wormerama

wormerama, 9 hours ago to gardening

I left a lot of dead annual plants standing over winter instead of clearing them away. Found lots of ladybirds hibernating in them and then as soon as spring arrived the garden filled with them so they were ready for the aphid onslaught on my fruit trees. The ant farmers are loosing this year! Normally they’re well established by the time the ladybirds arrive. Keep your gardens messy! #gardening

LoraHughes, 2 days ago to gardening

This crittur, which I think is a bee fly, was sniffing around my seed pots, for some reason, literally putting its head to the compost as if sniffing, then moving to the next pot. #gardening @gardening #bugs

harshad, 9 days ago to random

Hydroponics is the bitcoin of agriculture.

It's a science experiment to grow plants on life support, everyone interested should try it, but it's not how we'll feed the world. The energy, maintenance and expertise costs will remain not worth it until life support is the only way left to grow plants.

We're still far from that, and, growing plants and trees in the ground will nudge the chance of worsening climate further away.

wormerama, 11 days ago to random

JohnI with the real climate change conspiracy in The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/may/05/readers-reply-which-conspiracy-theories-have-been-proved-true

wormerama, 15 days ago to random

Doing a 30 minute pollinator recording in 2 areas of my garden every day for the next week. Day 1 has revealed far more species than I ever realised were visiting!
Hairy-footed flower bee
Common drone fly
Orange-horned nomad bee
Tree bumblebee
White-footed hoverfly
Brassy mining bee
Red-tailed bumblebee
Blue mason bee
Honeybee
Common carder bee
Nomad bee
Buff-tailed bumblebee
Small white butterfly
Common yellow face bee
Early mining bee
Blue mason bee
Panzer's Nomad bee
Orange tip butterfly

wormerama, 17 days ago to random

Everybody tells you to leave the dandelions for the bees but they forget to mention what a joy it is seeing a gaggle of goldfinches swoop down in to your garden and fill their beaks with fluffy dandelion seeds

wormerama, 25 days ago to random

Don’t fight the dandelions, embrace the dandelions

wormerama, 1 month ago to random

Ever since I first got in to gardening I keep finding myself becoming increasingly annoyed at capitalism-led Big Gardening.

Every single gardening guide tells you to buy compost and amend your soil. It's why anybody who says that they grow their own to save money gets scoffed at. In a regular allotment or garden you probably have an excess of nutrients. Cut Big Gardening off.

(I'm sorry I get irrationally angry after reading gardening magazines)

wormerama, 1 month ago to gardening

#Gardening folk - do you do any soil testing before adding amendments such as fertilisers to your soil?

If not, how do you decide what amendments to add and how much?

Curious about gardener's use of fertilisers and knowledge of soil health.

wormerama, 1 month ago to random

I went in to my garden for a mental break from studying. In the tiniest triangle between my garden, next door’s garden and the horse field behind is a little scrap of what I think is the original old wood that would have covered this area. One very big old hawthorn is the last original tree standing, the others are newer. In its shade lie a carpet of wild garlic and bluebells. I noticed that they’ve made their way on to my side in the far section that I’ve left wild.

wormerama, 1 month ago to random

Sometimes studying environmental science is discovering that this beautiful planet is even more fascinating and awe-inspiring than you realised, and sometimes it’s discovering that we’ve messed it up even more than you realised

JimmyB, 1 month ago to gardening

1/ For the #gardeners here: I have been discussing with a small group of environmentalists, a Horticultural Therapist and my local Connetable (elected, Parish level, with real power) the possibility of creating a wetland educational project and an adjoining community garden on land near my house.

That conversation has been going on for 2 or 3 years now - and I've got tired of the daft local issues preventing progress.

The biggest of these is the question of land ownership.

#Gardening #Jersey

wormerama, 1 month ago to gardening

Looks like I’m 100% no dig now #gardening

wormerama, 2 months ago to random

10 ways to get involved with citizen science. All UK based simple recording projects covering plants, insects, birds, frogspawn

https://growwild.kew.org/blog/10-ways-get-involved-citizen-science

quixoticgeek, 2 months ago to random

Ok. Now do cars. Go on.

I wonder how those accident stats look if we take out everything where a car is involved.

Our blindness to the harm of cars, while happily targeting any and all micromobility devices is disgusting.

https://nltimes.nl/2024/03/12/amsterdam-testing-system-can-remotely-slow-e-bikes

wormerama, 2 months ago to random

During the big covid lockdown one of my tutors recorded some teaching videos and they're still being used as resources. It is very clear that the poor guy was not OK during that time. It's wild that we're supposed to just move on from that time like it never happened

wormerama, 2 months ago to random

I try to keep my focus on things that can be done to tackle climate breakdown and environmental destruction but my course is covering a lot of material about how many habitats are being destroyed by people and the trees along my stretch of river look like this now that river levels have fallen and honestly it's hard not to succumb to dispair

Trees along a river strewn with plastic

wormerama, 2 months ago to random

The British Soil Observatory is interesting if you like looking at maps and soil https://www.ukso.org/

gerrymcgovern, 2 months ago to random

"Green" tech is a scam on the environment
"Renewable" energy is another scam and con word. The illusion that we can have energy without environmental costs. Let's stop lying for a change.

"A wind turbine can require nine times the mineral inputs of a typical gas-fired power plant, while the average electric vehicle contains between six and ten times those of its conventional counterpart, according to the UN report that is due to be published on February 26."

https://theecologist.org/2024/feb/22/there-nothing-green-about-urban-mining

wormerama, 2 months ago to random

With the ground so waterlogged and running with wet feet feeling miserable, spouse and I decided to try a road route through the new build estate next to the lakeside.

Feet did indeed stay much more dry but every metre felt harder because it's so much more dull than the lakeside!

I didn't even get to tell the kestrel that watches from high in the silver birches that I know flying would be more efficient but I'm cursed to be a ground dweller.