms,nearly 1,000 community gardens,75 school farms, and a number ofcommunity-managed allotments.
Many of these green spaces havebeen created by community groupson derelict land and, unliketraditional allotments, these siteshave little legal protection.However, despite their oftenunconventional origins theseprojects usually have the strongsupport of their local council. Ifyou’re involved with a communitygreen space or know of an area thatcould be developed as one, contactthe Federation for their advice (seeContacts, page 37). The Federationis also supporting the work of theAllotments Regeneration Initiative(see History, page 2).
City farms can provide a unique learning experiencein urban areas. Federation of City Farms
35
3736
Heritage seeds
Many vegetable seeds sold today arehybrid varieties that have been bred togrow in a range of soils and climatesand still produce high yields – that’sthe good news. The bad news is thathybrids can be less tolerant of diseasesand usually require cosseting with lotsof fertilisers and pesticides. Bycontrast, non-hybrid seeds –sometimes known as ‘heritage’ or‘heirloom’ varieties – are often lightercroppers and bred to thrive only inspecific soils and climates. However,they are more robust than hybrids,tend to crop over a longer period (soavoiding gluts) and often keep longerand taste better.
The popularity of high-yielding hybridvarieties has resulted in many seedcompanies abandoning traditionalheritage vegetables as uneconomic,leading to the possibility that thesevarieties might disappear altogether.This must not happen! Heritagevegetables are an invaluable geneticresource that could be of tremendousimportance to future growers andbreeders. Steps are being taken topreserve our vanishing vegetables withmany organisations establishing seedbanks and libraries for heritagevarieties. One such is Garden Organic’sHeritage Seed Library, an organisationthat distributes free seeds to itssubscribers (see Contacts, page 37).Some commercial seed companies arealso doing their bit and reintroducing
heritage varieties to their catalogues.Why not introduce a few heritagevegetables to your plot? Apart from thefun of trying something different, theinterplanting of heritage and hybridvarieties of the same crop could haveadvantages (see Companion planting,page 22).
Contacts
Natural England1 East Parade Sheffield, S1 2ETEnquiry Service: 0845 600 [email protected]
National Society of Allotment andLeisure Gardeners National AllotmentsGarden Trust O’Dell HouseHunters RoadCorby, NN17 5JETel: 01536 266576 www.nsalg.org.uk www.nagtrust.org
Allotments Regeneration InitiativeThe GreenHouse Hereford Street Bristol, BS3 4NA Tel: 0117 9631 551 [email protected] www.farmgarden.org.uk/ari
Federation of City Farms andCommunity Gardens The Green House Hereford Street Bristol, BS3 4NA Tel: 0117 923 1800 www.farmgarden.org.uk
Garden Organic (Henry DoubledayResearch Association) Ryton Organic Gardens Coventry, CV8 3LG Tel: 024 7630 3517 [email protected]
Bat Conservation Trust2 Cloisters House 8 Battersea Park Road London, SW8 4BG Tel: 0207 627 2629 Bat Helpline 0845 1300 228 www.bats.org.uk
British Trust for OrnithologyThe NunneryThetfordNorfolk, IP24 2PU Tel: 01842 750050 [email protected] www.bto.org
RSPB The Lodge Sandy Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL Tel: 01767 680551 www.rspb.org.uk
The Mammal Society2B Inworth Street London, SW11 3EP Tel: 0207 350 2200 [email protected]
Mammals Trust UK15 Cloisters House 8 Battersea Park Road London, SW8 4BG Tel: 0207 498 5262 [email protected]
Centre for Alternative TechnologyMachynlleth Powys, SY20 9AZ Tel: 01654 705950 www.cat.org.uk
Know your onions! Organic wildlife-friendlygardening can produce great results. Duncan Smith/FLPA
38
Further information
This is one of a range of wildlifegardening booklets published byNatural England. For more details,contact the Natural England EnquiryService on 0845 600 3078 or [email protected]
Natural England also producesGardening with wildlife in mind, anillustrated wildlife reference. Originallyon CD but now also available online,Gardening with wildlife in mind hasdetailed information on 800 plantsand animal species often found in ourgardens, and shows how they areecologically linked. Seewww.plantpress.com
39